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

[Ilov80s]

I watched Past Lives because I like my Tuesday Night New Release theme, even when doing these director projects. What I wanted was more of a rom/com that was heavier on laughs, but they all looked pretty bad to me last night. Closest was the Jennifer Lawrence one, but I thought Past Lives sounded like a better use of my 2 hours last night.

Weds are Hump day rewatches, so I think I will ask the Mrs. what her favorite romantic comedy is and watch. She hates me asking that stuff usually, so I might have to figure out what my favorites are instead. .

The new JLaw movie is ok. It's heavy on the comedy and pretty raunchy. Something we don't see much these days so that made it feel kind of unique.

 

[Ilov80s]

Enough Said

This was real good. Gandolfini was awesome, didn't feel any of Tony Soprano in his performance. Julia Louis Dreyfus was such a heel though. I mean not telling the 2 people for that long- yikes that is pretty tough to forgive. It actually gave it a very Seinfeld like quality. Something George would do. The dialogue was excellent and all the characters felt real, left an impact on the movie. In those regards, it felt very Billy Wilder. Where it differed from Wilder is the lack of Hollywood touch. Wilder always put a certain touch of elegance and class into his films. This intentionally goes for a very different approach. It worked real well. Also I liked the references to old tv shows (probably some subtle nods I missed too) that also felt very Wilder as he loved to give a nod to the movies whether it's Jack Lemmon watching Grand Hotel in The Apartment, the casting of Otto Preminger in Stalag 17 or all the classic Hollywood figures inhabiting Sunset Blvd. I definitely recommend Enough Said to any fans of Gandolfini or JLD.

 

[Ilov80s]

What's a Wilder month without a Lubitsch film? I saw That Uncertain Feeling is streaming on Prime and it's one I haven't seen. Looks like it was a flop in 1941 when it came out- a disappointment wedged between two classics (The Shop Around the Corner and To Be or Not To Be). We shall see but the premise doesn't seem bad: a married woman sees a psychoanalyst and develops doubts about her husband. The cast of Melvyn Douglas, Merle Oberon and Burgess Meredith certainly has potential. I find Melvyn Douglas incredibly charming in these kind of roles.

 

[Ilov80s]

That Uncertain Feeling

Pretty good, certainly not at all a flop. I don't know about Burgess Meredith here. It's really hard to believe he's the guy stealing Merle Oberon from Melvyn Douglas. It's also kind of hard to buy Douglas as a boring, insurance selling husband. The casting is just a little off somehow. The set-up is fine. It's maybe somehow too screwy but not screwy enough to be a screwball comedy. Lubitsch brings on some fantastic supporting players (a very young Eve Arden, Harry Davenport, Alan Mowbray, Sig Ruman). They are all fantastic- could have used more of them honestly. I am just not sure about the 3 leads here. There is some sparkling dialogue though. Sadly, the version on Prime isn't great quality either. This is far from a must see but certainly isn't a musn't see. Ultimately, I would suggest people just watch The Awful Truth instead. That's the A version of this movie.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Last night I ended up on Notting Hill and Some Like It Hot.

My wife didn't answer me at first, so I was thinking of ones that I love and I thought she might. Annoyingly, the first 5-6 weren't streaming so I landed on a Notting Hill rewatch. I gravitate to the Richard Curtis movies in general, but after a rewatch here I would say that over time Notting Hill and Love Actually haven't held up as much as Four Weddings. I also think About Time is the best of the bunch. We both agreed we still like Notting Hill, but also were also both left a little cold after the watch. I think what it is for me is that Julia's character is really inconsistent and hard to really like overall.

We ended up talking a little about some favorites. A lot of stuff were movies that blur the lines of romantic comedy and might not be ones I initially might think of. Wedding Singer is one we both love. Does Princess Bride count? Eternal Sunshine? Groundhog Day? We agreed on a few Curtis movies, but I don't think I've seen Bridget Jones and she didn't think she's seen About Time so we will fix that soon. I also freaked out that she said she didn't think she's seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall, so that will also be corrected soon.

Anyway, Some Like it Hot was because that is probably my favorite Wilder movie and another that popped into my head when I was thinking about my favorites of the genre. I guess that means it should probably be the 4k that I get for the month.

 

[Ilov80s]

Last night I ended up on Notting Hill and Some Like It Hot.

My wife didn't answer me at first, so I was thinking of ones that I love and I thought she might. Annoyingly, the first 5-6 weren't streaming so I landed on a Notting Hill rewatch. I gravitate to the Richard Curtis movies in general, but after a rewatch here I would say that over time Notting Hill and Love Actually haven't held up as much as Four Weddings. I also think About Time is the best of the bunch. We both agreed we still like Notting Hill, but also were also both left a little cold after the watch. I think what it is for me is that Julia's character is really inconsistent and hard to really like overall.

We ended up talking a little about some favorites. A lot of stuff were movies that blur the lines of romantic comedy and might not be ones I initially might think of. Wedding Singer is one we both love. Does Princess Bride count? Eternal Sunshine? Groundhog Day? We agreed on a few Curtis movies, but I don't think I've seen Bridget Jones and she didn't think she's seen About Time so we will fix that soon. I also freaked out that she said she didn't think she's seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall, so that will also be corrected soon.

Anyway, Some Like it Hot was because that is probably my favorite Wilder movie and another that popped into my head when I was thinking about my favorites. I guess that means it should probably be the 4k that I get for the month.

So you enjoyed another watch of Some Like It Hot? Did your wife watch?

 

[Don Quixote]

Last night I ended up on Notting Hill and Some Like It Hot.

My wife didn't answer me at first, so I was thinking of ones that I love and I thought she might. Annoyingly, the first 5-6 weren't streaming so I landed on a Notting Hill rewatch. I gravitate to the Richard Curtis movies in general, but after a rewatch here I would say that over time Notting Hill and Love Actually haven't held up as much as Four Weddings. I also think About Time is the best of the bunch. We both agreed we still like Notting Hill, but also were also both left a little cold after the watch. I think what it is for me is that Julia's character is really inconsistent and hard to really like overall.

We ended up talking a little about some favorites. A lot of stuff were movies that blur the lines of romantic comedy and might not be ones I initially might think of. Wedding Singer is one we both love. Does Princess Bride count? Eternal Sunshine? Groundhog Day? We agreed on a few Curtis movies, but I don't think I've seen Bridget Jones and she didn't think she's seen About Time so we will fix that soon. I also freaked out that she said she didn't think she's seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall, so that will also be corrected soon.

Anyway, Some Like it Hot was because that is probably my favorite Wilder movie and another that popped into my head when I was thinking about my favorites of the genre. I guess that means it should probably be the 4k that I get for the month.

“Some Like It Hot” one of my favorites.

I’ve posted in a couple of threads about an online trivia site that I’m a part of. One of my best efforts was a Some Like It Hot trivia, where I got 12/12 right. Finished second in points to someone who was a two-time Jeopardy champ because he slightly allocated difficulty points a bit better than me. Questions below for anyone interested. Will give some time for any guesses before providing answers.

1. Four years before he picked Marilyn Monroe for the role of Sugar Kane, Billy Wilder directed her in what film, known best of all for a scene with a certain billowing dress?

2. When the funeral parlor speakeasy is busted at the beginning of the film, Jerry and Joe get tipped off to the raid moments before it happens when Jerry sees Agent Mulligan poking a hole in what with his federal agent badge?

3. When Josephine and Daphne see Sugar for the first time, Daphne marvels at Sugar's ability to walk effortlessly despite her shape (and in heels). Daphne exclaims: "Look how she moves! It's just like _____ on springs!" What product, trademarked in 1897 and still popular today, fills in the blank?

4. When Sugar, Josephine and Daphne first get to know one another in the train bathroom, the following exchange ensues:
Sugar: "I come from this musical family. My mother is a piano teacher and my father was a conductor."
Josephine: "Where did he conduct?"
Sugar: "On the _____ _____ _____."
Where, exactly, did her father "conduct?"

5. When Daphne tells Joe that she's engaged, Joe responds with disbelief, saying "But you're a guy! And why would a guy want to marry a guy?" What is Daphne's answer?

6. George Raft had been a well-known screen presence in Hollywood for decades, often playing gangsters, before starring in Some Like It Hot in 1959. His role as Spats Colombo makes numerous references to these older films. When he sees a young gangster-in-training flipping a coin in the air, he asks, "Where did you learn that cheap trick?" The implication is that he learned it from what film, in which Raft is the supporting character with a coin-flipping habit?

7. When asked who he tried to embody while in character as Josephine, Tony Curtis cited actress Eve Arden, his mother and this third slightly more famous woman. Name the Oscar-winning leading lady that he attempted to channel, famous for her elegance and roles in Hitchcock films.

8. Due to its references to transvestitism, homosexuality, and other elements of purported "sex perversion," Some Like It Hotfailed to garner a seal of approval from the PCA (Production Code Administration). This administration enforced an infamous set of restrictive principles named after what Chairman of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America?

9. Billy Wilder's style was influenced significantly by that of another German-Jewish emigré, a director he idolized and ultimately worked with. Name Wilder's mentor, who was known for his distinctive "touch."

10. Marilyn Monroe traveled to the set of Some Like It Hotaccompanied by a small entourage, including her husband at the time. Like one of Monroe's other husbands, he was famous, but perhaps not quite enough of an icon to make it into the lyrics of a Simon & Garfunkel song. Name him.

11. At the 10th Annual Convention for the Friends of Italian Opera (wink, wink) chaired by Little Bonaparte, Spats Colombo and his henchmen meet their end when they are shot by a gunman who has been hiding in a what?

12. Osgood Fielding III utters a catchphrase at several points in the film when he is impressed or awed by something. What is the word he uses?

 

[Eephus]

My wife didn't answer me at first, so I was thinking of ones that I love and I thought she might. Annoyingly, the first 5-6 weren't streaming so I landed on a Notting Hill rewatch. I gravitate to the Richard Curtis movies in general, but after a rewatch here I would say that over time Notting Hill and Love Actually haven't held up as much as Four Weddings. I also think About Time is the best of the bunch. We both agreed we still like Notting Hill, but also were also both left a little cold after the watch. I think what it is for me is that Julia's character is really inconsistent and hard to really like overall.

About Time and Love Actually are the two that Curtis directed as well as wrote.


ETA: He also directed Pirate Radio which I remember as being pretty good with Philip Seymour Hoffman as an offshore radio DJ.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Last night I ended up on Notting Hill and Some Like It Hot.

My wife didn't answer me at first, so I was thinking of ones that I love and I thought she might. Annoyingly, the first 5-6 weren't streaming so I landed on a Notting Hill rewatch. I gravitate to the Richard Curtis movies in general, but after a rewatch here I would say that over time Notting Hill and Love Actually haven't held up as much as Four Weddings. I also think About Time is the best of the bunch. We both agreed we still like Notting Hill, but also were also both left a little cold after the watch. I think what it is for me is that Julia's character is really inconsistent and hard to really like overall.

We ended up talking a little about some favorites. A lot of stuff were movies that blur the lines of romantic comedy and might not be ones I initially might think of. Wedding Singer is one we both love. Does Princess Bride count? Eternal Sunshine? Groundhog Day? We agreed on a few Curtis movies, but I don't think I've seen Bridget Jones and she didn't think she's seen About Time so we will fix that soon. I also freaked out that she said she didn't think she's seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall, so that will also be corrected soon.

Anyway, Some Like it Hot was because that is probably my favorite Wilder movie and another that popped into my head when I was thinking about my favorites. I guess that means it should probably be the 4k that I get for the month.

So you enjoyed another watch of Some Like It Hot? Did your wife watch?

No, she was asleep at that point. I'm pretty sure I've watched it before with her in the room and will ask if that's the case tomorrow.

For me, Some Like it Hot is the core movie that convinced me that old movies could be funny. I had been watching older movies and was loving them more and more, but it was mostly dramas and noir. I would crack a smile, chuckle, and like other movies, but I didn't really laugh at one until seeing Some Like it Hot.

So in that sense I have a nostalgia for it. I said "probably" my favorite Wilder because I have Double Indemnity on the shelf and is a favorite. I remember loving Ace in the Hole the first time I watched it, as well as Sunset Blvd. I still haven't mentioned The Apartment and haven't seen Stalag 17 or WItness for the Prosecution, and those I plan to cross off in the 2nd half of the month.

 

[KarmaPolice]

My wife didn't answer me at first, so I was thinking of ones that I love and I thought she might. Annoyingly, the first 5-6 weren't streaming so I landed on a Notting Hill rewatch. I gravitate to the Richard Curtis movies in general, but after a rewatch here I would say that over time Notting Hill and Love Actually haven't held up as much as Four Weddings. I also think About Time is the best of the bunch. We both agreed we still like Notting Hill, but also were also both left a little cold after the watch. I think what it is for me is that Julia's character is really inconsistent and hard to really like overall.

About Time and Love Actually are the two that Curtis directed as well as wrote.


ETA: He also directed Pirate Radio which I remember as being pretty good with Philip Seymour Hoffman as an offshore radio DJ.

I faintly remember seeing that one as well.

Funny you bring up PSH, as I have been thinking about him a bit lately. I had just thought about him as amazing side characters is rom coms that I don't like overall but his scenes are awesome. Him as Sandy Lyle is , and his brief spot in Punch Drunk Love is great as well. There's this little beat as he gets pissed on the call with Sandler that just kills me. He was one of the greats.

 

[Eephus]

The Great McGinty (1940)

Preston Sturges was contracted to Paramount at the same time as Wilder and Lubitsch. Sturges paved the way for Wilder by getting dual writing and directing credit on The Great McGinty. This was a very rare thing at the time. The studios usually compartmentalized the workload for reasons of efficiency. Sturges had written several hit comedies but was so mad about director Mitchell Leisen's work on Remember the Night he waived his normal writing fee for McGinty if Paramount would let him direct it. Leisen also figured in Wilder's conversion to directing but that's another story.

McGinty is a political story of a ward heeler played by Brian Donlevy who ascends to the state capitol via his relationship with a mob boss. There's a parallel romantic storyline of McGinty's marriage of convenience to his secretary who urges him to go straight. Sturges shows all of this in flashback form framed by McGinty working as a bartender in exile after his fall from grace. The movie is as satirical as anything from Wilder; everyone is corrupt including the secretary who hitches her wagon to McGinty to make a better life for her kids from a previous marriage. There are some great lines about crooked politicians and first-time director Sturges stages some excellent montages showing McGinty's rise to power. It's a solid movie but not as funny as I remembered from a previous viewing a long time ago. The political stuff is great but the domestic story bogs down a bit. The flashback structure just seems like a setup for a joke that ends the movie.

Sturges had much shorter career than Wilder. Sturges constantly feuded with Paramount and burned his bridges to go work outside the studio system. His comedic muse deserted him at the worst possible time and his post-WWII movies bombed at the box office. But the eight movies he directed from 1940-44 are among the funniest comedies of his era. My favorite is The Palm Beach Story with Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea which I'd gladly take to my desert island. There a good DVD rip of it in the Internet Archive.

 

[Ilov80s]

I can vouch for Preston Sturges. His comedies rip.

 

[Ilov80s]

Getting out of the rom-com realm and into the first Wilder movie I fell in love with and the movie that really put him on the map as an A lister, Double Indemnity. Still quite possibly, the best crime film ever made.

 

[Ilov80s]

They may think it's twice as safe because there are two of them. But it isn't twice as safe. It's ten times twice as dangerous. They've committed a murder. And it's not like taking a trolley ride together where they can get off at different stops. They're stuck with each other and they've got to ride all the way to the end of the line and it's a one-way trip and the last stop is the cemetery.

 

[Ilov80s]

One thing that really strikes me about Wlder is that he's obviously very intelligent but is never pompous. His movies play to as broad of an audience as any filmmaker. There's nothing pretentious or fancy. He clearly loves his audiences and loves people and simply wants to communicate with as wide of an audience as possible. He isn't trying to leave anyone out from his films, he wants to make sure everyone can follow along, enjoy and appreciate. That really strikes a chord with me and might be at the root of my love for his movies.

 

[Eephus]

They may think it's twice as safe because there are two of them. But it isn't twice as safe. It's ten times twice as dangerous. They've committed a murder. And it's not like taking a trolley ride together where they can get off at different stops. They're stuck with each other and they've got to ride all the way to the end of the line and it's a one-way trip and the last stop is the cemetery.

This dialog is all from Wilder and his collaborator Raymond Chandler. It's not from James M. Cain's book.

 

[Ilov80s]

They may think it's twice as safe because there are two of them. But it isn't twice as safe. It's ten times twice as dangerous. They've committed a murder. And it's not like taking a trolley ride together where they can get off at different stops. They're stuck with each other and they've got to ride all the way to the end of the line and it's a one-way trip and the last stop is the cemetery.

This dialog is all from Wilder and his collaborator Raymond Chandler. It's not from James M. Cain's book.

It’s been awhile since I’ve read Double Indemnity but I remember thinking it wasn’t anywhere as good as the movie. On the other hand, The Postman Always Rings Twice was much better as a book.

 

[Ilov80s]

Designing Woman

A 1957 romantic comedy starring Lauren Bacall and Gregory Peck that illustrates by comparison some of the strengths of and style of Wilder. Designing Woman is directed by Vincente Minnelli, who is also an excellent director. Minnelli's background in musicals makes him far most focused on color, production, style and movement. This film has that all in spades but it lacks construction and refinement. It carries on the Lubitsch/Wilder glamour and still has a wide cast of interesting characters but it's just a bit messy. We have competing love interests, mistaken motivations and a seedy boxing promoter bringing the threat of violence to an otherwise airy romantic comedy. We have narration. That's all very Wilder but the problem is the narration never stops and is constantly pointing out what we are already seeing with our eyes or what could have quickly been done with a visual. This movie could have been quite good if someone like Wilder had done the script. Minnelli not being the writer Wilder is fails to always see quite where the script fails but being a stylist, he gives the audience something beautiful- more beautiful than Wilder ever did. It's an interesting contrast seeing a very different director make a movie that seems right out of the Wilder playbook.

 

[Ilov80s]

Watched Sabrina and the remake. Plus Some Like It Hot. Maybe I’ll put together some comments on them but the convo here seems to have petered out. I’ll just start with Some Like It Hot is still a perfect movie and one if you haven’t seen it yet, is a must see.

 

[Don Quixote]

Enjoying the discussion, but I haven’t been able to participate as much this month as did for Spielberg. Still have a A Foreign Affair on my DVR.

February is my “try to get through as many of the Oscar-nominated flicks as possible before the awards” month. So, I’ve been working my way through those to the extent have time for movies (or my son lets me have the TV).

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Sturges had much shorter career than Wilder. Sturges constantly feuded with Paramount and burned his bridges to go work outside the studio system. His comedic muse deserted him at the worst possible time and his post-WWII movies bombed at the box office. But the eight movies he directed from 1940-44 are among the funniest comedies of his era. My favorite is The Palm Beach Story with Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea which I'd gladly take to my desert island. There a good DVD rip of it in the Internet Archive.

I love Sturges. Give me The Lady Eve with Barbara Stanwyk at her absolute sexiest.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Also, similar to how Lubitsch's version of To Be or Not to Be is the one you want, you want Sturges' Unfaithfully Yours with Rex Harrison and not the Dudley Moore remake.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Watched Sabrina and the remake. Plus Some Like It Hot. Maybe I’ll put together some comments on them but the convo here seems to have petered out. I’ll just start with Some Like It Hot is still a perfect movie and one if you haven’t seen it yet, is a must see.

I noticed this too. I am partly to blame - I fell behind a little bit in the postings. I managed a couple rewatches - Sunset Blvd and Double Indemnity. I guess I didn't post because I didn't have much new to say. Both top notch, amazing films but my rankings shuffle a bit. I found myself liking Sunset more this time around. Maybe just because it's been a lot longer since I've seen that one. I still want to get to a watch of Stalag 17 and something else next week. The 29th is my next day off, so maybe I will see if Wilder and next month's director share a top movie or influence.

Even if I don't get to Stalag this week, because of this theme I watched Best Years of Our Lives, Shop Around the Corner, and reintroduced myself to Nicole Holofcener. That's a win. Also a reason I fell behind is because I've been watching that 15 hour doc I recommended up thread, and that's is just icing on the cake. It's really given yet another charge to keep seeking out movies I haven't gotten to. Because of it, I have decided on my September director now as well.

 

[Eephus]

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

The Philadelphia Story is yet another classic romantic comedy. Its sophisticated air is more reminiscent of Lubitsch than Wilder or the other comedic directors we've discussed. The Philadelphia Story is a comedy of manners with most of the humor coming at the expense of the upper class. But for all their vanity and ridiculousness, the rich (and true love) are triumphant in the end.

It's a wonderful movie that benefits from the performances by three great Hollywood stars: Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart. The movie was directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Donald Ogden Stewart. It had been a successful Broadway play the previous year also starring Hepburn. The movie is theatrical in some of its staging but the top-shelf MGM production values elevate it from a filmed stage play. The comedy lacks the cutting edge of Wilder's work, the sharpest barbs are delivered by Hepburn's kid sister and Stewart's suffering love interest, a working-class journalist.

Cukor's reputation is largely as a "woman's director". While some of this was a coded jibe at his sexuality, he was consistently able to get great performances from his actresses. Hepburn is marvelous as Philadelphia socialite Tracy Lord and the movie revolves around her and her many idiosyncrasies. I racked my brain to think of a Wilder film with a female lead who dominated the center of a movie like Hepburn does here. I couldn't think of one--even the classic Wilder women like Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard and Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity are more like reflections in the eyes of the male narrators of their films. I don't doubt Wilder could have made a fine movie from The Philadelphia Story's source material but I think his version might have focused more on the rivalry between Grant and Stewart's characters than the magnificent hot mess that is Tracy.

 

[jwb]

I really dropped the ball this month. Part of it was I've seen four of his big movies the last year (Sunset, Double, the Apartment, Sabrina). All are fantastic, and not much more really needs to be said about them. I do have one problem with Double Indemnity though - MacMurray falls for Stanwyck ridiculously fast, and immediately they are scheming murder. Really couldn't buy it. And it's a shame, because it's a first-rate noir otherwise. But that always bugged me, and it takes me out of it a little. I realize many older films rush through this, but I wish this one didn't.

I just rented The Lost Weekend, which I've never seen. Hopefully I can get to it tomorrow.

 

[Eephus]

Seduced and Abandoned (1964)

It's unclear whether it was from an interview or something like a Sight & Sound poll but Billy Wilder once listed his ten favorite films. The list is mostly comprised by well-known classics but Pietro Germi's 1964 comedy Seduced and Abandoned (Sedotta e abbandonata) stood out as a wild card. I was able to find an excellent 720p print on YouTube so I spent a couple of very enjoyable hours in Sicily.

It's easy to see why Wilder admired this movie. Seduced and Abandoned is a satire of traditional Catholic customs set in a small Sicilian town. The movie starts with a rape and ends in death; in between there's an attempted murder, a kidnapping, a couple of suicide attempts and multiple acts of domestic violence. The humor comes from a cast of colorful misfits and a plot that spirals out of control as the patriarch Don Vincenzo tries to protect the honor of his daughters.

Germi's filmmaking style is different from Wilder's. His is a more modern style that uses a lot of closeups and quick cuts that sometimes violate the 180 degree rule. I think the biggest difference though is Seduced and Abandoned is a true ensemble piece. Wilder was bound by the Hollywood star system and rarely spread the story as democratically as Germi does in Seduced and Abandoned. I'm glad that Wilder and DotM led me to watch this terrific film.

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[Ilov80s]

I really dropped the ball this month. Part of it was I've seen four of his big movies the last year (Sunset, Double, the Apartment, Sabrina). All are fantastic, and not much more really needs to be said about them. I do have one problem with Double Indemnity though - MacMurray falls for Stanwyck ridiculously fast, and immediately they are scheming murder. Really couldn't buy it. And it's a shame, because it's a first-rate noir otherwise. But that always bugged me, and it takes me out of it a little. I realize many older films rush through this, but I wish this one didn't.

I just rented The Lost Weekend, which I've never seen. Hopefully I can get to it tomorrow.

Interesting. I’ve found when a beautiful woman shows interest in a man, he usually “falls” for her right away. Neff makes it clear right from the jump he finds her irresistible. I’m trying to think of an example in my life when a clearly attractive girl/woman came onto a guy I knew and the guy wasn’t very into her.

 

[Eephus]

I really dropped the ball this month. Part of it was I've seen four of his big movies the last year (Sunset, Double, the Apartment, Sabrina). All are fantastic, and not much more really needs to be said about them. I do have one problem with Double Indemnity though - MacMurray falls for Stanwyck ridiculously fast, and immediately they are scheming murder. Really couldn't buy it. And it's a shame, because it's a first-rate noir otherwise. But that always bugged me, and it takes me out of it a little. I realize many older films rush through this, but I wish this one didn't.

I just rented The Lost Weekend, which I've never seen. Hopefully I can get to it tomorrow.

Interesting. I’ve found when a beautiful woman shows interest in a man, he usually “falls” for her right away. Neff makes it clear right from the jump he finds her irresistible. I’m trying to think of an example in my life when a clearly attractive girl/woman came onto a guy I knew and the guy wasn’t very into her.

If they remade it today, Walter Neff would fall at the end of episode 2.

 

[jwb]

I really dropped the ball this month. Part of it was I've seen four of his big movies the last year (Sunset, Double, the Apartment, Sabrina). All are fantastic, and not much more really needs to be said about them. I do have one problem with Double Indemnity though - MacMurray falls for Stanwyck ridiculously fast, and immediately they are scheming murder. Really couldn't buy it. And it's a shame, because it's a first-rate noir otherwise. But that always bugged me, and it takes me out of it a little. I realize many older films rush through this, but I wish this one didn't.

I just rented The Lost Weekend, which I've never seen. Hopefully I can get to it tomorrow.

Interesting. I’ve found when a beautiful woman shows interest in a man, he usually “falls” for her right away. Neff makes it clear right from the jump he finds her irresistible. I’m trying to think of an example in my life when a clearly attractive girl/woman came onto a guy I knew and the guy wasn’t very into her.

Being interested is one thing but planning murder / running away? I know, it's needed for the plot - I just wish they spent more time on it, or maybe had them know each other from afar / in passing or whatnot. I'm definitely nitpicking.

 

[Ilov80s]

I really dropped the ball this month. Part of it was I've seen four of his big movies the last year (Sunset, Double, the Apartment, Sabrina). All are fantastic, and not much more really needs to be said about them. I do have one problem with Double Indemnity though - MacMurray falls for Stanwyck ridiculously fast, and immediately they are scheming murder. Really couldn't buy it. And it's a shame, because it's a first-rate noir otherwise. But that always bugged me, and it takes me out of it a little. I realize many older films rush through this, but I wish this one didn't.

I just rented The Lost Weekend, which I've never seen. Hopefully I can get to it tomorrow.

Interesting. I’ve found when a beautiful woman shows interest in a man, he usually “falls” for her right away. Neff makes it clear right from the jump he finds her irresistible. I’m trying to think of an example in my life when a clearly attractive girl/woman came onto a guy I knew and the guy wasn’t very into her.

Being interested is one thing but planning murder / running away? I know, it's needed for the plot - I just wish they spent more time on it, or maybe had them know each other from afar / in passing or whatnot. I'm definitely nitpicking.

The book goes a little more into the idea that Neff wants to prove he can pull off the perfect crime and fool his insurance investigator pal just as much as he wants to run off with Phyllis. The movie spends less time on that element. When there is sex and a large amount of money involved, I don't think it necessarily takes much time to get a certain kind of person to do the unspeakable. Neff is clearly a sleazy guy. I mean he doesn't hesitate to flirt very aggressively with a married woman, the wife of his client, in her home and in front of her help. She lays the trap but he knowingly walks himself right into. When he first realizes what she intends, he storms out. But he comes back, excited about the prospect of whether they can pull it off and probably how hot the sex is about to me. Or at least that’s how I see it. Older movies often have this problem of the couple falling in love way too quickly. Double Indemnity wasn’t a case that bothered me- their relationship made sense for me.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I was thinking this morning about my lack of conversation even though I watched several movies of Wilder's. The conclusion I came to is that I think what it means is the highest form of praise - he has turned into a favorite director in the last few years. So much so that I know now he would be at least in my top 10 desert Island directors as of this post. Where I am going is that I don't seem to talk as much about things I universally love and understand why. Spielberg was more of a love/hate struggle, and there is no struggle here with me and Wilder. I'm hoping to get one more in today since it's cold as crap again, but we will see if I get the other tasks done in time. I might not, because I still have to see a couple of Wilder's big, widely praised movies and I also like the idea of having some great surprises left to get to.

If that above is true and I talk more when I struggle with a director - apologies in advance for my March of rambling posts.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I really dropped the ball this month. Part of it was I've seen four of his big movies the last year (Sunset, Double, the Apartment, Sabrina). All are fantastic, and not much more really needs to be said about them. I do have one problem with Double Indemnity though - MacMurray falls for Stanwyck ridiculously fast, and immediately they are scheming murder. Really couldn't buy it. And it's a shame, because it's a first-rate noir otherwise. But that always bugged me, and it takes me out of it a little. I realize many older films rush through this, but I wish this one didn't.

I just rented The Lost Weekend, which I've never seen. Hopefully I can get to it tomorrow.

Interesting. I’ve found when a beautiful woman shows interest in a man, he usually “falls” for her right away. Neff makes it clear right from the jump he finds her irresistible. I’m trying to think of an example in my life when a clearly attractive girl/woman came onto a guy I knew and the guy wasn’t very into her.

Being interested is one thing but planning murder / running away? I know, it's needed for the plot - I just wish they spent more time on it, or maybe had them know each other from afar / in passing or whatnot. I'm definitely nitpicking.

The book goes a little more into the idea that Neff wants to prove he can pull off the perfect crime and fool his insurance investigator pal just as much as he wants to run off with Phyllis. The movie spends less time on that element. When there is sex and a large amount of money involved, I don't think it necessarily takes much time to get a certain kind of person to do the unspeakable. Neff is clearly a sleazy guy. I mean he doesn't hesitate to flirt very aggressively with a married woman, the wife of his client, in her home and in front of her help. She lays the trap but he knowingly walks himself right into. When he first realizes what she intends, he storms out. But he comes back, excited about the prospect of whether they can pull it off and probably how hot the sex is about to me. Or at least that’s how I see it. Older movies often have this problem of the couple falling in love way too quickly. Double Indemnity wasn’t a case that bothered me- their relationship made sense for me.

I get what you are saying 100%, and agree. I still fall more in the lines of jwb because personally I don't find Phyllis attractive at all. I love Indemnity, but I think that's what keeps it from being my favorite Wilder. I can understand his motives intellectually, but I don't feel the same as he does, so it's not an immersive movie for me like many others are from the same time and even same genre.

 

[jwb]

I really dropped the ball this month. Part of it was I've seen four of his big movies the last year (Sunset, Double, the Apartment, Sabrina). All are fantastic, and not much more really needs to be said about them. I do have one problem with Double Indemnity though - MacMurray falls for Stanwyck ridiculously fast, and immediately they are scheming murder. Really couldn't buy it. And it's a shame, because it's a first-rate noir otherwise. But that always bugged me, and it takes me out of it a little. I realize many older films rush through this, but I wish this one didn't.

I just rented The Lost Weekend, which I've never seen. Hopefully I can get to it tomorrow.

Interesting. I’ve found when a beautiful woman shows interest in a man, he usually “falls” for her right away. Neff makes it clear right from the jump he finds her irresistible. I’m trying to think of an example in my life when a clearly attractive girl/woman came onto a guy I knew and the guy wasn’t very into her.

Being interested is one thing but planning murder / running away? I know, it's needed for the plot - I just wish they spent more time on it, or maybe had them know each other from afar / in passing or whatnot. I'm definitely nitpicking.

The book goes a little more into the idea that Neff wants to prove he can pull off the perfect crime and fool his insurance investigator pal just as much as he wants to run off with Phyllis. The movie spends less time on that element. When there is sex and a large amount of money involved, I don't think it necessarily takes much time to get a certain kind of person to do the unspeakable. Neff is clearly a sleazy guy. I mean he doesn't hesitate to flirt very aggressively with a married woman, the wife of his client, in her home and in front of her help. She lays the trap but he knowingly walks himself right into. When he first realizes what she intends, he storms out. But he comes back, excited about the prospect of whether they can pull it off and probably how hot the sex is about to me. Or at least that’s how I see it. Older movies often have this problem of the couple falling in love way too quickly. Double Indemnity wasn’t a case that bothered me- their relationship made sense for me.

I get what you are saying 100%, and agree. I still fall more in the lines of jwb because personally I don't find Phyllis attractive at all. I love Indemnity, but I think that's what keeps it from being my favorite Wilder. I can understand his motives intellectually, but I don't feel the same as he does, so it's not an immersive movie for me like many others are from the same time and even same genre.

I would buy it more without the "falling in love" aspect. I forget the exact line, but I think it's the second time he sees her and says something like "but what if we're talking about love?" or something like that. Made me go "wait... what?" But I guess in the 40's you had to have that word to justify the relationship.

 

[Don Quixote]

On “Double Indemnity”, another interesting trivia is there is a filmed but unseen ending (although some stills have been released). Involved the execution of Neff in the gas chamber. It was included in a couple of the test screenings, but then edited out before release.

Double Indemnity: The Unseen Ending

The final draft of the screenplay of Double Indemnity (1944) by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler in the Motion Picture Academy Library in Los Angeles – download from here – includes a …

filmnoir.art.blog

 

[Ilov80s]

I really dropped the ball this month. Part of it was I've seen four of his big movies the last year (Sunset, Double, the Apartment, Sabrina). All are fantastic, and not much more really needs to be said about them. I do have one problem with Double Indemnity though - MacMurray falls for Stanwyck ridiculously fast, and immediately they are scheming murder. Really couldn't buy it. And it's a shame, because it's a first-rate noir otherwise. But that always bugged me, and it takes me out of it a little. I realize many older films rush through this, but I wish this one didn't.

I just rented The Lost Weekend, which I've never seen. Hopefully I can get to it tomorrow.

Interesting. I’ve found when a beautiful woman shows interest in a man, he usually “falls” for her right away. Neff makes it clear right from the jump he finds her irresistible. I’m trying to think of an example in my life when a clearly attractive girl/woman came onto a guy I knew and the guy wasn’t very into her.

Being interested is one thing but planning murder / running away? I know, it's needed for the plot - I just wish they spent more time on it, or maybe had them know each other from afar / in passing or whatnot. I'm definitely nitpicking.

The book goes a little more into the idea that Neff wants to prove he can pull off the perfect crime and fool his insurance investigator pal just as much as he wants to run off with Phyllis. The movie spends less time on that element. When there is sex and a large amount of money involved, I don't think it necessarily takes much time to get a certain kind of person to do the unspeakable. Neff is clearly a sleazy guy. I mean he doesn't hesitate to flirt very aggressively with a married woman, the wife of his client, in her home and in front of her help. She lays the trap but he knowingly walks himself right into. When he first realizes what she intends, he storms out. But he comes back, excited about the prospect of whether they can pull it off and probably how hot the sex is about to me. Or at least that’s how I see it. Older movies often have this problem of the couple falling in love way too quickly. Double Indemnity wasn’t a case that bothered me- their relationship made sense for me.

I get what you are saying 100%, and agree. I still fall more in the lines of jwb because personally I don't find Phyllis attractive at all. I love Indemnity, but I think that's what keeps it from being my favorite Wilder. I can understand his motives intellectually, but I don't feel the same as he does, so it's not an immersive movie for me like many others are from the same time and even same genre.

I would buy it more without the "falling in love" aspect. I forget the exact line, but I think it's the second time he sees her and says something like "but what if we're talking about love?" or something like that. Made me go "wait... what?" But I guess in the 40's you had to have that word to justify the relationship.

Yeah I think that’s it. He’s not in love with her in the husband wife sense. It’s just 40s code for wanting to have lots of sex with her.

 

[Ilov80s]

I really dropped the ball this month. Part of it was I've seen four of his big movies the last year (Sunset, Double, the Apartment, Sabrina). All are fantastic, and not much more really needs to be said about them. I do have one problem with Double Indemnity though - MacMurray falls for Stanwyck ridiculously fast, and immediately they are scheming murder. Really couldn't buy it. And it's a shame, because it's a first-rate noir otherwise. But that always bugged me, and it takes me out of it a little. I realize many older films rush through this, but I wish this one didn't.

I just rented The Lost Weekend, which I've never seen. Hopefully I can get to it tomorrow.

Interesting. I’ve found when a beautiful woman shows interest in a man, he usually “falls” for her right away. Neff makes it clear right from the jump he finds her irresistible. I’m trying to think of an example in my life when a clearly attractive girl/woman came onto a guy I knew and the guy wasn’t very into her.

Being interested is one thing but planning murder / running away? I know, it's needed for the plot - I just wish they spent more time on it, or maybe had them know each other from afar / in passing or whatnot. I'm definitely nitpicking.

The book goes a little more into the idea that Neff wants to prove he can pull off the perfect crime and fool his insurance investigator pal just as much as he wants to run off with Phyllis. The movie spends less time on that element. When there is sex and a large amount of money involved, I don't think it necessarily takes much time to get a certain kind of person to do the unspeakable. Neff is clearly a sleazy guy. I mean he doesn't hesitate to flirt very aggressively with a married woman, the wife of his client, in her home and in front of her help. She lays the trap but he knowingly walks himself right into. When he first realizes what she intends, he storms out. But he comes back, excited about the prospect of whether they can pull it off and probably how hot the sex is about to me. Or at least that’s how I see it. Older movies often have this problem of the couple falling in love way too quickly. Double Indemnity wasn’t a case that bothered me- their relationship made sense for me.

I get what you are saying 100%, and agree. I still fall more in the lines of jwb because personally I don't find Phyllis attractive at all. I love Indemnity, but I think that's what keeps it from being my favorite Wilder. I can understand his motives intellectually, but I don't feel the same as he does, so it's not an immersive movie for me like many others are from the same time and even same genre.

Yeah they are both made to be a bit trashy. This is a tabloid type situation. Stanwyck is made to be tacky and wear an awful wig. This is one of those situations kind of downplaying the looks a bit. The real life version of these people are probably mid to very unattractive. Hollywood can’t put straight up fugly people as the leads though. We get a kind of trashy glamour I guess lol. Fitting of the story imo.

 

[KarmaPolice]

I really dropped the ball this month. Part of it was I've seen four of his big movies the last year (Sunset, Double, the Apartment, Sabrina). All are fantastic, and not much more really needs to be said about them. I do have one problem with Double Indemnity though - MacMurray falls for Stanwyck ridiculously fast, and immediately they are scheming murder. Really couldn't buy it. And it's a shame, because it's a first-rate noir otherwise. But that always bugged me, and it takes me out of it a little. I realize many older films rush through this, but I wish this one didn't.

I just rented The Lost Weekend, which I've never seen. Hopefully I can get to it tomorrow.

Interesting. I’ve found when a beautiful woman shows interest in a man, he usually “falls” for her right away. Neff makes it clear right from the jump he finds her irresistible. I’m trying to think of an example in my life when a clearly attractive girl/woman came onto a guy I knew and the guy wasn’t very into her.

Being interested is one thing but planning murder / running away? I know, it's needed for the plot - I just wish they spent more time on it, or maybe had them know each other from afar / in passing or whatnot. I'm definitely nitpicking.

The book goes a little more into the idea that Neff wants to prove he can pull off the perfect crime and fool his insurance investigator pal just as much as he wants to run off with Phyllis. The movie spends less time on that element. When there is sex and a large amount of money involved, I don't think it necessarily takes much time to get a certain kind of person to do the unspeakable. Neff is clearly a sleazy guy. I mean he doesn't hesitate to flirt very aggressively with a married woman, the wife of his client, in her home and in front of her help. She lays the trap but he knowingly walks himself right into. When he first realizes what she intends, he storms out. But he comes back, excited about the prospect of whether they can pull it off and probably how hot the sex is about to me. Or at least that’s how I see it. Older movies often have this problem of the couple falling in love way too quickly. Double Indemnity wasn’t a case that bothered me- their relationship made sense for me.

I get what you are saying 100%, and agree. I still fall more in the lines of jwb because personally I don't find Phyllis attractive at all. I love Indemnity, but I think that's what keeps it from being my favorite Wilder. I can understand his motives intellectually, but I don't feel the same as he does, so it's not an immersive movie for me like many others are from the same time and even same genre.

Yeah they are both made to be a bit trashy. This is a tabloid type situation. Stanwyck is made to be tacky and wear an awful wig. This is one of those situations kind of downplaying the looks a bit. The real life version of these people are probably mid to very unattractive. Hollywood can’t put straight up fugly people as the leads though. We get a kind of trashy glamour I guess lol. Fitting of the story imo.

The hair is atrocious. Very good point about their look matching the tone of the story though.

 

[Bracie Smathers]

My question for people who have seen more of his movies - are any of the movies past The Apartment worth the viewing?

Irma la Douce looked interesting because of the pairing, as did the The Fortune Cookie for the Lemmon/Mathhau pairing.

Irma La Douce and The Fortune Cookie are very good. The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is surprisingly solid. One, Two, Three is the best movie of his that for some reason never gets talked about. Great Cold War comedy starring James Cagney.

Irma La Douce is 'probably' my fourth favorite Billy Wilder movie after Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard and the Apartment. It is very underrated. I love the classic Billy Wilder comeback lines like 'But that's another story'. The score, setting, characters. It is a must see if you have never seen it and if you love movies.

 

[The Man With No Name]

On “Double Indemnity”, another interesting trivia is there is a filmed but unseen ending (although some stills have been released). Involved the execution of Neff in the gas chamber. It was included in a couple of the test screenings, but then edited out before release.

Double Indemnity: The Unseen Ending

The final draft of the screenplay of Double Indemnity (1944) by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler in the Motion Picture Academy Library in Los Angeles – download from here – includes a …

filmnoir.art.blog

On TCM now

 

[Ilov80s]

On “Double Indemnity”, another interesting trivia is there is a filmed but unseen ending (although some stills have been released). Involved the execution of Neff in the gas chamber. It was included in a couple of the test screenings, but then edited out before release.

Double Indemnity: The Unseen Ending

The final draft of the screenplay of Double Indemnity (1944) by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler in the Motion Picture Academy Library in Los Angeles – download from here – includes a …

filmnoir.art.blog

Smart move to take it out, the ending with Neff and Keyes is perfect.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

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.

This is on Prime now and I watched it last night. (I’m going backwards because I’m not really a mad max guy, but maybe I will come around…)

I agree that I was a little underwhelmed, but I did really like the performances by Lemmon and Austin Pendleton. For a screwball comedy, it has a bit of a bite. I agree the Burnett is miscast and seems like she is in a different movie. I found Matthau more annoying than good, though he got a little better at the end. I’ve never seen the prior versions but it wouldn’t surprise me if they were better. I would still say there are worse ways to spend your time than watching this.

 

[Bracie Smathers]

That Uncertain Feeling

Pretty good, certainly not at all a flop. I don't know about Burgess Meredith here. It's really hard to believe he's the guy stealing Merle Oberon from Melvyn Douglas...

Phooey!
People who know the film know.
It is a good flick.

 

[Eephus]

The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)

This one always seemed like an odd duck in Wilder's filmography. It's a big special-effects driven drama about Charles Lindbergh's solo crossing of the Atlantic in 1927 with little of the wit you normally associate with the director. The story is centered on his flight; everything else is handled via a series of flashbacks. Since Lindbergh spends much of the movie alone, it is extremely heavy on narration. with Lindbergh either voicing his thoughts or talking out loud to himself. It works OK as a Hollywood tale of endurance even though the outcome is never in doubt but it's a failure as a biography because the audience never learns anything about the man except that he really likes to fly.

James Stewart stars as Lindbergh. He's entirely too old but brought more decency to the role than Lindbergh probably deserved. But I never for a moment believed I was watching Lindbergh--it was always a distant cousin of Mr. Smith or George Bailey in the cockpit. All the other characters get a scene or two with Stewart but never enough to make much of an impression. The female lead is a pure invention named the Mirror Girl who gives Stewart her compact before takeoff so he can read the compass in the plane. It's a long movie for its day, clocking in at 2 1/2 hours. The best part is the first hour where Lindbergh works with his backers and engineers to build the Spirit. Of course this is told via a flashback too. The airplane takes off around the midway mark of the film, leaving over an hour of Jimmy Stewart talking to himself. I was almost as happy as Lindbergh when he landed in Paris.

This was the second film Wilder made in Cinemascope and its obvious that he and his crew were still figuring out how to best use the extra real estate. The widescreen works well for some of the flight scenes but they're offset by strange dialog scenes where Wilder shoots long takes of people positioned awkwardly across the screen. It's kind of hard to explain but once I saw it, I couldn't help but notice how unnatural the compositions were in scene after scene.

 

[Ilov80s]

The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)

This one always seemed like an odd duck in Wilder's filmography. It's a big special-effects driven drama about Charles Lindbergh's solo crossing of the Atlantic in 1927 with little of the wit you normally associate with the director. The story is centered on his flight; everything else is handled via a series of flashbacks. Since Lindbergh spends much of the movie alone, it is extremely heavy on narration. with Lindbergh either voicing his thoughts or talking out loud to himself. It works OK as a Hollywood tale of endurance even though the outcome is never in doubt but it's a failure as a biography because the audience never learns anything about the man except that he really likes to fly.

James Stewart stars as Lindbergh. He's entirely too old but brought more decency to the role than Lindbergh probably deserved. But I never for a moment believed I was watching Lindbergh--it was always a distant cousin of Mr. Smith or George Bailey in the cockpit. All the other characters get a scene or two with Stewart but never enough to make much of an impression. The female lead is a pure invention named the Mirror Girl who gives Stewart her compact before takeoff so he can read the compass in the plane. It's a long movie for its day, clocking in at 2 1/2 hours. The best part is the first hour where Lindbergh works with his backers and engineers to build the Spirit. Of course this is told via a flashback too. The airplane takes off around the midway mark of the film, leaving over an hour of Jimmy Stewart talking to himself. I was almost as happy as Lindbergh when he landed in Paris.

This was the second film Wilder made in Cinemascope and it’s obvious that he and his crew were still figuring out how to best use the extra real estate. The widescreen works well for some of the flight scenes but they're offset by strange dialog scenes where Wilder shoots long takes of people positioned awkwardly across the screen. It's kind of hard to explain but once I saw it, I couldn't help but notice how unnatural the compositions were in scene after scene.

Such a weird film from him. If someone didn’t know it was Wilder they never ever would guess that. I saw an interview with him and it was a movie he really wanted to do. He liked the story and thought it could be a hit. He seemed especially interested in the idea of so much of the movie being Stewart alone in the plane and having to carry scene by himself. One thing about Wilder is he was a populist. He wanted to make movies audiences liked, he wasn’t doing it for the art or self expression. He considered himself in the entertainment business.

 

[Eephus]

Such a weird film from him. If someone didn’t know it was Wilder they never ever would guess that. I saw an interview with him and it was a movie he really wanted to do. He liked the story and thought it could be a hit. He seemed especially interested in the idea of so much of the movie being Stewart alone in the plane and having to carry scene by himself. One thing about Wilder is he was a populist. He wanted to make movies audiences liked, he wasn’t doing it for the art or self expression. He considered himself in the entertainment business.

Wilder moved onto his next project before The Spirit of St. Louis finished shooting and the studio brought in John Sturges to wrap things up. I've heard Wilder compared to Preston Sturges plenty of times but never John (no relation).

I can't think of many movies that have solved the narrative challenge of a protagonist who's alone for much of the time. The Martian is in constant communication with Earth. Castaway uses the volleyball like Wilder has Lindbergh talk to the fly in the cockpit. I haven't seen 127 Hours or the one with Robert Redford on the boat.