Illicit Love On Sinister Staircases: Two Friends Discuss the Films of Billy Wilder

By Danny Reid and Ryan Rinchiuso

With a career spanning nearly 50 years and 27 films, director Billy Wilder left an indelible mark on film and American pop culture in general. Four of his greatest films-- Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, The Apartment, and The Lost Weekend-- have become iconic cornerstones of cinema. His work with Marilyn Monroe crafted her most iconic image, while his films with Jack Lemmon, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau and William Holden helped to make the actors into legends. More than that, though, his films routinely tested the boundaries of and defined mid-century America, creating a body of work that is admired and emulated to this day.

Two devotees of his works, Danny Reid and Ryan Rinchiuso, now go through each of his films, dissecting their themes, motifs and lessons. From Mauvise Graine in 1934 to Buddy Buddy in 1981, they explore each of the master's works with equal doses of admiration, thoughtfulness, and humor.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 30, 2014
• ISBN: 9781312152656

Book preview

Illicit Love On Sinister Staircases: Two Friends Discuss the Films of Billy Wilder

Illicit Love

on Sinister Staircases

Two Friends Discuss the Films of Billy Wilder

Written By Danny Reid & Ryan Rinchiuso

Edited by Aubrey Reid

Reproduces material found at Can’t Stop the Movies (cantstopthemovies.com).

Copyright © 2014. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Mauvise Graine (1934)

The Major  and the Minor (1942)

Five Graves  to Cairo (1943)

Double Indemnity (1944)

Death Mills (1945)

The Lost Weekend (1945)

The Emperor Waltz (1948)

A Foreign Affair (1948)

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Ace in the Hole (1951)

Stalag 17 (1953)

Sabrina (1954)

The Seven  Year Itch (1955)

The Spirit  of St. Louis (1957)

Love in the  Afternoon (1957)

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

Some Like It Hot (1959)

The Apartment (1960)

One, Two, Three (1961)

Irma La Douce (1963)

Kiss Me Stupid (1964)

The Fortune  Cookie (1966)

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)

Avanti! (1972)

The Front Page (1974)

Fedora (1978)

Buddy, Buddy (1981)

Wrap-Up

About the Authors

"If there's anything I hate more than not being taken seriously, it's being taken too seriously."

-- Billy Wilder

Introduction

[ Danny ]

Here we are at last. Back when my friend Andrew and I started tossing around the idea of writing about the films of our favorite directors, invariably one name always came up: Billy Wilder. I've been a fan of his since I saw Some Like It Hot on a date in 2002, and, slowly but surely, I watched all of his films.

The big thing about delving into the films Wilder has directed though: there's a lot about him already out there, unsurprising for a director widely considered one of the greatest to have ever stepped behind a camera. For those who are unfamiliar, he's one of the most prolific film makers of all time. Four of his films-- Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity, The Apartment, and the aforementioned Some Like It Hot-- are consistently ranked among the top 100 films of all time.

He's won two Best Director Oscars for two Best Pictures. He helped define Audrey Hepburn's pop culture image in Sabrina and Marilyn Monroe's in The Seven Year Itch. He's the man who first paired Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. And he turned the line Nobody's perfect into a pop culture touchstone to boot.

Man, two paragraphs in and I'm already beginning to feel overwhelmed. That's why I've been putting this off until now. No matter how many books or articles or documentaries or analysis I read or see, I will never feel I'm up to snuff when it comes to approaching this man’s work. And, trust me, for a man who goes by Sheldrake on Twitter, I've definitely seen and read my fair share.

But there's a time for a doing and a time for sitting on your ass. Since I need help getting off my proverbial ass, I invited my good friend Ryan to team up for this one.

27 movies covering 47 years of a man's career. Are you ready for this, Ryan?

[ Ryan ]

I’m ready, except for the fact I have to watch Kiss Me Stupid again.

In all seriousness, I think you are right when you say it is a monumental task. You already mentioned the four films of his that are without a doubt four of the best films of all time. What is also amazing is that those aren’t his only four good films: Stalag 17, Witness for the Prosecution, Ace in the Hole, A Foreign Affair, Five Graves to Cairo... here are movies that might not rank up with the greatest, but are still respectfully solid works.

I can’t think of anyone that was both a writer/director that had such a long streak of making four star films. Hitchcock and Spielberg have a lot of good movies, but still worked with others’ scripts.

One thing I wanted to bring up that I’m sure we will mention often in the coming reviews is Wilder’s look on people and life. Do you think he was a pessimist that added a glimmer of humanity in his characters for the studios, or that he was an optimist that was beaten down by living in tragic times?

I like to think of him a third way, which he pretended to be a person who sees humanity as petty but actually had a very big heart. How else could you explain a man that could create both Walter Neff and C.C. Baxter?

Something tells me that most of my writing in this series will not be about shot composition or editing or any other directing trick Billy Wilder came up with. Instead we will be looking at the characters, the dialogue and the script. While Wilder was a great director, he is undoubtedly one of the greatest screenwriters, and that's what always draws me in.

[ Danny ]

What's always strange to me about Wilder as a writer and director is that his work can be pretty consistently great (up until his last run, for the most part). Most directors mature into something amazing, but you can take a look and see that Double Indemnity is only his fourth movie as writer/director and you begin to understand just how wild of a ride his career is.

If I tried to narrow down what Wilder's singular look upon humanity was, I’d have to say that it fluctuated over the years. It's obvious that the rise of Nazism (which caused him to flee Berlin in the early 30s) was a stark lesson, creating within him a grim view of what a society believes itself to be and what it really is under the surface. That duality affects a lot of his work; however, I will say, if not optimistic, there is certainly enough of a romantic streak in his work to make what subjects he explores palatable. After all, Sunset Boulevard would have been a freak show without Betty Schaefer.

Whether or not that's because Wilder was a romantic or if he just knew that he needed the romance to make the bitter aftertaste a little more palatable... well, we could compare Sunset Boulevard to Ace in the Hole and see what that says. No, wait, actually, let's get there first and figure it out then.

And I'm going to disagree with you on that last point. In a couple of months, if you can get me to shut up about the composition of the staircase scene in Sunset or the framing of the murder scene in Indemnity, good job; those are moments whose compositions and ethereal beauty transcends Wilder's writing and become something much more.

[ Ryan ]

Don't get me wrong, Wilder is a wonderful director that had his fair share of iconic shots, but to me his dialogue is like music that never gets old. If I had to describe Wilder in one word, the first one that would come to mind is writer.

I am glad that you called Wilder a romantic. When I say that I think that The Apartment is one of the most romantic films ever made, I always get funny looks. Wilder had many women that are less than ideal role models like Lorraine Minosa and Phyllis Dietrichson, but he also gave us Sabrina Fairchild and that girl upstairs from The Seven Year Itch. To have a hand in shaping two of the most influential actresses of the 20th Century takes someone who is not a cynic at heart.

I say we stop the gushing over Billy Wilder in general terms and start gushing over him in more specific ways. Let's get this show started!

[ Danny ]

I’m afraid I don't hold many controversial opinions when it comes to Wilder films, Ryan, besides thinking The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is a bundle of lost footage away from being a masterpiece. Though I am also just enough of a freak to prefer Five Graves to Cairo to Casablanca. But we can delve into that insanity when we get there.

Mauvise Graine (1934)

In French, With Subtitles

Starring Pierre Mingand, Danielle Darrieux, and Raymond Galle

Written by Billy Wilder and Max Kolpé

Produced by Georges Bernier

Directed by Billy Wilder and Alexander Esway

In the 30′s, in Paris, the playboy Henri Pasquier (Pierre Mingand) is supported by his father, Dr. Pasquier (Paul Escoffier), with money and a brand new car. When Dr. Pasquier decides to suspend the allowance and sell the car to force Henri to get a job, Henri leaves home and associates to a gang of car thieves. Henri falls in love for the thief Jeannette (Danielle Darrieux), and when they are betrayed by their boss, they decide to move to Casablanca and straighten out their lives.

[ Danny ]

Mauvise Graine is a light… something. It kind of dances between light comedy and light drama and left me without much more than light boredom. Most of the film concerns itself with the joyrides of the car thieves and their leisure activities– at one point the gang even has a picnic down at the beach!– moreso than heavy moralizing or emotions. Wilder, in his first time in the director’s chair, still manages demonstrate his refined sense of drama here, as the movie’s playful tone bleeds through more of the heavy moments.

There are two main themes that Mauvise circles around, the first being, obviously, how cars function as an extension of masculinity. Henri is driven into a hypnotic obsession when his father takes his car from him, especially since he’d planned to use it to woo a pretty girl he met at the auto shop earlier in the day. He is on uneven ground until he becomes a car thief; now more powerful than a mere car owner. As a symbol of this newfound bravado, he is now able to woo the female car thief. She’s used car owners as toys in the past, but finds Henri to be irresistible and charming.

This leads directly into the other, more subtle theme about the exploitation of power by those who have it, and how the loss of that power will eventually destroy and injure. Henri craves power; he sees himself above office work despite not having a job in his life. The criminal thrill that enraptures him when he finally sees the money floating in is almost silly; while his friend, Jean (Raymond Galle), makes a tearful goodbye to Henri’s father, Henri was downstairs stealing a car that simply looked appealing to him.

Worse still, Henri decides after his first heist that he’s underpaid and starts needling the head of the ring for more dough. This results in a battle of the wills, one which spills out into a fist fight and car chase. Henri can’t handle authority, and while he definitely rides high for a good chunk of time, his inability to deal with that is what eventually forces him to meet such a downbeat ending.

All this nonsense about Henri doesn’t tell you one important thing about him though: he’s a deeply unappealing character. Headstrong and flirty with a leading man’s smile, but deeply broken by his obsession with power and his manhood. The film never manages to get you to root for him. Ryan: do you think Wilder wanted us to hate privileged Henri so much? Or am I just turning into a bitter old hag?

[ Ryan ]

The thing I was thinking when I watched the movie was Henri wasn’t so much a bad seed as an incredibly unlikeable tool, so I’m glad I’m not alone in that thought. I don’t think that Wilder wanted us to like the main character in this film because the movie ends with Henri’s best friend dead (who is also the love interest’s brother) in part because of Henri’s actions.

After about five seconds of being sad when he learns of all that Henri has done, Henri’s rich father helps him escape from town where he is wanted by the cops, leaving Henry to live a happy life, probably in luxury, with the girl of his dreams. Henri is not a nice person, not a good person but yet gets away with everything in the end Scott free. It is saying something about the likability of a character when you really see the villain’s point and hope his plan comes to fruition.

I am also glad that you put the description of the plot from IMDB at the beginning of this piece because the movie is so slight and kind of boring that, in less than a day, I have forgotten almost everything from the film and couldn’t tell you anything without looking it up on the internet beforehand.

I don’t think this movie is bad, per se, but it’s just boring. Endless scenes of characters driving leisurely through town is not very entertaining, and the movie seemed to be missing any type of drive or plot. Was this movie a drama, a comedy, a crime picture? I have no idea, and I watched the film. It wasn’t very charming, the drama was very slight and the gang was as tough as Peter Pan’s Lost Boys.

This isn’t the worst Wilder film that we will watch, but I ask you, Danny, is this the movie that has the least amount of him in it? If I would have watched the film without knowing he was the director, I would never have fathomed that this was a Wilder picture. I guess I’m glad I watched it so I can say I have seen all of his films, but, again, I don’t know if I will ever really classify this as a Wilder Picture.

[ Danny ]

I think you’re writing down the ending a bit. Jean was obviously the one you’re supposed to like– he’s got the cute quirk and everything. His death is a sharp contrast to what Henri represented, and his death will haunt Henri the rest of his life. Henri, living the rest of his life in exile and tormented, isn’t a happy end. It’s very light, and feels very, very French, something along the lines of René Clair. The morality is fluidity and playfulness is also very French, with lots of ambiguity being thrown around without a care.

I don’t agree with you on Wilder’s lack of influence; I still see plenty of Wilder here, mostly from the froth. He manages to become more substantial-- which I’d say a lot of thanks to go future co-writer Charles Brackett for that-- but in this case, it just doesn’t substantiate into anything.

Luckily, Wilder’s got a good decade of writing between this and his next directorial outing, and his entrance into the studio system will give him a steadier, more American sort of film ideology. Was there anything else you wanted to say, or is this just something you would rather forget?

[ Ryan ]

I think froth is the perfect word to use for this movie.

Like I said earlier, I don’t think this is a bad movie, I just find it cold and distant. If you are supposed to feel bad for Jean it didn’t work for me, because other than his quirk he made no impression. The best Wilder films feel lived in with real characters and here I couldn’t remember one line of dialogue, one character beat or much of anything. You mentioned it was very French, and it feels much different than its American studio bred descendants.

I think the fact he didn’t have his greatest partner with him yet in Brackett, that he hadn’t worked for Lubitsch, that he had yet to perfect his writing made it feel like an imitation Wilder film rather than the real deal. With that said, the next film we will be talking about feels like Wilder through and through. With that I say good bye to Mauvise Graine and welcome Wilder to America from here on out, a country that fits him much better in my opinion.

The Major

and the Minor (1942)

Starring Ginger Rogers, Ray Milland, Rita Johnson, and Diana Lynn

Written by Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder

Produced by Arthur Hornblow Jr.

Directed by Billy Wilder

Susan Applegate (Ginger Rogers), tired of New York after one year and 25 jobs, decides to return to Iowa. Trouble is, when she saved money for the train fare home, she didn't allow for inflation. So the audacious Susan disguises herself as a 12-year-old (!) and travels for half fare. There she meets Major Philip Kirby (Ray Milland), a military school instructor. The growing attraction between Susan and Kirby is complicated by his conniving fiancée (Rita Johnson)... and by the myopic Kirby continuing to think Su-Su is only 12!

[ Ryan ]

We’re now ready for Billy Wilder’s first English language film, The Major and the Minor, or, as I like to call it, Ray Milland is a Dirty Old Man.

The Major and the Minor has to walk a tightrope to make you believe that the two leads are meant for each other while trying to keep away from the icky subtext that one of the characters is falling in love with someone they think is a child. The Major and the Minor does not quite accomplish this but I also think Billy Wilder took much glee in making both the characters and the audience squirm.

But that's not the important thing I want to discuss right now: rather, do you think that it is a shame that Wilder and Ginger Rogers never worked together again after this film? She was a perfect woman for the type of female characters that Wilder wrote so well. She was feisty, and she could deliver his dialogue perfectly but yet had enough heart and charisma to make you really care for her. Other than Monroe, most of Wilder characters came from the same mold as Susan Applegate.

It's also funny to watch films years from when they were originally released because you can see an actor in a totally different way. Before The Major and the Minor all I had ever seen Milland in were dark dramas like The Lost Weekend or thrillers like Dial M for Murder, so it was strange to see him do so well in a light comedy like this, although at the time this was what he was known for. I had the opposite reaction to Fred MacMurray because when I started watched his Wilder films like Double Indemnity and The Apartment, I had only known him from The Shaggy Dog films and The Absent Minded Professor,