TO BE OR NOT TO BE BILLY WILDER

Following on from the discussions last Friday evening, in addition to Shakespeare, the director and writer Billy Wilder came up in conversation. Of note, mention was made of a book by Johnathan Coe entitled Mr Wilder and Me. As well as Wilder the names of Ernst Lubitsch and Mitchell Leisen were mentioned. Wilder often said working on his films, he would say to himself “What would Lubitsch do?” I also mentioned a film directed by Leisen called Midnight (1939) with Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, Mary Astor, John Barrymore, Francis Lederer and Hedda Hopper. What I failed to mention was that the film was written by Billy Wilder together with Charles Brackett based on a story by Edwin Mayer. Meyer, another writer, wrote the screenplay for To Be or Not to Be 1942 based on a story by Ernst Lubitsch and directed by Lubitsch. So it comes full circle back to Shakespeare.

The 1942 film starred Jack Benny, Carole Lombard and a host of great character actors Sig Ruman (128 credits), Felix Bressart (67 credits), Tom Dugan (271 credits) Henry Victor (106 credits) Charles Halton (201 credits).

Here is the trailer for Midnight:

The full film can be seen at: https://ok.ru/video/1725382527618

Herewith is To Be Or Not To Be: 

This film was remade by Mel Brooks in 1983.

Some of my younger friends do not recognise the names of most of the actors, writers and directors mentioned in this and other blogs. It is very sad that the extraordinary creative period of sound films from 1929 to 1954 is unknown or unseen by many of the current generation who can only bring themselves to watch films in colour. I know there are film buffs out there, but the mainstream of people are missing a great deal of pleasure.

 

Just cataloguing the work of Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder is amazing:

The afore mentioned Midnight 1939 and To Be Or Not To Be 1942 plus:

Ninotchka 1939 – Director Ernst Lubitsch – Writers Brackett, Wilder and Walter Reisch

Arise My Love 1940 - Director Leisen, Writers Brackett and Wilder

Hold Back the Dawn 1941 – Director Leisen, Writers Brackett and Wilder

Ball of Fire 1941- Director Howard Hawks, Writers Brackett and Wilder

The Major and the Minor 1942 – Director Billy Wilder, writers Brackett and Wilder

Five Graves to Cairo 1943 – Director Billy Wilder – writers Brackett and Wilder 

Double Indemnity 1944 – Director Billy Wilder – writers Wilder and Raymond Chandler

The Lost Weekend 1945 – Director Billy Wilder – writers Brackett and Wilder

To Each his Own 1946 – Director Mitchell Leisen – writers Brackett and Jacques Thery

The Emperor Waltz 1948 – Director Billy Wilder – writers Brackett and Wilder

A Foreign Affair 1948 – Director Billy Wilder – writers Brackett and Wilder

Sunset Blvd 1950- Director Billy Wilder – writers Brackett and Wilder.

 

An extraordinary body of work in those ten years. Both picked up Oscars for writing The Lost Weekend and Sunset Blvd.

 

In 1953 Wilder directed, and wrote a screenplay with Edwin Blum of Stalag 17, staring amongst others, William Holden, who won the Oscar for Best Actor

 

Billy Wilder began working with I.A.L.Diamond and they produced the following:

Love in the Afternoon 1957 -Director Billy Wilder- Writers Diamond, Wilder and Claude Anet 

Some Like It Hot 1959 - Director Billy Wilder – Writers, Wilder and Diamond

The Apartment 1960 – Director Billy Wilder – Writers, Wilder and Diamond

One Two Three  1961 – Director Billy Wilder – Writers Wilder and Diamond

Irma La Douce 1963 – Director Billy Wilder – Writers Wilder and Diamond

Kiss Me Stupid 1964 – Director Billy Wilder – Writers Wilder and Diamond

The Fortune Cookie 1966 – Director Billy Wilder, Writers Wilder and Diamond

 

With one film per evening, a Billy Wilder festival could easily run for three weeks in chronological order, if it hasn't already happened somewhere.

 

Ernst Lubitsch was born in Berlin 1n 1892 – died 1947

Charles Brackett was born in Saratoga Springs, New York in 1892 – died 1969

Mitchell Leisen was born in Michigan in 1898 – died 1972

Billy Wilder was born in Hungary in 1906 – died 2002

I.A.L. Diamond was born in what was once part of Romania in 1920 – died 1988

 

These are just five people, who together with the likes of Preston Sturges, Frank Capra, Herman Mankiewicz, Joseph Mankiewicz, Michal Curtiz, William Wellman, Mervyn LeRoy, John Huston, Orson wells, and several others, have left an extraordinary legacy of work in the space of 21 years. Although some went on to produce great work for the next 15, as did Wilder, it is those years between 1929 and 1950 when film was at its most creative, Storytelling in sight and sound had come of age.