S2:E10 The Great Billy Wilder!

Billy Wilder: A Special

This week we are talking about the life and work of our favorite director, Billy Wilder. Listen to our stories and insights on the podcast episode above. In the meantime, here are some fun facts and some of the movies we discuss! And scroll to the bottom for the pix promised!

The Movies

First, arguably the best movie made about Hollywood, Sunset Blvd. Wilder nailed the dreams and the cruelty of the movie business from the POV of the writer, the has-been star, and the wide-eyed newcomer. There are themes (like agism) that were rarely explored before in film. And oh the characters! We love this movie so much, we even named our cats Norma and Max!

annex-swanson-gloria-sunset-boulevard_nrfpt_09 – Once upon a screen… — Wilder (center) on set with Cecil B DeMille and Gloria Swanson

Sunset Boulevard (1950) – The Movie Crash Course — Norma and Joe

The iconic pool scene… practical FX… done with mirrors.

As promised… the Vicuna.

Double Indemnity is one of the best Film Noir movies ever and one of the best, if not THE best femme fatale played by Barbara Stanwyck. Walter Neff is probably Fred MacMurray‘s best role. And let’s not forget the great Edward G. Robinson and his “little man.”

In one scene Phyllis hides behind the door. Except front doors don’t open outward, unless Billy Wilder wants them too!

Wilder directs Stanwyck and MacMurray in the famous grocery scene.

The Lost Weekend held the top spot drunk movie, probably ’til Leaving Las Vegas. (unless you count The Days of Wine and Roses)

Things get worse for Ray Milland in The Lost Weekend

The Apartment – Maybe the best “Rom-Com” ever. Or maybe what they’d call, today, a “dramedy.” Starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray, The Apartment is funny for sure but goes to some dark places. It’s also a great pick for Mad Men fans and anybody loves Fred MacMurray when he is a cad!

Shirley MacLaine as Fran Kubelik the elevator operator and Jack Lemmon as C.C. Baxter, the office drone with the most popular set of keys in town.

Stalag 17 is one of the best POW movies ever made. Wilder found humor in what was for him the darkest and most life-changing chapter of his life. Guess that’s why Hogan’s Heroes stole the idea! But it is a ruthless story too. Nazi’s get no mercy.

William Holden is back. But is he a Nazi?

Wilder put together an hilarious supporting cast

Wilder directing “Nazis” including Otto Preminger

Witness For the Prosecution is a “who-done-it,” a court drama, and a departure even for Wilder. Starring a director in his own right Charles Laughton, his real life wife Elsa Lanchester, Tyrone Power and Marlene Dietrich.

Was it his Nazi era war bride with a shady past?

The Seven Year Itch Wilder was great at creating iconic scenes and this movie features one of the most famous. It’s one of Marilyn Monroe‘s best comedic roles, but Tom Ewell is the real star, reprising his role from the Broadway play.

And Wilder directing it.
(Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Wilder paired Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine again for Irma La Douce. Beats the hell outta Pretty Woman when it comes to hooker Rom-Coms! Odd that the trailer is animated until 2:50, maybe bc of the racy material since one of the best things about the movie is the technicolor!!

This time he’s a cop and she’s a hooker… and they’re French!!!

And Wilder doing double duty as animal wrangler!

Maybe the most enduring of Wilder’s films with the general public is Some Like It Hot. Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Joe E. Brown are at the top of their comedic game. And who can resist a movie that starts with the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and turns into a cross-dressing comedy with Marilyn Monroe?