Billy Wilder’s twenty-fifth movie, The Front Page, starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, and Susan Sarandon was released in 1974. Billy was 68 years old. There is absolutely no reason why this movie should have been made — not when His Girl Friday stands as the definitive remake of the play The Front Page by Ben […]
Entries Tagged as 'IAL Diamond'
Day Twenty Five: The Front Page
July 24th, 2011 · No Comments · 1974, Adaptation, David Wayne, Front Page, IAL Diamond, Jack Lemmon, Susan Sarandon, Vincent Gardenia, Walter Matthau
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Day Twenty Three: The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
July 22nd, 2011 · No Comments · 1970, Adaptation, Arthur Conan Doyle, Christopher Lee, Colin Blakely, Gabrielle Valladon, IAL Diamond, Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, Robert Stephens, Sidney Lumet, Tamara Toumanova
Billy Wilder’s twenty-third movie, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Stephens and Colin Blakely, was released in 1970. Billy was 64 years old. This movie represents another career twist for Billy Wilder. It was released four years after The Fortune Cookie, and is not a comedy — slapstick, frenetic, or otherwise. It’s a […]
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Day Twenty Two: The Fortune Cookie
July 21st, 2011 · No Comments · 1966, Academy Award, Cliff Osmond, Ed Sikov, Fortune Cookie, Howard McNear, IAL Diamond, Jack Lemmon, On Sunset Boulevard, Walter Matthau
Billy Wilder’s twenty-second movie, The Fortune Cookie, the Academy-Award winning film starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, was released in 1966. Billy was 60 years old. It’s a good thing I like Jack Lemmon. Here he is again in The Fortune Cookie. (All told, Lemmon appears in seven Wilder films!) Fortunately, this time he’s with […]
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Day Twenty One: Kiss Me, Stupid
July 20th, 2011 · 2 Comments · 1964, Adaptation, Dean Martin, Ed Sikov, Howard McNear, IAL Diamond, John Fiedler, Kim Novak, Peter Sellers, Ray Walston
Billy Wilder’s twenty-first movie, Kiss Me Stupid, starring Dean Martin and Kim Novak, was released in 1964. Billy was 58 years old. Kiss Me, Stupid opens with Dean Martin on stage, essentially, playing himself — Dino, a lecherous Vegas singer. In between puffs on his cigarette, and swigs from his glass of bourbon, he sings […]
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Day Nineteen: One, Two, Three
July 18th, 2011 · No Comments · 1961, Adaptation, Arlene Francis, Berlin, Coca-Cola, Horst Buchholz, IAL Diamond, James Cagney, One Two Three, Pamela Tiffin, Zany
Billy Wilder’s nineteenth movie, One, Two, Three, starring James Cagney, was released in 1961. Billy was 55 years old. I know I’m in trouble when the blurbs on the DVD box announce the movie inside is: “A fast-paced, lighthearted farce crammed with gags!” and “Wilder and Diamond at their zaniest best!” “Gags” and “zany” are […]
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Day Eighteen: The Apartment
July 17th, 2011 · No Comments · 1960, Academy Award, Apartment, Fred MacMurray, IAL Diamond, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine
Billy Wilder’s eighteenth movie, The Apartment, the Academy-Award winning comedy starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray, was released in 1960. Billy was 54 years old. In typical Billy Wilder fashion, The Apartment starts with voiceover narration — lots and lots of exposition, which is usually the kiss of death for a screenwriter with […]
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Day Seventeen: Some Like It Hot
July 16th, 2011 · No Comments · 1959, IAL Diamond, Inciting Incident, Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe, Mid Point, Plot Point I, Plot Point II, Some Like It Hot, Tony Curis
Billy Wilder’s seventeenth movie, Some Like It Hot, the irrepressible comedy starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe, was released in 1959. Billy was 53 years old. This is what movie-making is all about! Some Like It Hot is my second favorite movie, following closely on the heels of Casablanca. This is note perfect, […]
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Day Fifteen: Love In the Afternoon
July 14th, 2011 · No Comments · 1957, Adaptation, Audrey Hepburn, Claude Anet, Gary Cooper, IAL Diamond, John McGiver, Love in the Afternoon, Maurice Chevalier
Billy Wilder’s fifteenth movie, Love in the Afternoon, starring Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn, was released in 1957. Billy was 51 years old. First, a few comments: 1. Maurice Chevalier has always given me the creeps. Anyone who can sing a song like, “Thank Heaven For Little Girls” (from Gigi, 1958) while gazing with a […]
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You can call me Billy. But don't expect me to answer to that.