FBG Movie Club: DotM: Billy Wilder (1 Viewer)

[Ilov80s]

And I just looked at the results of the streaming options for people and saw 1 vote for Kanopy, so @Andy Dufresne - you might like that doc if you didn't see it.

I do have access to Kanopy, I just forgot. I was just at my library and saw a big poster for it and was like “oh yeah duh”

 

[Ilov80s]

Jack Benny is someone who's not spoken about today but he was a superstar in his day and a very funny comedian. Mel Brooks remade To Be or Not To Be in the 80s but this is the version you want.

My local NPR station plays 4 hours of old time radio every Sunday evening, and they'll occasionally play Jack Benny episodes. The current host seems to have taken it upon himself to apologize to the listeners ahead of time for the 'racist' portrayal of Rochester. Makes me feel like this guy (an aging boomer who actually grew up listening to these shows) has no clue about what he's listening to. The fact that Benny even had a black character with regular speaking lines was bold, but that wasn't the end of it; Rochester was on equal footing with the rest of the cast regarding quality one-liners and the character had his own life outside his job, which he would occasionally talk about. Instead of highlighting how Benny pushed civil rights forward in his own way, this NPR show would rather lump him in with all the other racists that ruled the airwaves than lift him up as a forward-thinking agent of change.

What also doesn't get talked about with Jack Benny is how he passed his TV show time slot (and audience) into the hands of the Smothers Brothers, who really turned up the dial of social justice/awareness to eleven. Even at Jack's stated age of 39 at the time, he must have been aware of what was coming from Tommy and Dickie. He knew their act, knew they were folk music-playing hippies in sheep's clothing. The last episode of his TV show was the first episode of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour; I can think of no stronger of an endorsement he could have made.

As a performer and superstar, Jack's mantra was 'give the guest stars the best lines.' I think that was his approach off camera/stage as well. Definitely not how it's done now.

Great post and I am with you. Mad Men is my favorite show ever and The Apartment is my favorite movie. The connection is unmistakable.

 

[Ilov80s]

Also Wilder is my favorite director. You would think I picked him for this month but it was mostly KP. I’ve seen 21 Wilder movies. Maybe I can track down Fedora or one of the other movies of his I haven’t seen. I think I’m going to start tonight with one of his early romances, A Foreign Affair starring Marlene Dietrich and Joan Arthur. That’s quite a love triangle to get caught in but the one weakness of the film is the lead John Lund is just not worthy of it.

 

[Charlie Steiner]

Jack Benny is someone who's not spoken about today but he was a superstar in his day and a very funny comedian. Mel Brooks remade To Be or Not To Be in the 80s but this is the version you want.

My local NPR station plays 4 hours of old time radio every Sunday evening, and they'll occasionally play Jack Benny episodes. The current host seems to have taken it upon himself to apologize to the listeners ahead of time for the 'racist' portrayal of Rochester. Makes me feel like this guy (an aging boomer who actually grew up listening to these shows) has no clue about what he's listening to. The fact that Benny even had a black character with regular speaking lines was bold, but that wasn't the end of it; Rochester was on equal footing with the rest of the cast regarding quality one-liners and the character had his own life outside his job, which he would occasionally talk about. Instead of highlighting how Benny pushed civil rights forward in his own way, this NPR show would rather lump him in with all the other racists that ruled the airwaves than lift him up as a forward-thinking agent of change.

What also doesn't get talked about with Jack Benny is how he passed his TV show time slot (and audience) into the hands of the Smothers Brothers, who really turned up the dial of social justice/awareness to eleven. Even at Jack's stated age of 39 at the time, he must have been aware of what was coming from Tommy and Dickie. He knew their act, knew they were folk music-playing hippies in sheep's clothing. The last episode of his TV show was the first episode of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour; I can think of no stronger of an endorsement he could have made.

As a performer and superstar, Jack's mantra was 'give the guest stars the best lines.' I think that was his approach off camera/stage as well. Definitely not how it's done now.

Great post and I am with you. Mad Men is my favorite show ever and The Apartment is my favorite movie. The connection is unmistakable.

Some of the things I learned from Mad Men references:

-The Rothko painting was created for the show, and that in real life, Rothko would have been outraged to learn someone like Bert Cooper had it hanging in his office.

-Haussner's Restaurant in Baltimore (where Don and Sal had dinner with the two stewardesses) actually existed and was as prestigious as they described.

-Not a reference per se, but the emcee of the awards banquet they went to when Duck Phillips got escorted out was Jennifer Anniston's father IRL.

 

[Eephus]

Hogan's Heroes (1965-1971)

I watched a bunch of episodes of Hogan's Heroes last year after watching Paul Schrader's Auto Focus (2002) about the life and death of Bob Crane who played Col. Hogan. The show was a comedic riff on Wilder's Stalag 17 (1953) with enough similarities that the authors of the original play sued the producers of Hogan. The initial jury found in favor of the playwrights but the decision was overturned by a federal judge.

The most striking similarities to Wilder's film were on the German side; both the movie and TV show featured a character named Sgt. Schultz and Werner Klemperer's Col. Klink was bald with a monocle like Otto Preminger's Col. von Scherbach. The Hogan character bore some similarities to William Holden's sardonic wheeler dealer in the play and film.

The show ran for 168 episodes over six seasons (58 days less than the actual war in Europe). It initially was a big hit but lost popularity as the national mood shifted and the 60s turned to the 70s and let's face it, there are only so many plotlines for characters stuck in a prison camp. The reruns are on heavy rotation on MeTV to this day. I don't think it's held up as well as some other 60s sitcoms but some of that may be the lack of nostalgia because I never watched it as a kid.

 

[squistion]

I also really liked Double Indemnity, didn't realize that was his. I think that's it.

I DVRed Witness for the Prosecution months ago, this will make me finally watch it

You are in for a treat and everyone who hasn't seen it should check out Witness For The Prosecution.

A courtroom drama that many people think was directed by Alfred Hitchcock (and when people would tell Hitch how much they enjoyed the film, he would say "Thank you!").

Stellar cast with Charles Laughton, Marlene Dietrich, Elsa Lanchester and Tyrone Power (in his last movie role). Wilder wrote the screen play, adapting the script from a play written by Agatha Christie (Christie said it was her favorite film adaptation of her work, although that was before Murder On The Orient Express had been made).

 

[Ilov80s]

As I think about Wilder, he’s endlessly quotable but the 2 lines he has that are probably most representative of his body of work are:


“If there’s anything I hate more than not being taken seriously, it’s being taken seriously.”

“If you’re going to tell people the truth, be funny or they will kill you.”



I think you can analyze all of his work through those two lenses.

 

[squistion]

I know Lubitsch is supporting director this month but To Be or Not To Be is a movie that holds up well. It's hard to find comedy in Nazi-occupied Poland, especially when this movie was made in 1942 but somehow they do.

Jack Benny is someone who's not spoken about today but he was a superstar in his day and a very funny comedian. Mel Brooks remade To Be or Not To Be in the 80s but this is the version you want.

Jack Benny is surprisingly good in a movie that blends drama and comedy.

I read an interview with Benny where he said that the expectations were that the film would be a blockbuster hit when they made it and reviews were great, but then co-star Carole Lombard was killed in a plane crash (while doing a war bond drive) and audiences did not want to see the film following her tragic death and it was a box office flop.

 

[The Man With No Name]

Also Wilder is my favorite director. You would think I picked him for this month but it was mostly KP. I’ve seen 21 Wilder movies. Maybe I can track down Fedora or one of the other movies of his I haven’t seen. I think I’m going to start tonight with one of his early romances, A Foreign Affair starring Marlene Dietrich and Joan Arthur. That’s quite a love triangle to get caught in but the one weakness of the film is the lead John Lund is just not worthy of it.

A Foreign Affair is on TCM February 14th

 

[Ilov80s]

Also Wilder is my favorite director. You would think I picked him for this month but it was mostly KP. I’ve seen 21 Wilder movies. Maybe I can track down Fedora or one of the other movies of his I haven’t seen. I think I’m going to start tonight with one of his early romances, A Foreign Affair starring Marlene Dietrich and Joan Arthur. That’s quite a love triangle to get caught in but the one weakness of the film is the lead John Lund is just not worthy of it.

A Foreign Affair is on TCM February 14th

Oh yeah would be smart to check out what Wilder movies might be on TCM this month!

 

[The Man With No Name]

Also Wilder is my favorite director. You would think I picked him for this month but it was mostly KP. I’ve seen 21 Wilder movies. Maybe I can track down Fedora or one of the other movies of his I haven’t seen. I think I’m going to start tonight with one of his early romances, A Foreign Affair starring Marlene Dietrich and Joan Arthur. That’s quite a love triangle to get caught in but the one weakness of the film is the lead John Lund is just not worthy of it.

A Foreign Affair is on TCM February 14th

Oh yeah would be smart to check out what Wilder movies might be on TCM this month!

14th - A Foreign Affair
18th - The Fortune Cookie
29th - Witness For the Prosecution

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Hogan's Heroes (1965-1971)

I watched a bunch of episodes of Hogan's Heroes last year after watching Paul Schrader's Auto Focus (2002) about the life and death of Bob Crane who played Col. Hogan. The show was a comedic riff on Wilder's Stalag 17 (1953) with enough similarities that the authors of the original play sued the producers of Hogan. The initial jury found in favor of the playwrights but the decision was overturned by a federal judge.

The most striking similarities to Wilder's film were on the German side; both the movie and TV show featured a character named Sgt. Schultz and Werner Klemperer's Col. Klink was bald with a monocle like Otto Preminger's Col. von Scherbach. The Hogan character bore some similarities to William Holden's sardonic wheeler dealer in the play and film.

The show ran for 168 episodes over six seasons (58 days less than the actual war in Europe). It initially was a big hit but lost popularity as the national mood shifted and the 60s turned to the 70s and let's face it, there are only so many plotlines for characters stuck in a prison camp. The reruns are on heavy rotation on MeTV to this day. I don't think it's held up as well as some other 60s sitcoms but some of that may be the lack of nostalgia because I never watched it as a kid.

It's too bad about Bob Crane. He had a great career going, from his early start as a drummer, to "King of the Los Angeles airways" at KNX as a morning DJ, to acting in both drama and comedic roles.

Trivia: Richard Dawson was his best man at his second wedding, which took place on the set of Hogan's Heroes.

 

[Keith R]

Interesting choice. Not one I would have considered, though I did like The Apartment. Nevertheless, I'm in

This post interested me. With the bolded did you mean you didn't expect Wilder as a selection, you wouldn't consider it because you don't like his movies besides The Apartment, or something else?

Moreso that there were many, many other directors that would have come to mind first, probably because he was from a long ago era. Not saying it was a bad choice at all.

We have a pretty good idea what we are doing for March, April, May, June, July, September, and November so far.

October is noticeably omitted. I would think the debate is between John Carpenter and Wes Craven

Eli Roth has a new movie out this year!

Is that Thanksgiving? The original trailer from Grindhouse was better

 

[KarmaPolice]

Interesting choice. Not one I would have considered, though I did like The Apartment. Nevertheless, I'm in

This post interested me. With the bolded did you mean you didn't expect Wilder as a selection, you wouldn't consider it because you don't like his movies besides The Apartment, or something else?

Moreso that there were many, many other directors that would have come to mind first, probably because he was from a long ago era. Not saying it was a bad choice at all.

We have a pretty good idea what we are doing for March, April, May, June, July, September, and November so far.

October is noticeably omitted. I would think the debate is between John Carpenter and Wes Craven

Eli Roth has a new movie out this year!

Is that Thanksgiving? The original trailer from Grindhouse was better

Worse - Borderlands. Another movie based on a video game.

 

[Ilov80s]

John Lund isn't bad in Foreign Affair but if this was Clark Gable, this could have been a classic. Lund just doesn't have the charm Gable has.

 

[Eephus]

It's too bad about Bob Crane. He had a great career going, from his early start as a drummer, to "King of the Los Angeles airways" at KNX as a morning DJ, to acting in both drama and comedic roles.

Crane brought an affable on-screen presence who was well-suited to light comedy. His success as Col. Hogan hurt his later career because he was unable to break the typecasting.

If Auto Focus is to be believed, he was also freaky deaky in the bedroom.

 

[Eephus]

Five Graves to Cairo (1943)

Wilder's second Hollywood feature as a director was this WWII spy thriller. Wilder was also credited for the screenplay along with long-time collaborator Charles Brackett. The script is based on a Hungarian play set on the Eastern front of WWI which has been moved to North Africa and updated to the current war.

The movie is set in a small Egyptian hotel that has been commandeered by German high command. Franchot Tone plays a British soldier masquerading as a German spy who uncovers a secret that will change the course of the campaign. A very young Anne Baxter plays a French hotel maid who wants the Germans to free her brother from a prison camp. One of Wilder's idols, the great director Erich von Stroheim plays the villain who the film identifies as the real-life Field Marshall Erwin Rommel. It's a questionable gimmick but von Stroheim sells the role regardless of the character's name.

Wilder does a good job of translating a stage play to film. Even though it's a single set drama, Wilder makes effective use of camera positioning and movement to create an illusion of space. The construction of the script is like screenwriting 101; every prop, character tic and detail introduced early on has a payoff later in the film. The movie moves briskly and uses of a couple of comedic supporting characters to keep things light in spite of the high wartime stakes. There's a rather extraneous coda that shows how the spy's mission led directly to the Allies' victory but it's a 1943 film based on events in late 1942 so some propaganda is to be expected.

It's an entertaining movie that would probably have a greater reputation today if it had a little more star power. Tone and Baxter are adequate in their roles but what might have been if they'd been able to get Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman as originally intended. Quentin Tarantino is one of the movie's admirers; he put it on a personal top ten list in 2008, probably in part because he was shooting Inglorious Basterds at the time. If you squint you can see the connection.

There's a good print in the Internet Archive.

 

[Shrugs]

I have posters for Ninotchka and The Apartment up in my apartment. To me, Ninotchka is Lubitch’s best film and Garbo’s best role.

 

[KarmaPolice]

What I have found in the last couple days is that my memory is garbage, and I have tackled more Wilder movies than I thought. I popped in Sabrina and realized I have in fact watched that one after seeing the opening scene. 0 clue why, but I seem to blur that movie with Roman Holiday and Charade.

Instead I pivoted to The Fortune Cookie. WTF? This one was also familiar. I looked on the board and saw a post that I was going to watch it about 3 years ago, but no follow up. I am guessing I fell asleep because I remembered the opening and very end, but nothing else. Overall, I am glad I fully watched it. Lemmon and Matthau are great as usual, and work so well together. Still some good laughs and sarcasm that I gravitate to, but I would say it's tier 2 or 3 Wilder from what I've seen. IMO it would have been improved if it was a tad shorter, and it was more just with those 2 scheming. I didn't like the ex-wife much at all and thought the scenes with her mostly could have been eliminated. Overall, a good start to the month though.

 

[KarmaPolice]

That is several times Ninotchka has been been brought up now, so that has been moved up to the top of the queue. I've never heard of it, so I KNOW I haven't watched that one. Pretty sure I've never seen any Lubitsch movies as well.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

What I have found in the last couple days is that my memory is garbage, and I have tackled more Wilder movies than I thought. I popped in Sabrina and realized I have in fact watched that one after seeing the opening scene. 0 clue why, but I seem to blur that movie with Roman Holiday and Charade.

Charade is a really fun movie.

 

[Eephus]

Instead I pivoted to The Fortune Cookie. WTF? This one was also familiar. I looked on the board and saw a post that I was going to watch it about 3 years ago, but no follow up. I am guessing I fell asleep because I remembered the opening and very end, but nothing else. Overall, I am glad I fully watched it. Lemmon and Matthau are great as usual, and work so well together. Still some good laughs and sarcasm that I gravitate to, but I would say it's tier 2 or 3 Wilder from what I've seen. IMO it would have been improved if it was a tad shorter, and it was more just with those 2 scheming. I didn't like the ex-wife much at all and thought the scenes with her mostly could have been eliminated. Overall, a good start to the month though.

Great shots of Cleveland Municipal Stadium

 

[KarmaPolice]

What I have found in the last couple days is that my memory is garbage, and I have tackled more Wilder movies than I thought. I popped in Sabrina and realized I have in fact watched that one after seeing the opening scene. 0 clue why, but I seem to blur that movie with Roman Holiday and Charade.

Charade is a really fun movie.

Roman Holiday is the one of those 3 I haven't gotten around to watching.

 

[Keith R]

Witness for the Prosecution

I had DVRed this months ago, and I understand this will be showing on TCM at the end of the month. Great writing adapted from a legendary source in Agatha Christie. I appreciated the time early in the film to develop the characters and the tone, which is full of witty dialogue. Then the story unfolds, patiently but not too slowly for my tastes. Each development kept me intrigued, while still building upon the early character interactions for moments of appreciated levity. But this film truly shines in its third act. No spoilers from me, other than to say this reminded me of a highly esteemed courtroom drama from the 1990s. In some ways, this is a simple film, but it has a lot of strengths and very few weaknesses. I would have to see more from Wilder to make any sweeping judgments about his work, but this gives me high expectations; I'm hoping to keep seeing witty dialogue, strong characters and natural story evolution.

 

[KarmaPolice]

What would make for a good Lubitsch/Wilder double feature?

I haven't seen either, but would To Be Or Not To Be pair well with One, Two, Three?

ETA: Besides just rhyming?

 

[Eephus]

What would make for a good Lubitsch/Wilder double feature?

I haven't seen either, but would To Be Or Not To Be pair well with One, Two, Three?

ETA: Besides just rhyming?

Ninotchka and One, Two, Three are thematically linked by Communism.

One, Two, Three is kind of manic, everybody runs around and yells a lot. I've never seen anything by Lubitsch with a lead that runs as hot as Cagney does in One, Two, Three.

 

[Ilov80s]

What would make for a good Lubitsch/Wilder double feature?

I haven't seen either, but would To Be Or Not To Be pair well with One, Two, Three?

ETA: Besides just rhyming?

Ninotchka and Foreign Affair. Both a rigid political female who falls in love and learns to relax and enjoy life. Plus lots of political elements

 

[waiver wire]

Witness for the Prosecution

I had DVRed this months ago, and I understand this will be showing on TCM at the end of the month. Great writing adapted from a legendary source in Agatha Christie. I appreciated the time early in the film to develop the characters and the tone, which is full of witty dialogue. Then the story unfolds, patiently but not too slowly for my tastes. Each development kept me intrigued, while still building upon the early character interactions for moments of appreciated levity. But this film truly shines in its third act. No spoilers from me, other than to say this reminded me of a highly esteemed courtroom drama from the 1990s. In some ways, this is a simple film, but it has a lot of strengths and very few weaknesses. I would have to see more from Wilder to make any sweeping judgments about his work, but this gives me high expectations; I'm hoping to keep seeing witty dialogue, strong characters and natural story evolution.

i watched this for the 1st time last month , it was a great movie. your write up is very close to my thoughts and i couldnt say it any better

 

[KarmaPolice]

What would make for a good Lubitsch/Wilder double feature?

I haven't seen either, but would To Be Or Not To Be pair well with One, Two, Three?

ETA: Besides just rhyming?

Ninotchka and Foreign Affair. Both a rigid political female who falls in love and learns to relax and enjoy life. Plus lots of political elements

Where did you find a copy? My library doesn't have it and I didn't see it streaming.

 

[Ilov80s]

What would make for a good Lubitsch/Wilder double feature?

I haven't seen either, but would To Be Or Not To Be pair well with One, Two, Three?

ETA: Besides just rhyming?

Ninotchka and Foreign Affair. Both a rigid political female who falls in love and learns to relax and enjoy life. Plus lots of political elements

Where did you find a copy? My library doesn't have it and I didn't see it streaming.

I own it on blu ray

 

[Don Quixote]

What would make for a good Lubitsch/Wilder double feature?

I haven't seen either, but would To Be Or Not To Be pair well with One, Two, Three?

ETA: Besides just rhyming?

Ninotchka and Foreign Affair. Both a rigid political female who falls in love and learns to relax and enjoy life. Plus lots of political elements

Where did you find a copy? My library doesn't have it and I didn't see it streaming.

Looks like Foreign Affair is on TCM on Valentine’s Day.

http://escapepress.com/tcmsched/FEB_AT_A_GLANCE.pdf

 

[Eephus]

I own it on blu ray

 

[Ilov80s]

I own it on blu ray

Yeah, my blu ray collection has gotten a little crazy. I love Billy Wilder so any time I see a movie of his on sale, I buy it.

 

[Mr. Mojo]

Witness for the Prosecution

I had DVRed this months ago, and I understand this will be showing on TCM at the end of the month. Great writing adapted from a legendary source in Agatha Christie. I appreciated the time early in the film to develop the characters and the tone, which is full of witty dialogue. Then the story unfolds, patiently but not too slowly for my tastes. Each development kept me intrigued, while still building upon the early character interactions for moments of appreciated levity. But this film truly shines in its third act. No spoilers from me, other than to say this reminded me of a highly esteemed courtroom drama from the 1990s. In some ways, this is a simple film, but it has a lot of strengths and very few weaknesses. I would have to see more from Wilder to make any sweeping judgments about his work, but this gives me high expectations; I'm hoping to keep seeing witty dialogue, strong characters and natural story evolution.

A friend recommended it to me about a year ago and it was very good.

 

[Ilov80s]

Witness for the Prosecution

I had DVRed this months ago, and I understand this will be showing on TCM at the end of the month. Great writing adapted from a legendary source in Agatha Christie. I appreciated the time early in the film to develop the characters and the tone, which is full of witty dialogue. Then the story unfolds, patiently but not too slowly for my tastes. Each development kept me intrigued, while still building upon the early character interactions for moments of appreciated levity. But this film truly shines in its third act. No spoilers from me, other than to say this reminded me of a highly esteemed courtroom drama from the 1990s. In some ways, this is a simple film, but it has a lot of strengths and very few weaknesses. I would have to see more from Wilder to make any sweeping judgments about his work, but this gives me high expectations; I'm hoping to keep seeing witty dialogue, strong characters and natural story evolution.

I would say if you had to nail down one hallmark of Wilder's work, it's the witty dialogue. He also does well at paying attention to even the minor characters.

I love Laughton in Witness for the Prosecution. He just crushes that role.

 

[Eephus]

The Front Page (1974)

Wilder reunited Lemmon and Matthau in his version of the classic 20s stage comedy by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. The play had already been filmed twice: in 1931 with Pat O'Brien and Adolphe Menjou and in 1940 as His Girl Friday starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. Wilder and frequent collaborator I.A.L. Diamond retained the original story but added their own dialog and a couple of new minor characters.

The setup is a bunch of newspapermen chasing the story of the execution of a cop killer in 1929 Chicago. Lemmon plays a reporter who wants to quit the business to get married and Matthau plays his scheming editor who wants Lemmon to stay on the job. The banter between Lemmon and Matthau is the best thing about the movie although Wilder gets a lot of mileage from a strong cast of character actors. Carol Burnett is miscast as a shreiking prostitute and Susan Sarandon plays Lemmon's fiancee in spite of being half his age.

I found Wilder's version of The Front Page kind of mid as the kids say. It's shot like a stage play with lots of long takes and minimal use of closeups but lacks the frantic energy that director Howard Hawks used to such great effect in His Girl Friday. Wilder's remake seems unnecessary and rather flat. He doesn't bring much of anything new to the material. Wilder had spent much of his career dancing around Hollywood censors with clever dialog meant to suggest sex but now freed from the constraints of the production code, the only thing he does in this project is to throw in some gratuitous cussing that seems out of place in a period piece.

 

[Charlie Steiner]

There was also a later version of The Front Page (wiki calls it a mash-up of The Front Page and His Girl Friday) made in 1988, Switching Channels, with Burt Reynolds and Kathleen Turner gender-swapped for Jack Lemmon's character, and Christopher Reeve as her fiancé. It flopped despite what I thought were decent performances by all involved.

 

[Eephus]

There was also a later version of The Front Page (wiki calls it a mash-up of The Front Page and His Girl Friday) made in 1988, Switching Channels, with Burt Reynolds and Kathleen Turner gender-swapped for Jack Lemmon's character, and Christopher Reeve as her fiancé. It flopped despite what I thought were decent performances by all involved.

Switching Channels is streaming on Tubi. I might give it a watch this month. Reynolds was a great admirer of Cary Grant and I'm curious about how he played Grant's character from His Girl Friday.

The original Front Page and His Girl Friday have been in the public domain for many years. There are lots of copies of them floating around but there's a very nice restored print of the 1931 version on HBO Max.

The copyright on the original play expired on New Year's Day so you're free to do a remake starring the Steamboat Willie versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse if you like.

 

[Charlie Steiner]

There was also a later version of The Front Page (wiki calls it a mash-up of The Front Page and His Girl Friday) made in 1988, Switching Channels, with Burt Reynolds and Kathleen Turner gender-swapped for Jack Lemmon's character, and Christopher Reeve as her fiancé. It flopped despite what I thought were decent performances by all involved.

Switching Channels is streaming on Tubi. I might give it a watch this month. Reynolds was a great admirer of Cary Grant and I'm curious about how he played Grant's character from His Girl Friday.

The original Front Page and His Girl Friday have been in the public domain for many years. There are lots of copies of them floating around but there's a very nice restored print of the 1931 version on HBO Max.

The copyright on the original play expired on New Year's Day so you're free to do a remake starring the Steamboat Willie versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse if you like.

It's been a long time since I've seen it, but I'm pretty sure you have to be a fan of the actors, as they all pretty much do their own things. The biggest difference between Reynolds' performance in this and Smokey and the Bandit is the lack of car and cowboy hat, Kathleen Turner was channeling her boss babe character from Romancing the Stone, and Christopher Reeve was doing his best Clark Kent sans Superman. On the bright side, they and the supporting cast that includes Ned Beatty and the underrated Heny Gibson do turn in enjoyable performances.

 

[Ilov80s]

Foreign Affair

As I mentioned before, John Lund just doesn't quite have the juice to make the most of this movie. Marlene Dietrich has the juice for sure. She's someone that just jumps off the screen- even here at 46-47 years old. Jean Arthur is one of the best comedic actresses to ever make movies and sadly underappreciated today. She is great in this even though it's pretty much the end of her career. She's in her late 40s, making her first movie in 4 years and she would only make one more film (Shane five years later). So while this isn't the peak 1930s era Dietrich and Arhtur, Lund still can't quite keep up. Also, in an interesting twist, Lund was in his mid 30s here so it's an odd Hollywood movie where the much older romantic leads are the women and it's a younger man going after them. Wilder has a few movies where the romantic leads are quite far apart in age and while it's often a younger woman, it's not always. If Lund was replaced with a prime Clark Gable, I think this movie is considered a 2nd or 3rd tier Hollywood classic. Lund sort of looks like Gable and tries to bring the energy Gable brought in movies like It Happened One Night. But he's just not Gable. Though at this point, I don't think Gable was Gable. By all accounts, when the love of his life, actress Carole Lombard died in a plane crash in 1942, Clark Gable never recovered. He quickly aged, was plagued by alcoholism and depression. So this might be a case where Lund really was the best option available at the time.

Despite the focus on that one casting element, I highly recommend the movie. It's a post WW2 rom-com with charm, fun characters and a lot of wit. One of Billy Wilder's signatures is that his comedies are quite serious and his dramas are quite funny. He always balances the 2. So while this is a love triangle, it's also a love triangle involving a former NAZI and a member of Congress. It's set in a bombed out Berlin. While all the jokes and romancing are taking place, poverty, destruction and desperation are the driving factors for the German people while an opportunity to take advantage of their misfortune seems to drive the Americans. If none of the romance or comedy works for you, all the footage actually filmed in Berlin makes this a significant historical document. I believe only the Rosselini War Trilogy does a better job of capturing the plight of the people and annihilation of the land that WW2 brought to Europe.

 

[Eephus]

Arise My Love (1938)

Wilder and Charles Brackett wrote the screenplay in 1939-40 as Europe was engulfed in WWII. The script had to be rewritten during production to incorporate real-world events like the sinking of the S.S. Athenia and the fall of France. Did I mention it's a romantic comedy?

Claudette Colbert stars as a journalist who starts the movie by talking her way into a Spanish prison to rescue Ray Milland, a flyer who had served with a foreign squadron in the Spanish Civil War. She does it to get a story and advance her career but of course their complicated relationship eventually turns to love. There's a war going on and the problems of two people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Their romantic getaway to a country inn is interrupted by the invasion of Poland which jeopardizes her job because she's supposed to be reporting from Berlin. They try to flee to normalcy in the States but their ship is torpedoed out from under them which allows her to get another big scoop and resurrect her career. The couple splits with Milland going off to fly fighters for the Allies but he's shot down again which leads to a reunion just as France surrenders. The movie closes with an impassioned anti-isolationist plea from Colbert which was a bit of a contentious position in 1940 America.

I remembered Arise My Love fondly from seeing it a long time ago but it's not as good as I remembered it. Colbert has a bunch of contradictory character swings to suit the plot and the couple's wisecracks as the world burns sometimes seem very forced. It lacks the usual collection of supporting players to add comedic color with only Walter Abel as Colbert's long-suffering editor to play off of. Wilder feuded with the film's director Mitchell Leisen during shooting and later dismissed him as a "stupid fairy". Preston Sturges also went into directing after being similarly dissatisfied with Leisen's work on his script for Remember the Night. Leisen was a well regarded in-house director at Paramount in his day but his most enduring achievement may be to have pushed two masters of movie comedy into direction.

 

[The Man With No Name]

Just noticed one I haven't seen, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, is available on Prime https://www.amazon.com/Private-Sher...MIhYOv246VhAMV4GZHAR32zgTuEAQYASABEgKKkfD_BwE

 

[Ilov80s]

Just noticed one I haven't seen, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, is available on Prime https://www.amazon.com/Private-Sher...MIhYOv246VhAMV4GZHAR32zgTuEAQYASABEgKKkfD_BwE

It's pretty good- has subtle gay subtext to it which was pretty bold for the story. I guess the original cut was over 3 hours with several cases and prologues that got cut. I wonder if they are totally lost or if there is a chance there is ever a reassembled cut? Sounds like if Wilder was doing this today, it would have been a miniseries.

 

[KarmaPolice]

The Shop Around the Corner

This was the movie hinted at that covered all the categories for "influences". I just loved this movie. Yeah, I've seen the Hanks/Ryan remake before knowing about this movie which is a reason I was dragging my feet a little watching this. My enjoyment of the movie had a lot to do with it's ability to still surprise me with the plot and humor. One thing that strikes me is how dark many of the classics I see get (Mr. Matuschek's subplot). It makes perfect sense, considering what the world was going through in 1940. As far as the funny, what really got me was the running gags - Pirovtch ducking out and the cigarette box. On top of that were the barbs back and forth and the looks from Jimmy. I'm trying to be vague so not to spoil it for anybody else who might to a first time watch.

The slight negatives were that I didn't fully love the female lead. Not sure who would have been better at that time, and I am sure some of it is my love of Jimmy Stewart and part was how she was written. I thought she was just a little too mean. I think that eroded a little at my desire for them to get together at the end. I thought the ending felt slightly abrupt and ended on a weird call back. Again, nitpicks - I really loved this movie. At least an 8.5/10 rating.

I see why it's on Wilder's list of all-timers and it was a slam dunk case for how he is connected to Lubitsch. All the things that come to mind when I think of most of the Wilder movies I've seen so far were front and center here: great laughs, great side characters, an undercurrent of darkness, and heart. I'm so glad I decided to squeeze this one in last night as I wait for tonight's movie to get shipped.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I own it on blu ray

Yeah, my blu ray collection has gotten a little crazy. I love Billy Wilder so any time I see a movie of his on sale, I buy it.

Well, now we both own it. That's the movie that was getting shipped since I saw it was on sale for $15. I got Ninotchka from the library today as well, so the plan is to watch that first tonight and maybe do a true double feature with A Foreign Affair. If not, I will watch it on my day off tomorrow.

 

[Ilov80s]

I own it on blu ray

Yeah, my blu ray collection has gotten a little crazy. I love Billy Wilder so any time I see a movie of his on sale, I buy it.

Well, now we both own it. That's the movie that was getting shipped since I saw it was on sale for $15. I got Ninotchka from the library today as well, so the plan is to watch that first tonight and maybe do a true double feature with A Foreign Affair. If not, I will watch it on my day off tomorrow.

Ok good, now I'm not the only member of dork city lol

 

[Ilov80s]

The Shop Around the Corner

This was the movie hinted at that covered all the categories for "influences". I just loved this movie. Yeah, I've seen the Hanks/Ryan remake before knowing about this movie which is a reason I was dragging my feet a little watching this. My enjoyment of the movie had a lot to do with it's ability to still surprise me with the plot and humor. One thing that strikes me is how dark many of the classics I see get (Mr. Matuschek's subplot). It makes perfect sense, considering what the world was going through in 1940. As far as the funny, what really got me was the running gags - Pirovtch ducking out and the cigarette box. On top of that were the barbs back and forth and the looks from Jimmy. I'm trying to be vague so not to spoil it for anybody else who might to a first time watch.

The slight negatives were that I didn't fully love the female lead. Not sure who would have been better at that time, and I am sure some of it is my love of Jimmy Stewart and part was how she was written. I thought she was just a little too mean. I think that eroded a little at my desire for them to get together at the end. I thought the ending felt slightly abrupt and ended on a weird call back. Again, nitpicks - I really loved this movie. At least an 8.5/10 rating.

I see why it's on Wilder's list of all-timers and it was a slam dunk case for how he is connected to Lubitsch. All the things that come to mind when I think of most of the Wilder movies I've seen so far were front and center here: great laughs, great side characters, an undercurrent of darkness, and heart. I'm so glad I decided to squeeze this one in last night as I wait for tonight's movie to get shipped.

Agreed, Margaret Sullavan rubs me the wrong way for some reason. Not just in this movie but in general. She was reportedly very mean in real life. A bully who frightened a lot of people in Hollywood. She's fine in the movie and many people love her performance here but it's the weak spot for me. What I do love is the cast of supporting characters. That's something I think Wilder really took from Lubistch. No wasted parts, no wasted roles. No matter how small.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I own it on blu ray

Yeah, my blu ray collection has gotten a little crazy. I love Billy Wilder so any time I see a movie of his on sale, I buy it.

Well, now we both own it. That's the movie that was getting shipped since I saw it was on sale for $15. I got Ninotchka from the library today as well, so the plan is to watch that first tonight and maybe do a true double feature with A Foreign Affair. If not, I will watch it on my day off tomorrow.

Ok good, now I'm not the only member of dork city lol

Nope, I have also noticed my bluray buying gaining steam. On rewatches I will poke at some special features, so I still prefer this mode over streaming, plus I don't have to risk our dumb internet flaking out. What I had planned on starting is buying 1 movie each month from the director of the month. I counted Schindler's for my month 1 even though it was a Christmas gift. The main reason for that is I noticed I only had Double Indemnity from Wilder (the Criterion 4K) and thought I'd like to get 2-3 from him instead. Not sure what else I will get - it looks like The Apartment is the only other 4k at the moment.

@Andy Dufresne or others - can you recommend a website that might show upcoming 4k releases? One reason I don't buy more is I get annoyed when I get something and the 4k comes out a few months later.

 

[KarmaPolice]

The Shop Around the Corner

This was the movie hinted at that covered all the categories for "influences". I just loved this movie. Yeah, I've seen the Hanks/Ryan remake before knowing about this movie which is a reason I was dragging my feet a little watching this. My enjoyment of the movie had a lot to do with it's ability to still surprise me with the plot and humor. One thing that strikes me is how dark many of the classics I see get (Mr. Matuschek's subplot). It makes perfect sense, considering what the world was going through in 1940. As far as the funny, what really got me was the running gags - Pirovtch ducking out and the cigarette box. On top of that were the barbs back and forth and the looks from Jimmy. I'm trying to be vague so not to spoil it for anybody else who might to a first time watch.

The slight negatives were that I didn't fully love the female lead. Not sure who would have been better at that time, and I am sure some of it is my love of Jimmy Stewart and part was how she was written. I thought she was just a little too mean. I think that eroded a little at my desire for them to get together at the end. I thought the ending felt slightly abrupt and ended on a weird call back. Again, nitpicks - I really loved this movie. At least an 8.5/10 rating.

I see why it's on Wilder's list of all-timers and it was a slam dunk case for how he is connected to Lubitsch. All the things that come to mind when I think of most of the Wilder movies I've seen so far were front and center here: great laughs, great side characters, an undercurrent of darkness, and heart. I'm so glad I decided to squeeze this one in last night as I wait for tonight's movie to get shipped.

Agreed, Margaret Sullavan rubs me the wrong way for some reason. Not just in this movie but in general. She was reportedly very mean in real life. A bully who frightened a lot of people in Hollywood. She's fine in the movie and many people love her performance here but it's the weak spot for me. What I do love is the cast of supporting characters. That's something I think Wilder really took from Lubistch. No wasted parts, no wasted roles. No matter how small.

That's interesting about Sullavan. You are saying maybe it was a bit of her natural personality bubbling up, maybe making the meanness of the interactions stick out even more? I struggled with her character after the pivotal diner scene. Like I was mentally telling Jimmy to stay away. I was thinking about what I remember of Meg Ryan's role in the remake and was imagining her instead and how that would work with Jimmy in this movie.

 

[Ilov80s]

Stalag 17

I didn't realize this would be such a good pairing with A Foreign Affair. Now it's certainly not for the romance. I don't think Stalag 17 has a single speaking role for a woman the closest we get to romance is an obsession with Betty Grable. Where they do connect is the World War 2 element. How do we take something deathly serious and make it funny? That's the Wilder specialty. Stalag 17 is maybe 80% successful for me. It certainly establishes the stakes: life or death. Yet, it also plays like a sitcom with goofy Cary Grant impressions, a doofy German officer and a guy named Animal who feels like he felt out of Delta Tau Chi in Animal House. I don't think it all totally works. William Holden is good but not sure why he got the Oscar for Best Actor. Using director Otto Preminger as the NAZI Colonel in charge is a genies stroke though. I liked Stalag 17 a lot more the first time I saw it. I think I was really into the mystery of who the rat is and the ingenuity of the Americans to hide their plotting the first time through. On re-watches, those elements aren't as intriguing and the characters seem a little too silly in spots.