Reviews of movies directed by Billy Wilder.
Grade: B
Synopsis: An ambitious, unscrupulous reporter (Kirk Douglas) manipulates the rescue of a man trapped in a cave in order to milk the story for his own gain, and in the process, creates a media circus.
Ace in the Hole covers some the same themes as the inferior Five Star Final (1931) and the superior Network (1976), but does so as a film noir, as opposed to the sappy melodrama of the former, and the over-the-top satire of the latter. MORE »
Grade: B-
Synopsis: In Italy to arrange for the return of his deceased father’s body, an American businessman (Jack Lemmon) falls for the daughter (Juliet Mills) of his father’s long time mistress.
Avanti shouldn’t work. At nearly two and a half hours, it’s at least a half an hour too long, and it’s not an overt, laugh-out-loud riot like director Billy Wilder’s best efforts. Yet, the film has a certain charm that seeps in as it unfurls, a lazy hook that holds your interest and leaves you, if not with a smile, then at least a smirk. MORE »
Grade: C-
Synopsis: With his wife and son away for the summer, a man (Tom Ewell) finds himself tempted by his upstairs neighbor (Marilyn Monroe).
The Seven Year Itch should have been much better. Director Billy Wilder wanted to cast a then-relatively-unknown Walter Matthau in the lead role, but the studio wouldn’t take a chance on a newcomer, which forced Wilder to cast Tom Ewell, who’d played the part in the original Broadway play. MORE »
Grade: C-
Synopsis: A newspaper editor (Walter Matthau) schemes to keep his prize reporter (Jack Lemmon) from getting married just as a sensational story involving a hanging is about to break.
The Front Page is yet another adaptation of the play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, the most famous of which was probably Howard Hawks’ His Girl Friday (1940). This time around, you’ve got Walter Matthau in the Cary Grant role and Jack Lemmon in the Rosalind Russell role. MORE »
Grade: C+
Synopsis: A songwriter (Ray Walston) hires a floozy (Kim Novak) to pose as his wife in order to entertain a famous lush entertainer (Dean Martin).
Kiss Me, Stupid might have been a much better film, had original star Peter Sellers not suffered several heart attacks, causing him to drop out, leading to Ray Walston replacing him. We can only wonder what the combination of director Billy Wilder and Sellers would have yielded. MORE »
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