|
Billy Wilder might have the most deliciously dirty mind in Hollywood. The director dug into racy, controversial subjects with cynical wit and straightforward insight. Wilder defined film noir classics, sex comedies and buddy films; his career has inspired a new generation of filmmakers.Cameron Crowe, screenwriter and director of contemporary hit films such as Jerry Maguire (1996), was one of those moved by Wilder's film sense. The struggling filmmaker struck up a friendship with the 93-year old veteran and found a friend and a mentor. Their conversations are now the subject of a new book by Cameron Crowe entitled Conversations with Wilder (published by Knoft). Turner Classic Movies celebrates the great director with a two-night festival--the Wilder Weekend. Billy was as restless as his namesake and left law school to become a journalist. While grinding out articles for a Berlin newspaper, Wilder joined with future film directors Fred Zinnemann, Robert Sidomak and Edgar G. Ulmer to make a short film, Menschen Am Sonntag (1929). Billy was bitten by the film bug. By the mid-1930s, he had written seven scenarios and even tried his hand at directing. After Hitler's rise to power in 1934, Wilder fled his homeland. Once in Hollywood, Wilder and roommate Peter Lorre had to learn English quickly if they wanted to join the American film industry. Together the German expatriates learned the language and began staking their territory in the Dream Factory. As a writer, Wilder could craft realistic relationships with sharp dialogue; he proved this in his scripts for Ninotchka (1939) with Greta Garbo and Howard Hawks' Ball of Fire (1941). As a filmmaker, Wilder was well acquainted with the shadowy, brooding style of German Expressionism. He put these two qualities together to create a landmark film noir--Double Indemnity (1944). He followed this cinematic triumph with a risky project, the story of an alcoholic on a three-day binge. Not the usual subject matter for a Hollywood studio, The Lost Weekend (1945) nevertheless claimed the Academy Award for Best Picture. By the end of the decade, Wilder dared even to paint a portrait of Hollywood stardom gone awry in Sunset Boulevard (1950). Each of these films is an undisputed classic today, but even at the time, his films were lauded. Six of his screenplays were nominated for Oscars between 1941-1950. Three of his eight Best Director nominations came during this period. Billy Wilder claimed the American Dream; he was successfully playing by his own rules. By the end of the '50s, as censorship guidelines were easing, Wilder's projects became even more daring. Sex was central to Wilder's world and Hollywood celebrated his candor. He directed Marilyn Monroe in two of her most sensuous roles, The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Some Like It Hot (1959). After working with Marilyn, Wilder's scripts became even more poignant. Yes, there were sexual themes, but more often than not, Wilder was pointing his finger at the dishonesty of lying lovers. In The Apartment (1960), Wilder took an incisive look at corrupt businessmen exploiting their employees for sexual favors. In Irma La Douce (1963), the world of a Parisian prostitute was lovingly painted in Technicolor tones. In Kiss Me, Stupid (1964), Wilder finally stepped over the line with the story of a struggling composer willing to offer his wife to sell a song. The film, which seems so innocent today, was scandalous in its own day. Critics called Kiss Me, Stupid pornographic smut and buried the picture. Audiences ignored it. Today, the film is a risqué farce with great performances by Dean Martin and Kim Novak. The critical lambast deeply affected Wilder; this would be his last sex comedy. Wilder brought together the dynamic combination of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in 1966 with The Fortune Cookie. Lemmon played a sports cameraman hurt at a football game. Matthau played his brother-in-law, a shyster lawyer named 'Whiplash Willie,' who frantically schemes to collect insurance money. The uppity Lemmon and the curmudgeonly Matthau provided the perfect counter-point. Director and stars teamed again for The Front Page (1974), a remake of the newspaper classic; and Buddy, Buddy (1981), the story of an assassin and a sad sack ready to commit suicide. Wilder's work is an amazing string of hits. From sarcastic and cynical social commentary to outrageous sex farce, Wilder pushed his audiences to look at their own values and morals. He was an outsider who wasn't afraid to point out the hypocrisy of his adopted home. Today at 93, Wilder collects typewriters. In the age of computers, the internet and digital special effects, the great screenwriter of Hollywood's Golden Age repairs and renovates antique writing machines. Of course when an aspiring filmmaker visits, Wilder is ready to put down his hobby and explain the ironies of Hollywood and America. It's all in good fun; Wilder loves to point out the absurdity of the human comedy. As Hollywood's Glory Days fade deeper and deeper into history, Cameron Crowe's conversations will prove to be a valuable relic, both of the man and much different era. 
12 FRIDAY 8:00 PM Some Like It Hot (1959) Two musicians on the run from gangsters masquerade as members of an all-girl band. Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis. D: Billy Wilder. BW 122m. LBX CC 10:15 PM The Apartment (1960) An aspiring executive lets his bosses use his apartment for assignations, only to fall for the big chief's mistress. Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred McMurray. D: Billy Wilder. BW 126m. LBX CC 12:30 AM The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970) The legendary sleuth becomes involved with a mysterious Frenchwoman while investigating the Loch Ness monster. Robert Stephens, Christopher Lee, Genevieve Page. D: Billy Wilder. C 126m. LBX 13 SATURDAY 8:00 PM The Fortune Cookie (1966) A crooked lawyer trumps up an insurance case for a cameraman injured at a pro football game. Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Cliff Osmond. D: Billy Wilder. BW 126m. LBX 10:15 PM Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) A small-town songwriter tries to sell his work to a stranded singing star. Dean Martin, Kim Novak, Ray Walston. D: Billy Wilder. BW 127m. LBX 12:30 AM Irma La Douce (1963) A Parisian policeman gives up everything for love of a free-living prostitute. Shirley MacLaine, Jack Lemmon, Lou Jacobi. D: Billy Wilder. C 143m. LBX 14 SUNDAY 8:00 PM Witness for the Prosecution (1957) A British lawyer gets caught up in a couple's tangled marital affairs when he defends the husband for murder. Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich. D: Billy Wilder. BW 117m. 10:00 PM One, Two, Three (1961) A Coca Cola executive in West Berlin tries to keep the boss's daughter from marrying a Communist. James Cagney, Horst Buchholz, Arlene Francis. D: Billy Wilder. BW 109m. LBX |
