Hook, Line & Sinker (1969 film)

Hook, Line & Sinker
Lobby card
Directed by	George Marshall
Screenplay by	Rod Amateau
Story by	Rod Amateau David Davis
Produced by	Jerry Lewis
Starring	Jerry Lewis
Cinematography	W. Wallace Kelley
Edited by	Russel Wiles
Music by	Dick Stabile
Color process	Technicolor
Production company	Jerry Lewis Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	June 6, 1969 (1969-06-06) (United States) [1]
Running time	92 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	395,484 admissions (France)[2]

Hook, Line & Sinker is a 1969 American comedy film produced by and starring Jerry Lewis. This was the final film for director George Marshall, whose career dated back to 1916, and Lewis' last movie for Columbia Pictures.

Plot[]

Peter Ingersoll is about to undergo an operation at a hospital in Chile. Before beginning, the medical staff insists that he explain how his unusual condition came about.

He recalls his past life in California as an insurance salesman. His best friend, Dr. Scott Carter, breaks the news that Peter only has a short time left to live. His wife, although distraught, tells Peter to take the fishing excursion he has always dreamed of, advising him to charge it to credit cards. He runs up a bill of $100,000.

While traveling abroad, Peter is contacted by Dr. Carter and told that he was misdiagnosed and isn't dying. Now burdened with a large debt, Peter is urged by Dr. Carter to fake his death to avoid paying the bills and so his wife can collect a $150,000 life insurance policy. After seven years, when the statute of limitations is up, he can reappear.

Peter discovers that the whole thing was a scheme concocted by his wife and doctor, who are having an affair. He proceeds to wreck their plans.

However, while fishing in Chile, he ends up in that unusual predicament on that operating table ... with a marlin swordfish piercing his chest.

Cast[]

• Jerry Lewis as Peter Ingersoll / Fred Dobbs
• Peter Lawford as Dr. Scott Carter
• Anne Francis as Nancy Ingersoll
• Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez as Perfecto
• Jimmy Miller as Jimmy Ingersoll
• Jennifer Edwards as Jennifer Ingersoll
• Eleanor Audley as Mrs. Durham
• Henry Corden as Kenyon Hammercher
• Sylvia Lewis as Karlotta Hammercher
• Phillip Pine as Head Surgeon
• Felipe Turich as Foreign Mortician
• Kathleen Freeman as Mrs. Hardtack - Baby Sitter^[3]

Production[]

Hook, Line & Sinker was filmed under the working title Kook's Tour.^[4]

The film was shot from April 1 — June 20, 1968 at the Columbia Ranch in Burbank using the exterior of the same house seen on TV's Gidget (1965–66). The interior scenes were filmed on the same sound stage used for TV's Bewitched (1964–72), although the colour scheme was substantially altered.

This was veteran character actress Barbara Pepper's final role.^[5]

Release[]

The film opened at the Center theatre in Boston on April 13, 1969^[1] and grossed $7,000 in its first week.^[6] It went into general release on June 6, 1969.

It was the first Jerry Lewis film released under the MPAA's new film rating system. It was rated G.

Home media[]

The film was released on DVD through Sony Pictures manufacture on demand program on November 6, 2012.^[7] It was re-released on DVD in a Jerry Lewis Triple Feature collection with Three on a Couch (1966) and Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River (1968) on January 16, 2018.^[8]

See also[]

• List of American films of 1969

References[]

External links[]

• Hook, Line & Sinker at the American Film Institute Catalog
• Hook, Line & Sinker at IMDb
• Hook, Line & Sinker at the TCM Movie Database