Revisiting Billy Wilder

Revisiting the delights of one's youth is a curious undertaking. There is always the fear that the venture could prove anti-climactic; on the other hand, there is always the hope that the retrospective will give vitality to a jaded adulthood. Such has been the case with my recent return to the works of the Austrian-American film director Billy Wilder (1906-2002).

Billy Wilder came to my attention in early adolescence. At the age of 13, slated to attend a Catholic boy's school in New York, I was anticipating the following morning's tour of Xavier in Manhattan. My plans for a night of slumber were halted by a PBS showing of Double Indemnity (1944). PBS had served as a valuable cultural ally in my childhood. It was through them that another solitary night had been enlivened through a midnight showing of I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932). Other offerings I had come to treasure by the time I entered my teen years were The Invisible Man and several other masterworks of the 1930s featuring Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Claude Rains and Bela Lugosi.

That night in early 1988 was a revelation. Although I had been exposed to Some Like it Hot (1959), I had taken no notice of the director's name. What had impressed me was the script. Sparkling, witty, fast-paced and mordant, I.A.L. Diamond's collaboration with Wilder had brought forth a comedic masterpiece. Because of the exchanges within the film, my focus was on the written word rather than the direction. All of this changed upon watching Double Indemnity.

Watching the flawless performances of the principals, listening to the crackling dialogue, entranced by the moody black & white cinematography, I asked myself, "who enabled this all to come together so perfectly?" It was through my well-worn copy of Leonard Maltin's gift to cinephiles with short attention spans, Movie Guide, that I came across the name of Billy Wilder for the first time.

The fascination with Wilder had begun. Fortuitous for me was a late-night showing of the Apartment (1960), captured on videotape thanks to my parents' VCR. Watching the story of infidelity, secrecy, corporate shenanigans and the eventual attainment of true love, the Apartment had helped solidify my already growing admiration for the director. The Apartment did not engage me to the same extent as had Double Indemnity, but it brought me further into the world of Wilder, and for that, I had reason to be grateful.

Late-night commercial television, it would turn out, had more surprises for me. This would be the chance to see One, Two, Three (1961). Obscured by the comedic genius of its predecessor Some Like it Hot, One, Two, Three has been a sadly marginalized masterpiece that merits reappraisal. The comedic talents of its lead James Cagney were sadly under-utilized in his lifetime. Here, portraying an amoral Coca Cola executive in Berlin before the construction of its most notorious barrier, Cagney delivers a performance that is for the ages. Rapid-fire delivery of its clever dialogue, superb timing by the principals and crisp black & white cinematography render One, Two and Three a cinematic gem in need of a wider audience.

Another source for Wilder was Admiral Photo & Video, located about half a mile from my parents' apartment in the Bay Ridge sector of Brooklyn. The video store, with its steel-encased frames for holding multiple video jackets, presented me with Stalag 17 one winter evening. Once again, Wilder had delivered his young devotee a near-perfect assemblage of comedy and pathos. It was here that I came across William Holden for the first time. Mr. Holden would occupy a central role in the Wilder odyssey. It was he who played the lead in the film that makes me realize that there is one equal to Double Indemnity. That film, of course, is Sunset Boulevard (1950).

William Holden mastered the wry tone needed for an actor portraying a man plunged into the absurd. The absurd is represented by a delusional, faded movie actress who longs for her return to the prominence she enjoyed in her youth. Overshadowing Mr. Holden's capable performance is the one of Gloria Swanson, magnificently portraying a character whose own derangement would have far-reaching consequences. What links Sunset Boulevard to Double Indemnity is the masterly use of Los Angeles as a sordid, sprawling backdrop wherein the downtrodden, the conniving, the estranged, the faded and the eccentric all come together. Few directors have capitalized on a city as superbly as Wilder did; yet, one must recall that Wilder, while capable of eliciting all that he could from the city of angels, nonetheless was at home in a number of environs, whether they were a P.O.W. camp, the urban landscape of New York City or post-war Berlin.

What I have written here is hardly a summary of Wilder. All it is a pithy tribute to a man whose work illuminated my adolescence and continues to add light to my adulthood. To Billy Wilder's memory I am indebted.

Addendum: it would be a staggering oversight to neglect Wilder's 1957 romantic comedy Love in the Afternoon starring Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper, but that is exactly what I did last night whilst writing this short piece. Here we have a winsome piece that chronicles the romantic misadventures between the lovely Hepburn and her older suitor played by Cooper. Like the other works mentioned in this summary, it deserves multiple viewings.