Billy in the Sky with Diamond

Billy Wilder was a writer's director and a collaborative one at that. He never directed a film that he didn't write together with at least one other writer. After a successful partnership with Charles Brackett (Sunset Blvd.) of more than 10 years, Wilder paired up with I.A.L. Diamond (Some Like It Hot) for some of the greatest comedies of all time. Showcasing exactly half of their features together, this series aims to set the record straight about the late career of a master filmmaker and the creative partner who made it sing.

Previous Screenings

Baltimore businessman Wendell Armbruster Jr. (Jack Lemmon) journeys to Italy to claim the body of his millionaire father. As he uncovers more about his passing, revelations lead to his involvement with a British beauty inextricably connected to the deceased.

THE FORTUNE COOKIE

1966 / USA / Billy Wilder

A crooked lawyer (Walter Matthau) convinces his cameraman brother-in-law (Jack Lemmon) to go along with one of his schemes after sustaining a minor injury on the job caused by a famous football player.

IRMA LA DOUCE

1963 / USA / Billy Wilder

A rookie policeman (Jack Lemmon) falls for a headstrong sex worker (Shirley MacLaine) in Paris’ famed Red Light district and is determined to have her all to himself in a bawdy and charming farce that reunites the stars of The Apartment.

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Oscar winner Fernando Trueba (Belle Epoque) has gone so far as to say that while it’s true that many can claim the title of best director, Wilder alone is the best screenwriter: “It’s scientific truth.”

After a fraught beginning as a fledgling writer under the shadow of the Nazis in Europe, the Austrian filmmaker left Wiemar (with a brief stint in a dingy Parisian hotel alongside fellow émigré Peter Lorre) for Hollywood. Laboring to get a leg up in the industry, Wilder struggled with the language in the early years, writing scripts entirely in German and having them translated to English.

By the time he got his big break as a director with 1942’s The Major and the Minor, he had already established a partnership with his first major collaborator, Charles Brackett. Their creative relationship would result in 16 films, three Oscar nominations, and four wins. For Wilder, this spirit of collaboration was always at the heart of his screenwriting process.

Following over a decade of collaboration with Brackett and the rousing success they had with their final film Sunset Blvd., Wilder took seven years and five films—trying out other creative partners—before he found I.A.L. Diamond. Like Wilder, Diamond was a Jewish writer that fled his native Europe (Romania in Diamond’s case) for the U.S. He also shared Wilder’s creative wit and meticulous professionalism. Billy and Iz were a match made in heaven.

The pair made 12 films over 20 plus years, none would be as commercially or critically successful as Some Like It Hot and the triple Oscar-winner The Apartment, at least not in their lifetimes. While many still dismiss or even deride the films that came after, nothing could be further from the truth. This six film series seeks to be a small part of the correction to the narrative, giving life to the late period of a master filmmaker and his equally deserving creative partner.

Filmscene

Filmscene

Billy in the Sky with Diamond

Previous Screenings

AVANTI!

1972 / USA + / Billy Wilder

THE FORTUNE COOKIE

1966 / USA / Billy Wilder

IRMA LA DOUCE

1963 / USA / Billy Wilder