27 Days With Billy Wilder And Me

Every Movie He Directed…From Mauvaise Graine to Buddy Buddy

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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

Irma la DouceBilly 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) because the actors are better in Irma la Douce. Jack Lemmon is always a joy to behold. And Shirley MacLaine is cute as a button. But it’s equally as possible the reason I enjoy Irma la Douce more than One, two, Three is because these characters aren’t shouting every single line.

Written by Wilder and I.A.L.Diamond, Irma la Douce is based on the play by Alexandre Breffort and is the story of an ex cop (Lemmon) in Paris who falls in love with a prostitute (MacLaine) — with all the ensuing challenges that inevitably follow.

It’s nice to see Lemmon and MacLaine together again. They had great chemistry in The Apartment (1960), and they have terrific in this film.

André Previn won an Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of Music, Adaptation or Treatment.

Principle Cast:
Nestor Patou / Lord X………………………………Jack Lemmon (1925–2001)
Irma La Douce…………………………………………Shirley MacLaine (1934- )
Moustache……………………………………………….Lou Jacobi (1913-2009)
Hippolyte………………………………………………..Bruce Yarnell (1935-1973)
Insp. Lefevre…………………………………………..Herschel Bernardi (1923-1986)
Kiki the Cossack………………………………………..Grace Lee Whitney (1930- )
Concierge………………………………………………..Howard McNear (1905-1969)

I was surprised by two familiar faces: Howard McNear, who played (brilliantly) Floyd the Barber on The Andy Griffith Show, and Grace Lee Whitney, who played Yeoman Rand on Star Trek.

Irma la Douce is a surprisingly good movie. Again, it may be because the previous movie was so awful. But I think it’s a pleasant, quirky, sweet little movie in its own right.

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