Ernest Borgnine's final film, "The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez," has been picked up by Arclight Films, the company said Monday.
Arclight describes "The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez" as a comedy in the vein of "Grumpy Old Men," with Borgnine as a washed-up actor who gets a second lease on life after moving into an assisted living facility.
The company claims the film marks the last screen appearance of Borgnine, who died of renal failure last July after a career that spanned six decades and over 200 movies.
Arclight will handle international sales; the coming-of-age comedy will be distributed domestically by Indican Pictures. It will open in Los Angeles on Dec. 7, 2012.
Borgnine was best known for his Oscar-winning role as a love-struck butcher in 1955's "Marty" and also had menacing supporting roles in such film classics as "The Wild Bunch" and "From Here to Eternity."
The film is written and directed by Elia Petridis and produced by Darren Brandl and Dave O’Brien.
