Soulstation1 Posted August 2, 2003 Report Posted August 2, 2003 (edited) i haven't seen sunset blvd. yet, it's at a cinema this weekend and next week. i'd really like to see it on the big screen. my fav wilder movie is the fortune cookie. they are havin' a wilder and lemmon tribute day on tcm, august 10th. 6:00 AM Irma La Douce (1963) A Parisian policeman gives up everything for the love of a free-living prostitute. Shirley MacLaine, Jack Lemmon, Lou Jacobi. D: Billy Wilder. C 143m. LBX 8:30 AM Private Screenings: Lemmon/Matthau (1998) Robert Osborne hosts this TCM original series featuring an exclusive interview with the original Odd Couple. C 55m. CC 9:30 AM 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 12:00 PM The Front Page (1975) A ruthless editor tries to get his top reporter to cover one more crime story before retirement. Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Carol Burnett. D: Billy Wilder. C 105m. CC 2:00 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 121m. LBX CC 4:15 PM The Wackiest Ship In The Army (1961) The captain of a broken-down ship has to sneak an Australian spy into enemy waters during World War II. Jack Lemmon, Ricky Nelson, Patricia Driscoll. D: Richard Murphy. C 99m. LBX 6:00 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 MacMurray. D: Billy Wilder. BW 125m. LBX CC 8:15 PM The China Syndrome (1979) A television newswoman stumbles onto deadly secrets at a nuclear power plant. Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas. D: James Bridges. C 122m. LBX CC 10:30 PM Days of Wine and Roses (1962) A husband and wife fight to conquer alcoholism. Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Jack Klugman. D: Blake Edwards. BW 117m. LBX CC 12:30 AM The Great Race (1965) A bumbling villain plots to win an early 20th-century auto race. Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood. D: Blake Edwards. C 160m. LBX CC 3:30 AM How To Murder Your Wife (1965) After marrying while drunk, a cartoonist puts his murderous fantasies into his work. Jack Lemmon, Virna Lisi, Terry-Thomas. D: Richard Quine. C 118m. LBX what is a good book to read about wilder? i just startin' getting into his movies. i try and record them as they air on tcm. i have recorded a few and still haven't watched them yet. i'd really like to get that boxset that was just released. anyone pick this up? ss1 i love that line lemmon says about his bass in some like it hot. "Sometimes I like to slap it" Edited August 2, 2003 by Soulstation1 Quote
Philip Posted August 2, 2003 Report Posted August 2, 2003 This comment contains a spoiler, so be warned. Unfortunately, both Double Indemnity and The Lost Weekend are absent from this list (possibly Wilder's best films). The Apartment probably suffers from overlength; it is take too long for the Shirley MacLaine character realise that Lemmon's character loves her. The Front Page is only worth watching if you have a taste for gallows humour. As for The Great Race save the tape for something else; it's one of those anonymous big budget efforts. Hope this helps. Quote
BERIGAN Posted August 2, 2003 Report Posted August 2, 2003 Well, guess I am biased towards The Great Race, my Mom has always liked the movie, and Natalie Wood was a babe! It is meant to be tongue in cheek(Tony Curtis' always sparkling smile) and Blake Edwards still had talent back then....Peter Falk and Jack Lemmon made a really great team as bad guys...push the button Max! (makes no sense unless you have seen the film!) I might go along with the Apartment being a bit long, but then what film in the last 10 years hasn't been too long anyway? Fred MacMurray as a heel, the anonymous corporate life of Jack Lemmon's character, and it was it was pretty risqué back in 1960 Quote
Guest ariceffron Posted August 2, 2003 Report Posted August 2, 2003 What. no ninotckcka. what the hell. that movie is the bomb. a friend of mine here, billy wilder is her great grandpa actually. Ninotckcka is the best because it is the one with Greta Garbo. Quote
Simon Weil Posted August 2, 2003 Report Posted August 2, 2003 Yeah, "press the button Max". In the 60s, I was so obsessed with that line that my family kept repeating it back to me. Lemmon is great as a diabolical failure, and so is Falk as his sidekick. And the Curtis/Wood team is pretty good too. The film is basically a travelogue. The last hour or so is mostly a Prisoner of Zenda spoof. Simon Weil Quote
brownie Posted August 3, 2003 Report Posted August 3, 2003 Little know gems from Billy Wilder's latter years: - 'One, Two, Three' (1961) where Jimmy Cagney for his final screen appearance plays a supercharged Coca-Cola executive trying to cope with East Berlin officials. This ranks as Cagney's best film part right next to Raoul Walsh' 'White Heat' except you laugh all the way with Billy Wilder, - 'Kiss Me Stupid' (1964) where Dean Martin tries to wreck the happy marriage of Kim Novak and Ray Walston, - 'Avanti' (1972) where Jack Lemmon manages to learn what life is all about while in Italy when he tries to bring back the coffin of his deceased father to USA. I was not really enthused about this film when I first saw it but got the message the second time around and love it every time I manage to catch it. It is now a sort of a cult film and shows up continuously at the Paris art film houses. Quote
BERIGAN Posted August 3, 2003 Report Posted August 3, 2003 Little know gems from Billy Wilder's latter years: - 'One, Two, Three' (1961) where Jimmy Cagney for his final screen appearance plays a supercharged Coca-Cola executive trying to cope with East Berlin officials. This ranks as Cagney's best film part right next to Raoul Walsh' 'White Heat' except you laugh all the way with Billy Wilder, - 'Kiss Me Stupid' (1964) where Dean Martin tries to wreck the happy marriage of Kim Novak and Ray Walston, - 'Avanti' (1972) where Jack Lemmon manages to learn what life is all about while in Italy when he tries to bring back the coffin of his deceased father to USA. I was not really enthused about this film when I first saw it but got the message the second time around and love it every time I manage to catch it. It is now a sort of a cult film and shows up continuously at the Paris art film houses. Good films all Brownie, but Cagney made 2 more films after one, two, three. Ragtime in 1981, and Terrible Joe Moran in 1984 (Which was a TV movie, so you could say that Ragtime was his final screen appearance) Quote
brownie Posted August 5, 2003 Report Posted August 5, 2003 Good films all Brownie, but Cagney made 2 more films after one, two, three. Ragtime in 1981, and Terrible Joe Moran in 1984 (Which was a TV movie, so you could say that Ragtime was his final screen appearance) I stand corrected. Completely forgot about that Cagney 'comeback' film. Quote
Soulstation1 Posted December 5, 2003 Author Report Posted December 5, 2003 a billy wilder fest is on tcm right now. ss1 Quote
Quincy Posted December 5, 2003 Report Posted December 5, 2003 Sabrina is a delightful romantic comedy. The 30 year age difference between Bogart & Hepburn seemed a bit much the first time I saw it, but as Eastwood, Ford and the older actors of today are always paired up with much younger actresses I guess it was ahead of its time. Plus in this case the age difference is part of the story I suppose. William Holden's is young and full of energy too. Forget the remake, see the original. (Said by someone who never saw the remake.) I'll second loving Fred MacMurray's wicked performance in The Apartment. Plus odd as it sounds, I love the way the office is shot. Watching Deano in Kiss Me Stupid is good fun too. I think I'll have to see Double Indemnity and Sunset Blvd. again fairly soon. I'm jealous of you getting to see the latter on the big screen. Quote
Joe Posted December 5, 2003 Report Posted December 5, 2003 (edited) They aren't showing STALAG 17, LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON, SABRINA and ACE IN THE HOLE (aka THE BIG CARNIVAL)? Hmmmm... Agreed that both ONE, TWO, THREE and THE LOST WEEKEND are among the best of his output. The former is one of the most relentless comedies I've ever seen. Ed Sikov's ON SUNSET BOULEVARD is a fine bio of Wilder. Several compendiums of Wilder interviews have also been published, inlcuding Cameron Crowe's CONVERSATIONS WITH BILLY WILDER. Edited December 5, 2003 by Joe Quote
Soulstation1 Posted November 13, 2007 Author Report Posted November 13, 2007 (edited) anyone pick up the new 2 disc set of double indeminty? Edited November 13, 2007 by Soulstation1 Quote
MartyJazz Posted November 13, 2007 Report Posted November 13, 2007 (edited) A great book to read about Wilder, if a little lengthy (600+ pages), is Ed Sikov's "On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder" (Hyperion). My favorite Wilder films: "Double Indemnity", "Stalag 17", "Some Like it Hot", "The Apartment", "One, Two, Three" and "The Fortune Cookie". He was a tremendous director and a great wit as well. Edited November 13, 2007 by MartyJazz Quote
BruceH Posted November 13, 2007 Report Posted November 13, 2007 Ace In the Hole is probably my favorite Wilder film. Of course, Some Like It Hot and Double Indemnity are right up there. Quote
Soulstation1 Posted March 4, 2008 Author Report Posted March 4, 2008 anyone pick the deluxe edition of the apartment? Quote
BruceH Posted March 5, 2008 Report Posted March 5, 2008 ACE IN THE HOLE On this one, Clem is right. Quote
Soulstation1 Posted May 9, 2008 Author Report Posted May 9, 2008 Anyone pick up the criterion edition of Ace in the hole? Quote
Shawn Posted May 9, 2008 Report Posted May 9, 2008 I'm pretty sure the version of Ace In The Hole I saw was titled "The Big Carnival". Which title came first? Remember that godawful remake with Dustin Hoffman? Ugh. Quote
Kalo Posted May 9, 2008 Report Posted May 9, 2008 I'm pretty sure the version of Ace In The Hole I saw was titled "The Big Carnival". Which title came first? Remember that godawful remake with Dustin Hoffman? Ugh. Ace in the Hole was the original title. As for the remake with Dustin Hoffman, I missed that one, for which I'm grateful. Title? Quote
AllenLowe Posted May 9, 2008 Report Posted May 9, 2008 Ragtime doesn't count for Cagney - they had to embalm him before he could do the role - Quote
Shawn Posted May 9, 2008 Report Posted May 9, 2008 I'm pretty sure the version of Ace In The Hole I saw was titled "The Big Carnival". Which title came first? Remember that godawful remake with Dustin Hoffman? Ugh. Ace in the Hole was the original title. As for the remake with Dustin Hoffman, I missed that one, for which I'm grateful. Title? Mad City Quote
medjuck Posted June 19, 2008 Report Posted June 19, 2008 Wilder used to eat lunch often at Mr. Chow's in Beverly Hills. He always sat at the same corner table near the door and it was great to see young stars (directors and writers as well as actors) stop and pay their respects as they entered or left. I think they put a plaque over the table after he died. Quote
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