Some Like It Wilder Read online

  Wilder’s dislike of, 217

  Columbia Pictures, 12, 14, 334

  comedy, 17, 37

  boulevard comedy, 267, 269, 278, 333

  deadpan, 171

  Marx brothers slapstick, 259

  melodrama mixed with, 12

  romance and drama blended with, 233, 243

  screwball, 24, 26, 29, 30, 41, 212, 315

  stage comedy adapted for cinema, 154

  Comer, Sam, 350, 351, 352

  Come September (film), 247

  Communism, 248, 249, 252, 255, 256

  Compton, Francis, 357 Comus (Milton), 154

  Conan Doyle, Adrian, 297, 298, 362

  Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur, 293, 294, 295

  Confessions of an English Opium Eater (De Quincey), 73

  Connelly, Marc, 186, 356

  Connie Goes Home (Broadway play), 33, 53, 347

  Constantini, Jean-Patrick, 365

  Cook, Norman, 355

  Cook, Tommy, 354

  Cooley, Stanley, 350, 351

  Cooper, Gary, 103, 193

  in Ball of Fire, 29, 30

  in Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife, 19, 21

  in Love in the Afternoon, 189, 191, 195, 248, 356

  Cope, John, 351, 352, 353, 354

  Copeland, James, 363

  Corby, Ellen, 354

  Cordwell, Harry, 362

  Corliss, Richard, 104, 155, 343, 344

  Cornes, Judy, 80, 81

  Corniglion-Molinier, Edouard, 11, 347

  Cornthwaite, Robert, 356

  Costello, Frank, 83

  Coterer, Paul, 347

  Coward, Noel, 202, 205, 206

  Crawford, Joan, 218, 225, 257

  critical reviews

  Ace in the Hole, 138–41

  The Apartment, 243–44

  Avanti!, 320–21

  Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife, 21

  Buddy Buddy, 338–39

  Double Indemnity, 70

  The Emperor Waltz, 96–97

  Fedora, 329, 331–32

  A Foreign Affair, 104, 106, 107

  The Front Page, 314–15

  Irma la Douce, 267

  The Lost Weekend, 81, 84

  Love in the Afternoon, 195

  The Major and the Minor, 40

  Menschen am Sonntag, 8

  Midnight, 26

  One, Two, Three, 257–58

  The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, 297

  The Seven Year Itch, 173, 174

  Some Like It Hot, 224, 228–30

  The Spirit of St. Louis, 185

  Cromwell, John, 133

  Cronewath, Jordan S., 364

  Crosby, Bing, 38, 85

  in The Emperor Waltz, 4, 87, 89, 90, 92–97, 351

  in Going My Way, 70, 90, 97

  Crosby, John, 179

  Crosland, Alan, 9

  cross-dressing (transvestism), 145–46, 211–12, 213, 225

  censorship code and, 223

  coaching in female impersonation, 217

  Crowd, The (film), 234, 235

  Crowe, Cameron, 191, 318, 332

  Crowned Heads (Tryon), 324, 365

  Crowther, Bosley, 267

  Cukor, George, 111, 112, 165, 245

  Culver, Ronald, 351

  Curtis, Tony, 25, 213, 214, 217–18, 223, 358

  impersonation of Cary Grant, 226

  love scene with Monroe, 227

  on Wilder-Monroe interaction, 219, 220–21

  Czinner, Paul, 187, 194

  Daigler, Gary, 365

  Dalhart, Vernon, 134

  Dalio, Marcel, 354

  Damicelli, Mario, 363

  “Dance of the Seven Veils” (R. Strauss), 120

  Daniel, J. W. N., 362

  Daniell, Henry, 357

  Daniels, Billy, 351

  Dargis, Manohla, 141

  Darrieux, Danielle, 11, 347

  Da Silva, Howard, 75–76, 350

  Dassanowsky-Harris, Robert, 101, 104

  Dassin, Jules, 141

  Davis, Barbara, 364

  Davis, Bette, 109

  Davis, Boyd, 352

  Davis, George W., 355

  Davis, Harry, 362

  Dawson, Billy, 348

  Dayton, Charles, 352

  Deacon, Richard, 356

  Dean, Barney, 93

  Dean, Julia, 351

  Death Casts a Spell (telefilm), 323

  “Death of Floyd Collins, The” (song), 134

  decadence, 22, 95, 100–101, 136

  of Austrian aristocracy, 44, 95

  of Berlin in 1920s, 53, 334

  film noir and, 53, 60

  of Western capitalism, 249

  Dees, Michael, 365

  De Haven, Carter, Jr., 364

  de Havilland, Olivia, 28, 100

  Delattre, Maurice, 347

  De Mille, Cecil B., 24, 93

  cameo role in Sunset Boulevard, 113, 114–15, 122, 214, 327, 352

  The King of Kings, 122

  Denver, Maryesther, 362

  De Quincey, Thomas, 73

  De Sylva, B. G. “Buddy,” 61, 71–72, 75, 149, 312, 364

  Deutsch, Adolph, 223, 234, 239, 358

  De Waay, Larry, 362

  Dexter, Alan, 361

  Diamond, Barbara, 187

  Diamond, I. A. L. (Itek Dommnici), 186–87, 344

  The Apartment and, 231–32, 233, 235, 238, 245

  Avanti! and, 316, 317, 321, 363

  Buddy Buddy and, 334, 336

  on building of Berlin Wall, 253

  death of, 342–43

  Fedora and, 325, 365

  The Fortune Cookie and, 286, 361

  The Front Page and, 309, 311

  Irma la Douce and, 262, 360

  Kiss Me, Stupid and, 270, 279–80, 360

  Love in the Afternoon and, 215, 356

  One, Two, Three and, 359

  The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes and, 362

  Some Like It Hot and, 211–15, 218, 221, 357

  See also Wilder-Diamond script collaboration

  Diamond, Paul, 232

  Dick, Bernard, 40, 138, 393n68

  on The Apartment, 233

  on Avanti!, 318, 319, 320

  on Double Indemnity, 67

  on The Fortune Cookie, 289–90

  on The Front Page, 314

  on Irma la Douce, 267

  on Legion of Decency, 171

  on Love in the Afternoon, 194

  on The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, 294, 303

  on The Spirit of St. Louis, 184–85

  on Witness for the Prosecution, 207–8

  Dickstein, Morris, 122

  Didion, Joan, 74, 279

  Dietrich, Marlene, 1, 5, 41, 189

  “Falling in Love Again” song, 197

  Fedora part refused by, 326–27

  in A Foreign Affair, 99–104, 107, 255, 351

  in Witness for the Prosecution, 198, 200, 201, 202–5, 209, 236, 357

  DiMaggio, Joe, 168–69, 170, 174

  directors

  assistant, 219

  audience expectations and, 139

  reputation of, 72

  second-unit, 37

  stage plays adapted into films and, 144

  Wilder’s relationship with Leisen, 25–26, 28–29, 31

  Directors Guild of America, 343

  Dismukes, Charles E., 364

  Disney, Walt, 260

  Dmytryk, Edward, 274

  D.O.A. (film), 147

  documentary-style realism, 1, 9, 11

  in Ace in the Hole, 134

  in The Lost Weekend, 67, 76

  in Menschen am Sonntag, 6, 8

  in Sunset Boulevard, 122

  Dodsworth (film), 24

  Doherty, Thomas, 276

  Dolan, Robert Emmett, 38, 347

  Don Juan (film), 26

  DoQui, Robert, 362

  Dorsey, Tommy, 86

  Doss, Leonard, 355

  Double Indemnity (Cain novella), 51, 53–55, 56, 349

  dia
logue, 58, 59

  differences with film, 65, 67, 68

  Double Indemnity (Wilder film), 3, 71, 82, 84, 349

  budget, 62

  cast, 61–62, 214, 234, 349

  censorship code and, 54, 70, 90

  characters and plot, 58–59, 63–68, 349

  film noir and, 59–60

  flashback in, 64, 94

  location shooting in, 62, 76

  male friendship theme, 290, 313

  musical score, 63, 67, 70, 349

  in National Film Registry, 343

  other Wilder films compared with, 138, 194, 208, 235, 287

  passed over for Academy Awards, 70, 85

  photography, 60, 62, 63, 66, 70, 349

  screenplay/shooting script, 54–59, 62, 65, 68–70, 373n66, 374n69

  set design, 62–63, 116, 133, 349

  unreleased alternate ending, 68–69, 373n66

  Doude, Van, 356

  Dougherty, Eugene, 302

  Douglas, Kirk, 132–33, 137, 139, 141, 353

  Douglas, Melvyn, 22

  Douglas, Paul, 234

  Dowd, Ross, 351

  Dowling, Doris, 76, 86, 92, 350, 351

  “Dream Lover” (Shertzinger), 38

  Dreier, Hans, 62, 133, 347

  Double Indemnity and, 349

  The Emperor Waltz and, 350

  Five Graves to Cairo and, 348

  A Foreign Affair and, 351

  The Lost Weekend and, 349

  Sunset Boulevard and, 116, 125, 352

  Drew, Barbara, 358

  Dubov, Paul, 360

  Duffy, Sherman, 308

  Dunne, John Gregory, 59, 279

  Dupont, Gretl, 348

  Duran, Michel, 347

  Durning, Charles, 364

  DVD format, movies in

  Mauvaise graine, 11

  Menschen am Sonntag, 8

  Midnight, 26

  The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, 305

  Some Like It Hot, 125

  Sunset Boulevard, 126

  Witness for the Prosecution, 209

  Dwan, Alan, 118

  Eames, Charles, 355

  Earl, Jane, 360

  Earl, Ruth, 360

  East German Film Club, 245

  Eastwood, Clint, 322, 335

  Easy Living (film), 24

  Eaton, Marjorie, 357

  Ebert, Roger, 227

  Écran française, L’ [The French Screen] (journal), 60

  Edelman, Herb, 364

  editing, film

  The Apartment, 234

  Avanti!, 318

  Double Indemnity, 69

  Five Graves to Cairo, 47, 50

  A Foreign Affair, 101, 102

  The Lost Weekend, 78, 82–83

  Love in the Afternoon, 191

  The Major and the Minor, 38

  The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, 300, 301–2

  The Seven Year Itch, 171

  Some Like It Hot, 218, 223

  The Spirit of St. Louis, 183, 184

  Stalag 17, 149

  Witness for the Prosecution, 206

  Edouart, Farciot, 349, 350, 351, 352

  Ehlers, Christl, 7, 8

  Ein, zwei, drei [One, Two, Three] (Molnar play), 247–48, 249, 359

  Elcar, Dana, 365

  Elliott, Biff, 364

  Elmer Gantry (film), 245

  Elmer the Great (film), 215

  Emerson, Emmett, 357

  Emil und die Detektive [Emil and the Detectives] (film), 9, 74

  Emmerdeur, L’ (play and film), 333, 365

  “Emperor Waltz, The” (Strauss waltz), 89, 95, 350

  Emperor Waltz, The (Wilder film), 87, 107, 143, 192, 261, 330

  budget, 91–92

  cast, 4, 90, 91, 147, 351

  characters and plot, 94–95, 351

  critical reception, 96–97

  flashback in, 94, 95

  musical score/songs, 89, 90, 93, 95, 350–51

  photography, 91, 350

  production crew, 91, 350–51

  screenplay/shooting script, 90–91, 350

  as Wilder’s first film in color, 91

  world of Wilder’s youth and, 2

  Enfants du paradis, Les [Children of Paradise] (film), 190

  England, 304

  Ensign, Michael, 365

  Epstein, Philip, 316

  Erdman, Richard, 353

  Erwin, Ralph, 351

  Escoffier, Paul, 347

  Es war einmal ein Walzer [Once There Was a Waltz] (musical film), 89

  Esway, Alexander, 11, 347

  Evans, Gene, 353

  Evans, Peter, 64

  Evans, Ray, 134, 352, 353

  Everson, William K., 39

  Ewell, Tom, 167, 355

  Executive Suite (film), 154, 234

  expressionism, German, 74, 79, 80

  Eyles, Allen, 304

  Eyman, Scott, 112, 178

  Faà di Bruno, Antonino, 363

  Fain, Sammy, 364

  Fairbanks, Douglas, Sr., 196

  Fanfaren der Liebe [Fanfares of Love] (film; 1932), 211–12, 357

  Fanfaren der Liebe [Fanfares of Love] (film; 1951), 212

  Fapp, Daniel, 359

  Farber, Manny, 129, 134

  Farber, Stephen, 81, 106, 198, 288, 290

  farce, 211, 213, 267

  Farmer, Frank, 365

  Farnum, Franklyn, 352

  Farr, Felicia, 237, 275

  Farrington, Betty, 349

  “Fascination” (song), 191, 193, 194, 195, 356

  Faye, Herbie, 362

  Faylen, Frank, 79, 350

  Fedora (Wilder film), 322, 323, 364–65

  cast, 325, 326–27, 365

  characters and plot, 329–31, 365

  critical reception, 329, 331–32

  flashback in, 329–30

  musical score, 328, 365

  photography, 327–28, 365

  production crew, 327, 328, 365

  screenplay/shooting script, 325, 326, 365

  set design, 328, 365

  Fegte, Ernst, 348

  Feldman, Charles, 165, 167, 354

  Felker, Clay, 323

  Fellini, Federico, 317

  femmes fatales, 3, 60, 62, 65, 203

  Fenton-Smith, Basil, 359, 363

  Ferauldy, Maurice de, 356

  Ferrante and Teicher, 239

  Ferrer, José, 75, 142, 330, 365

  Feydeau, Georges, 267

  Feyder, Paul, 356

  Fiedler, John, 361

  Fielding, Edward, 347

  Fielding, Henry, 270

  Fields, W. C., 72, 82, 290

  film historians, 178, 263

  Ace in the Hole and, 141, 185

  on Double Indemnity, 53

  on One, Two, Three, 249

  on The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, 297

  on Sunset Boulevard, 121

  film noir, 53, 84, 147, 197, 208

  emergence of, 59–60

  lighting in, 66, 74

  Film Society of Lincoln Center, 343, 407n4

  Films of Sherlock Holmes, The (Steinbrunner and Michaels), 296

  Fischer, Werner, 359

  Fisher, Gerry, 327, 365

  Fiske, Richard, 348

  Fitzgerald, F. Scott, 15–16

  Fitzgerald, Wayne, 364

  Five Graves to Cairo (Wilder film), 55, 247, 336, 348

  Academy Awards and, 119

  budget, 52

  cast, 42, 43–45, 51, 144, 348

  characters and plot, 47–50, 346

  disguise theme, 39, 42

  location shooting, 42

  musical score, 47, 63, 348

  photography, 45–46, 348

  production crew, 45

  “Rommel’s Last Stand” as studio-proposed title, 98

  screenplay/shooting script, 43, 348

  flashbacks, 27, 35

  in The Emperor Waltz, 94, 95

  in Fedora, 329–30

  in The Private Life of Sherloc
k Holmes, 3

  in The Spirit of St. Louis, 183, 184, 186

  in Sunset Boulevard, 121, 329

  in Witness for the Prosecution, 200–201, 251

  Fleishman, Avrom, 121

  Florey, Robert, 41

  Flowers, Bess, 349

  Fonda, Henry, 327, 330, 365

  Fontaine, Joan, 75, 87, 90, 91, 92–93, 351

  Fontaine, Lillian, 75, 350

  Foolish Wives (film), 117

  Ford, John, 34

  Foreign Affair, A (Wilder film), 86, 127, 162, 200, 247, 255

  banned in Germany, 152

  cast, 99–100, 351–52

  censorship code and, 102

  characters and plot, 104–6, 351–52

  critical reception, 104, 106, 107

  criticized as anti-American film, 102, 140

  location shooting in Berlin, 87, 97

  musical score/songs, 98, 100–101, 157, 351

  One, Two, Three compared with, 258

  “Operation Candybar” as studio-proposed title, 98

  photography, 101–2, 102–3, 104, 351

  as postponed project, 87

  production crew, 101

  screenplay/shooting script, 98–99, 351

  set design, 251, 351

  Foreign Press Association, 229

  Formicola, Fil, 365

  Fortune Cookie, The (Wilder film), 37, 167, 299, 361–62

  Academy Awards and, 290

  cast, 282–84, 287, 288, 361–62

  characters and plot, 281–82, 283–84, 287–90, 361–62

  male friendship theme, 282, 290, 308, 334

  Meet Whiplash Willie as British title, 286

  musical score/songs, 285, 286–87, 361

  photography, 284–85, 286, 361

  production crew, 238, 284, 361

  screenplay/shooting script, 282–83, 361

  sneak previews, 286

  40 Carats (play and film), 316

  Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film), 43, 117–18

  400 Blows, The (film), 173

  Fowler, Hugh S., 355

  Fox Studios, 15

  Foy, Brian, 9

  France, 10, 12, 49, 113, 190, 196

  Francis, Arlene, 251, 311, 327, 329, 359, 365

  Franco, Pippo, 319, 363

  Frank, Nino, 60

  Franz Josef, Emperor, 2, 90, 93, 94, 95

  Frears, Stephen, 345

  Freeman, David, 86, 122, 139–40

  Freeman, Y. Frank

  Double Indemnity and, 61, 71

  The Emperor Waltz and, 96

  The Lost Weekend and, 71–72, 75, 82, 83, 96

  Stalag 17 and, 143

  Frees, Paul, 223

  French film industry, 10–12

  French language, 10, 13

  Frenchman’s Creek (film), 91

  Freud, Sigmund, 4, 91, 339

  Friedhofer, Hugo, 135, 353

  Friendly Persuasion (film), 195

  Frizzell, Lou, 364

  From Here to Eternity (film), 151, 172

  Front Page, The (film; 1931), 308, 309, 314

  Front Page, The (Hecht/MacArthur play), 307–8, 314, 364

  Front Page, The (Wilder film), 321, 322, 324, 363–64

  cast, 311, 364

  characters and plot, 310–11, 312–14, 364

  critical reception, 314–15, 323