Selected films by Billy Wilder As writer/co-writer in Germany:
Menschen am Sonntag (People on Sunday, 1930)
Der Mann, der seinen Mörder sucht (A Man Seeks His Murderer, 1931)
Emil und die Detektive (1931) - Adapted from Erich Kästner's novel; remade as "Emil and the Detectives" by Disney in 1964.
Ein blonder Traum (A Blonde Dream, 1932)
Was Frauen träumen (What Women Dream, 1933) - Remade in the U.S. as "One Exciting Adventure" in 1934, directed by Ernest L. Frank
Billy Wilder Films As writer/co-writer in the U.S.:
Music in the Air (1934)
Champagne Waltz (1937)
Bluebeard's Eighth Wife (1938)
Midnight (1939) - Remade in 1945 by same director (Mitchell Leisen) as a weak musical comedy called "Masquerade in Mexico" with Dorothy Lamour.
Ninotchka (1939) - Remade under the name "Silk Stockings" as both a musical and a film (1957).
Arise My Love (1940)
Hold Back the Dawn (1941) - The script (co-written with Brackett) reflects Wilder's own experience as an emigrant in limbo in Mexicali. With Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland, Paulette Goddard.
Ball of Fire (1941) - With Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Oscar Homolka and S.Z. Sakall. Remade by same director (Howard Hawks) as "A Song is Born" in 1948 with Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo.
Billy Wilder Films As writer/director (and as producer after 1951):
The Major and the Minor (1942) - Remade as You're Never Too Young in 1955.
Five Graves to Cairo (1943) - The third remake of Hotel Imperial (1927, 1939)
Double Indemnity (1944) - For its German release this film was entitled Frau ohne Gewissen or "Woman without a Conscience." - Also see our film noir page for more about this film. > Buy the DVD
The Lost Weekend (1945) - (IMDb link) - Two Academy Awards (directing and screenplay)
Stalag 17 (1953) - One of Wilder's best dramas, with William Holden. > Buy the DVD
Sabrina (1954) - Remade by director Sydney Pollack in 1995 with Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond and Greg Kinnear. > Buy the DVD
The Seven Year Itch (1955) A classic Wilder comedy with Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell. > Buy the DVD
The Spirit of St. Louis (1957, not as producer)
Love in the Afternoon (1957)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957, not as producer) - One of Wilder's better films, with Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton and Tyrone Power. > Buy the DVD
Some Like It Hot (1959) - With Marilyn Monroe. One of the greatest comedy films ever made! Made into the Broadway musical "Sugar" in 1973. > Buy the DVD
The Apartment (1960) - A Jack Lemmon tour de force with a young Shirley MacLaine and Fred MacMurray. Three Academy Awards (best picture, directing, screenplay); made into the musical "Promises, Promises" on Broadway in 1968 by Burt Bacharach; "For Love or Money" (1993), with Michael J. Fox as a concierge, is a variation of the "Apartment" story set in a ritzy hotel. > Buy the DVD
One, Two, Three (1961) - Filmed in Berlin. One of Wilder's best and most underrated comedies. > Buy the VHS Video
Irma la Douce (1963) - With Shirley Maclaine
The Fortune Cookie (1966) - With Walter Matthau
Avanti! (1972)
The Front Page (1974) - A remake of the 1931 version and "His Girl Friday" (1940), it was again remade as "Switching Channels" in 1988. > Buy the DVD
Buddy Buddy (1981)
The Internet Movie Database has more information about many of these and other Wilder films. Also see IMDb links for various films above.
Two books about the hotel known as the Chateau Marmont, 8221 Sunset Boulevard, a piece of Hollywood history and home at one time to many Hollywood and Germanic film people, including Hedy Lamarr, Peter Lorre, and Billy Wilder:
Hollywood Handbook edited by André Balazs. 1996, Universe Publishing, a division of Rizzoli, New York. Paperback. ISBN 0-7893-0023-0.
The Chateau Marmont opened for business on Feb. 1, 1929 as an exclusive apartment house. In 1931 it was sold and converted to a hotel. The 1932 Olympics filled the Marmont to capacity and it soon became THE hotel for the Hollywood community. This fascinating book is an illustrated collection of writings about the famous people and sometimes bizarre events related to living at the Marmont. Contains segments by and about Billy Wilder, Hedy Lamarr, and much of Hollywood. Many photos by Helmut Newton and others. - More about this book.
Life at the Marmont by Raymond Sarlot and Fred E. Basten. Publisher: Roundtable, 1987. ISBN 0-9156-7723-7
All about the hotel that Wilder and other stars learned to hate. This book is out of print, but you can find a copy through Alibris.com: > Find This Book at Alibris.com
