He gave a lot of great ones.
My favorite Matthau performance was one reported by Jack Lemmon. They were working together on a set when there was an accident and Matthau was pinned under some set parts. Lemmon rushed over and assured him help was on the way, saying “Are you comfortable?”
Matthau said, “I make a living.”
Haven’t seen many of his earlier movies but I always get a kick out of Grumpy Old Men.
And if you don’t agree with me, why don’t you pull your lip over your head and shwallow 
Only voting for one, I voted for Hopscotch. It’s a bit dated, but I like it a lot. Many good lines…when Kendig and the charter pilot land in Bermuda, she says, “You remind me of my father.” He says, “That’s always been my problem.” So many more.
Of course, there’s the inimitable Odd Couple, with the line about the note (paraphrased): “You left a note on my pillow that says we’re out of cornflakes and signed it ‘F.U.’ It took me two hours to realize FU meant Felix Unger!”
Charley Varrick and Pelham 123 are also two of my favorites. We see a slightly different Matthau in those performances.
Crap, now that I think about it, it’s hard to see a really bad Matthau movie. Sure, some were better than others; not all of them were a 10, but Matthau made some damned fine pictures. He’ll always be one of my absolute favorites.
I always felt that Matthau was one of those actors like Bill Murray or Richard Pryor. Their performances are worth watching even in a really bad movie.
It was hard not to select A Face in the Crowd, one of my favorites (definitely my favorite Andy Griffith role). I chose Charley Varrick, but could just as easily vote for almost any of his roles, depending on time of day and what I had for breakfast.
I two picked Charlie Varrick, so that accounts for both votes so far.
Nothing beats that final frame in The Taking of Pelham 123.
I picked the Bad News Bears as it’s a personal favorite. I was tempted to pick A New Leaf based on what I remember of the movie - as I recall, it was Matthau’s best performance. But I didn’t think it was right to pick a movie I saw once about thirty years ago. Damn, that movie needs to be re-released.
I’ll go with The Front Page. Certainly not his best movie – The Fortune Cookie, the Odd Couple, The Sunshine Boys and House Calls are all better – but Matthau was born to play Walter Burns, and it’s the first version of the play that kept the final line intact.
My favourite Matthau role was Grumpy Old Men. Even the sequel was all right too. A perfect “crusty old bastard” performance.
I picked Bad News Bears, but this thread reminded me of a so-so movie from the late 1980’s (or early 1990’s?) WM was in with Dan Aykroyd called The Couch Trip.
It had some pretty good moments, and Walter Matthau did a nice job with the material that he had to work with…
Anyone remember this one? (I didn’t see it on the list of choices)
I loved him as Obi Wan Kenobi in Star Wars.
I refused to vote as it’s almost impossible to select only one. Charley Varrick was one I would have voted for if I had three choices. Kotch would have been a second vote, not in any particular order. Sunshine Boys would have been in the mix.
Crap. Forgot Hopscotch.
You forgot Hello, Dolly!
Yes, I’m ducking and running…
A line that goes through my head almost every time I see some tourist taking pictures:
Close tie between House Calls and Hopscotch.
Both featured Glenda Jackson as his leading lady. Glenda had remarkable chemistry with a guy that wasn’t exactly a leading man.
It’s been years since Glenda made movies. Shame, because she was very, very good.
For me, Matthau’s best decade was the 1970’s. He had an incredible string of hits.
She was elected to Parliament so it’s not like she’s stuck doing late-night infomercials.
Obviously, I had to winnow the list down some. I saw The Couch Trip. Matthau was good, as he always was, but I didn’t think anyone is going to pick it as his best role.
See above.
Yes! I nearly put that line in my post. Among the best. Also: “Good shooting Ross. Ten thousand windows and you hit one of them.”
Also I love when he’s in the club, setting up the charter flight: “Oh, and my name’s not Murdison.” “Didn’t think it was, Mr. Murdison.”
“Now I know what FBI stands for: Fucking Ball-busting Imbeciles!”
“Please leave my dog alone. He detests the smell of stupidity.”
“Joe Cutter is tied to a chair in his room. You’d better cut him loose!”
“Who is this?”
“This is Eleanor Roosevelt!”