A Fish Called Wanda
1988 film by Charles Crichton
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Interest in “A Fish Called Wanda” spiked on Wikipedia on 2026-07-20.
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Key Takeaways
- A Fish Called Wanda is a 1988 heist comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and written by John Cleese from a story conceived by Cleese and Crichton.
- The film follows a gang of diamond thieves who double-cross one another to recover stolen diamonds hidden by their jailed leader.
- A Fish Called Wanda grossed over $188 million worldwide, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of 1988.
- A spiritual sequel, Fierce Creatures , was released in 1997.
- Plot London gangster George Thomason and his right-hand man, Ken Pile, an animal lover with a stutter, plan a jewel heist.
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Source summary
WikipediaA Fish Called Wanda is a 1988 heist comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and written by John Cleese from a story conceived by Cleese and Crichton. It stars Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin. The film follows a gang of diamond thieves who double-cross one another to recover stolen diamonds hidden by their jailed leader. His barrister becomes a central figure – and jealousies rage – as femme fatale Wanda seduces him to locate the loot.
A Fish Called Wanda grossed over $188 million worldwide, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of 1988. At the 61st Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay and won for Best Supporting Actor for Kline. A spiritual sequel, Fierce Creatures, was released in 1997. The British Film Institute ranked A Fish Called Wanda the 39th-greatest British film of the 20th century.
London gangster George Thomason and his right-hand man, Ken Pile, an animal lover with a stutter, plan a jewel heist. They bring in two Americans: con artist Wanda Gershwitz and weapons expert Otto West, a mean-spirited Anglophobe. Wanda and Otto are lovers, but they hide this from George and Ken, pretending to be siblings, so Wanda can work her charms on them.
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