The Lost Weekend (film)
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| The Lost Weekend | |
|---|---|
 original movie poster |
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| Directed by | Billy Wilder |
| Produced by | Charles Brackett |
| Written by | Charles R. Jackson (novel) Charles Brackett Billy Wilder |
| Starring | Ray Milland Jane Wyman |
| Music by | Miklós Rózsa |
| Cinematography | John F. Seitz |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 16, 1945 (U.S. release) |
| Running time | 101 min |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,250,000 (estimated) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Lost Weekend is a 1945 motion picture directed by Billy Wilder for Paramount Pictures, starring Ray Milland, Jane Wyman and Phillip Terry. The film was based on a novel of the same title by Charles R. Jackson about a writer who drinks heavily out of frustration over the accusation that he had an affair with one of his buddies while in college. The reference to the gay affair is removed in the film, and the main character's descent into an alcoholic binge is blamed on writer's block.
It was one of the first film scores to use the theremin, a musical instrument, which was used to create the pathos of the disease of alcoholism. This movie also made famous the "character walking toward the camera as neon signs pass by" camera effect.
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[edit] Storyline
It tells the story of an alcoholic, Don Birnam (Milland), on a weekend bender. While on his bender he stops in at his favorite watering stop - Nat's Bar on Third Avenue, based on the legendary P. J. Clarke's. There he seeks companionship in his drinking with congenial bartender Nat (Howard da Silva). As the weekend continues, Birnam drifts deeper and deeper into his living nightmare, committing crimes and even spending time in a mental ward.
[edit] Awards
[edit] Academy Awards
At the 18th Academy Awards, The Lost Weekend received seven nominations, from which it won four awards.
- Awards:
- Best Picture - Paramount Pictures (Charles Brackett, producer)
- Best Director - Billy Wilder
- Best Actor - Ray Milland
- Best Writing - Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder
- Nominations:
[edit] Cannes Film Festival
This film also shared the 1945 Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at the Cannes Film Festival. To date, The Lost Weekend and Marty (1955) are the only films ever to win both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Palme d'Or.
[edit] References in popular culture
- In the 1947 Bugs Bunny cartoon Slick Hare, a caricatured Ray Milland is shown sitting at a bar and paying for his drink with a typewriter - getting small typewriters as his 'change'.
- In Tex Avery's 1947 cartoon King-Size Canary, a mouse character is shown reading a book called "The Lost Squeak-end".
- Tribute was paid to the film in the Simpsons episode "A Star Is Burns": Barney Gumble's short film "Puke-a-Hontas" recreates several of the iconic images such as the main character lying on his bed surrounded by the detritus of his habit.
- In the 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption, Gilda is being screened when Andy asks Red for the Rita Hayworth poster; however, in the original Stephen King story, The Lost Weekend is screened.
- In the Stephen Fry novel "The Liar" the main character, Adrian, quotes The Lost Weekend talking about alcohol when he is expressing his love for a fellow boy at his public school to a friend.
- Rights to the film are currently held by Universal Pictures.
[edit] External links
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by Going My Way |
Academy Award for Best Picture 1945 |
Succeeded by The Best Years of Our Lives |
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