Walter Matthau is widely recognized as one of the most talented character actors in the history of Hollywood. After five years spent honing his craft on the small screen, Matthau made his feature film debut in a 1955 Western entitled The Kentuckian. A decade later he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the 1966 release of The Fortune Cookie.
Matthau would score an additional two Oscar nominations over the course of his career, one for his role in Kotch in 1971 and another for Sunshine Boys in 1976. Equally adept at comedy and drama, here are Walter Matthau's 10 best movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Lonely Are The Brave (1962) 93%
Despite its middling box-office success, Kirk Douglas publicly stated prior to passing away to say that Lonely Are The Brave was his favorite of his movies.
Written by Dalton Trumbo, the film tracks a rebellious and independent-minded cowboy named Jack Burns (Douglas), who gets locked in prison for running afoul of the law. Upon a daring escape, Burns retreats to the mountains with his beloved horse while in hot pursuit by laconic Sheriff Morey Johnson (Matthau).
Charade (1963) 94%
In Stanley Donen's romantic road caper Charade, Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn become involved in a globe-trotting thrill-ride of double crossings and sneaky back-stabbings.
When Regina Lampert's (Hepburn) thieving husband drops dead beside a train, a trio of criminals think she has the recent wad of money he stole. Broke and alone, Regina goes on the run, where she meets dashing Peter Joshua (Grant). As the two evade a slew of pursuers across Europe, C.I.A. operator Hamilton Bartholomew (Matthau) turns out to be someone far different than he claims to be.
The Fortune Cookie (1966) 96%
Matthau won a Best Supporting Oscar Award for his first nominated role in Billy Wilder's The Fortune Cookie. The film marks the first screen collaboration between Matthau and Jack Lemmon.
Story-wise, the film revolves around Harry Hinkle (Lemmon), a cameraman who is accidentally injured while filming a football game. While unconscious, Harry's corrupt lawyer of a brother-in-law, Willy Gingrich (Matthau), files a lawsuit by exaggerating Harry's injuries. When Harry comes to, he objects to the ruse but continues to feign the injury to win the solace of his ex-wife.
The Bad News Bears (1976) 97%
As the curmudgeonly Coach Morris Buttermaker, Matthau molds a team of misfits and unathletic underachievers into a squad of winners in the classic sports comedy The Bad News Bears.
When Buttermaker isn't cleaning pools or drinking himself into a stupor, he coaches a California little league team called The Bears. With only a star pitcher (Tatum O'Neal) and home-running hitting bad boy (Watchmen's Jackie Earle Haley) to build his team around, Buttermaker teaches victorious lessons on and off the field to a squad of talentless players.
The Life And Times Of Hank Greenberg (2000) 97%
Prior to his death in 2000 at the age of 79, Matthau participated in a documentary celebrating the first Jewish Major League Baseball player, Hank Greenberg.
As a talented first baseman, Greenberg led the Detroit Tigers to national prominence during the 1930s. But his team success did not come without a personal cost. The documentary features several of Greenberg's friends, family, fans, and former teammates to discuss the climate of bigoted antisemitism Greenberg faced while breaking into the MLB.
The Stingiest Man In Town (1978) 100%
As the voice of Ebenezer Scrooge in the hour-long animated film The Stingiest Man in Town, Matthau helped to subvert the Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol.
Told from the perspective of B.A.H. Humbug (Tom Bosley), the story concerns Scrooge's grumpy refusal to join his nephew's Christmas gala and help the needy. Once he spoils the Christmas spirit, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his former business associate, Jacob Marley (Theodore Bikel), as well as a trio of ghosts who help him to see the folly of his ways.
King Creole (1958) 100%
In 1958 Matthau starred opposite Elvis Presley in King Creole, a musical comedy caper directed by Casablanca's Michael Curtiz.
Elvis plays Danny Fisher, a high-school dropout who takes a job as a crooner in the King Creole nightclub to help his father's dire financial situation. Fisher's main conflict comes in the form of Maxie Fields (Matthau), a seedy criminal who wants the singer to perform at his own rival gin joint. As Fisher commingles with Field's lady, his world comes crumbling down all around him.
The Odd Couple (1968) 100%
Following their combustible chemistry demonstrated in The Fortune Cookie two years prior, Matthau and Jack Lemmon reunited for Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, one of the most highly acclaimed comedies ever made. Lemmon and Matthau would go on to make a total of 10 movies together throughout their five-decade film careers.
The Odd Couple follows macho sportswriter Oscar Madison (Matthau) and effeminate housemaker Felix Ungar (Lemmon), who cannot stand to live together in bustling New York City. The more time they spend together, the more they argue like an old married couple.
A New Leaf (1971) 100%
In Elaine Mays' twice Golden Globe-nominated rom-com A New Leaf, the comedienne costars opposite Matthau in a tale of a failed marriage for money.
Henry Graham (Matthau) is an affluent New York playboy who, upon learning of his dwindling finances, resorts to a gold-digging plot to keep up his lavish lifestyle. Graham finds a rich bachelorette named Henrietta (May) that he plans to marry, but when his plan backfires, he considers murdering the woman for her money instead.
The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three (1974) 100%
Matthau headlines a top-tier ensemble in Joseph Sargent's The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, a train-heist picture that was remade by Tony Scott and Denzel Washington in 2009.
Costarring Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam, James Broderick, Hector Elizondo, and Jerry Stiller, the film concerns a gang of unrelated thieves in disguise who hijack an NYC subway and hold the passengers as a hostage for a high ransom fee. Matthau plays Lt. Garber, the chief policeman assigned to the case.