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Hook, Line & Sinker

Play trailer Poster for Hook, Line & Sinker G 1969 1h 32m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 1 Reviews 38% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
With a terminal diagnosis that has left him with just months to live, insurance salesman Peter (Jerry Lewis) decides to take an extravagant, around-the-world fishing tour. Mid-trip, Peter is informed by his doctor, Scott (Peter Lawford), that a malfunctioning electrocardiograph had caused a misdiagnosis and he will live. Now, faced with crippling debt from his travels, Peter resolves to fake his own death to secure a life insurance claim for his wife, Nancy (Anne Francis).

Critics Reviews

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Fit only for worms. Rated: C- Jul 28, 2008 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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StephenPaul C LOL, the funniest 01 hour: and 32 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Both the last movie that Jerry Lewis would make for Columbia Pictures and the last movie directed by George Marshall, who directed his first film in 1916, Hook, Line & Sinker comes at a strange time in Hollywood, when studios were trying to find something, anything to save their bottom line. Shot on the Columbia Ranch using the exterior of TV's Gidget's house and the interior soundstages of Bewitched, part of this film feels like a TV movie. And another part is some kind of quasi-giallo where Lewis' goofball character steals money and fakes his own death. You read that right. And much like an Italian psychosexual detective story, the movie begins at the end, where Peter Ingersoll (Lewis) is on an operating table, surrounded by doctors, stunned by what they are seeing. Yet to explain how he got here, he has to tell how his supposed best friend Dr. Scott Carter (Peter Lawford) told him he had a month to live and how his wife Nancy (Anne Francis, Forbidden Planet) told him to use his company credit cards to fish out his last days and he told none of them that this was a bad idea. Carter compounds the problem by explaining that now Peter isn't going to die, but he will go to jail because he used company funds to pay his bills and if he fakes his death, his wife will get $150,000. All he has to do is hide seven years until the statute of limitations is up, but there are immediate problems, like Dr. Carter and Anne getting married. Which is how Peter got to Chile, as he went on vacation after he ruined their plans and ended up with a swordfish stuck in his chest. Writer David Davis would go on to create The Bob Newhart Show and Taxi, as well as develop Rhoda. He worked on this with Rod Amateau, who would go on to direct The Statue, episodes of Supertrain and Enos and perhaps most importantly, produce, direct and write The Garbage Pail Kids Movie. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Offbeat mellow comedy ...reflects the world weary , bewildered mood of the times. Another Jerry "black comedy "....not bad . His wife sends him on his last vacation as he has gotten a bad medical diagnosis . Was he really sick ? Did his wife simply want him out of her life for a while so she can get together with his doctor ? I'm not 100% clear on the plot line ...but hey it's Jerry . Enjoy. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Audience Member Yet another mature-themed Lewis film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member A few genuinely humourous vignettes and a mellow late 60's score by Dick Stabile aren't quite enough to recommend this film to everyone, but Lewis enthusiasts will undoubtably find this minor entry into his canon good for a few laughs. ~ @thestaticisland Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member A few genuinely humourous vignettes and a mellow late 60's score by Dick Stabile aren't quite enough to recommend this film to everyone, but Lewis enthusiasts will undoubtably find this minor entry into his canon good for a few laughs. ~ @thestaticisland Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Hook, Line & Sinker

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis With a terminal diagnosis that has left him with just months to live, insurance salesman Peter (Jerry Lewis) decides to take an extravagant, around-the-world fishing tour. Mid-trip, Peter is informed by his doctor, Scott (Peter Lawford), that a malfunctioning electrocardiograph had caused a misdiagnosis and he will live. Now, faced with crippling debt from his travels, Peter resolves to fake his own death to secure a life insurance claim for his wife, Nancy (Anne Francis).
Director
George Marshall
Producer
Jerry Lewis
Screenwriter
Rod Amateau
Production Co
Columbia, Jerry Lewis Productions
Rating
G
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Nov 6, 2012
Runtime
1h 32m