The films of Billy Wilder, from Double Indemnity to Some Like It Hot, are American classics created by a brilliant Austrian in love with his newfound country. This is a re-examination of the key American films of Wilder, often challenging previous readings of his filmmaking style and personality, emphasizing the pop-cultural, film-historical, and sociohistorical content of well known films like Sunset Boulevard and less frequently remembered ones, like The Fortune Cookie. The book interprets Wilder as more than the “cocky little Viennese” or “closet Romantic” stereotypes often attached to him. Here the student will find provocative analysis and the enthusiast will find evocative commentary on one of the most important figures in American film. Photographs add to the text, and a complete filmography and bibliography are also included. Fully indexed.

Richard Armstrong teaches film studies at Cambridge University and is an associate tutor affiliated with the British Film Institute. He lives in Warwickshire, United Kingdom.

Richard Armstrong
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 172
Bibliographic Info: photos, filmography, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2004 [2000]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2119-0
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0653-8
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Introduction      1

1. Hold Back the Dawn and Ball of Fire      9

2. The Major and the Minor      17

3. Double Indemnity      24

4. The Lost Weekend      36

5. Sunset Blvd.      42

6. Ace in the Hole      53

7. Stalag Á7      62

8. The Seven Year Itch      70

9. The Spirit of St. Louis      80

10. Some Like It Hot      88

11. The Apartment      98

12. Kiss Me, Stupid      108

13. The Fortune Cookie      115

14. The Front Page      124

15. Buddy Buddy      131

Filmography      137

Notes      145

Bibliography      153

Index      159

“a pleasure to read”—Choice; “valuable contribution to the study of Wilder…extraordinarily handy…extensive research…useful”—Film & History; “fascinating…exhaustive researching…the book so excellently researched and written should be the first thing a first-year film student reads without a doubt…a must-read for all film buffs, film students and actors”—Canyon News; “excellent”—Senses of Cinema; “fifteen Wilder films from 1941–81 are analyzed in separate chronological chapters”—Reference & Research Book News.