Billy Wilder’s twenty-seventh movie, Buddy Buddy, starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, was released in 1981. Billy was 75 years old. With Buddy Buddy, Billy Wilder’s directorial career ended not with a whimper, but with a wretch. Buddy Buddy is the story of a hitman (Matthau) trying to do one last job before retiring. A […]
Entries Tagged as 'Adaptation'
Day Twenty Seven: Buddy Buddy
July 26th, 2011 · No Comments · 1981, Adaptation, Buddy Buddy, Francis Veber, Jack Lemmon, Klaus Kinski, Paula Prentiss, Walter Matthau
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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
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 […]
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Day Twenty Four: Avanti!
July 23rd, 2011 · No Comments · 1972, Adaptation, Avanti, Clive Revill, Edward Andrews, Italy, Jack Lemmon, Juliet Mills, Nude Scene
Billy Wilder’s twenty-fourth movie, Avanti!, starring Jack Lemmon and Juliet Mills, was released in 1972. Billy was 66 years old. Avanti! is the story of a brusque American executive (Lemmon) who must travel to Italy to pick up the body of his father who passed away unexpectedly. There, he discovers that his father died in […]
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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 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 Twenty: Irma la Douce
July 19th, 2011 · No Comments · 1963, Academy Award, Adaptation, Alexandre Breffort, Bruce Yarnell, Grace Lee Whitney, Herschel Bernardi, Howard McNear, Irma la Douce, Jack Lemmon, Lou Jacobi, Paris, Shirley MacLaine
Billy Wilder’s twentieth movie, Irma la Douce, starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley Maclaine, was released in 1963. Billy was 57 years old. Once again, Billy’s directorial output takes a turn — this time for the better. It’s possible this is a better movie than the one that preceded it (One, Two, Three, starring James Cagney) […]
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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 Sixteen: Witness For the Prosecution
July 15th, 2011 · No Comments · 1957, Adaptation, Agatha Christie, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester, Harry Kurnitz, Larry Marcus, Tyrone Power, Una O'Connor, Witness For the Prosecution
Billy Wilder’s sixteenth movie, Witness For the Prosecution, starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, and Elsa Lanchester, was released in 1957. Billy was 51 years old. After watching The Spirit of 76 and Love in the Afternoon — two of Billy Wilder’s weaker movies — Witness For the Prosecution looks like an Academy-Award winner. […]
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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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Day Fourteen: The Spirit of St. Louis
July 13th, 2011 · No Comments · 1957, Adaptation, Charles Lindbergh, Jimmy Stewart, Spirit of St Louis
Billy Wilder’s fourteenth movie, The Spirit of St. Louis,The Spirit of St. Louis, starring James Stewart, was released in in 1957. Billy was 51 years old. Principle Cast: Charles Augustus ‘Slim’ Lindbergh…………………………….James Stewart I don’t know what to say about this movie. For one thing, Lucky Lindy was 25 when he made his famous solo […]
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You can call me Billy. But don't expect me to answer to that.