from Paramount Pictures
Directed by
Billy Wilder
Starring
Ray Milland.... Don Birnam
Jane Wyman.... Helen St. James
Phillip Terry.... Wick Birnam
Howard Da Silva.... Nat
Doris Dowling.... Gloria
Frank Faylen.... Bim
Mary Young.... Mrs. Deveridge
Anita Sharp-Bolster.... Mrs. Foley
Lillian Fontaine.... Mrs. St. James
Frank Orth.... Opera Attendant
Lewis L. Russell.... Mr. St. James
Gene Ashley.... Male nurse
Walter Baldwin.... Albany
Harry Barris.... Piano player
Jess Lee Brooks.... Bit Part
David Clyde.... Dave, Janitor
Willa Pearl Curtis.... Mrs. Wertheim's assistant
Helen Dickson.... Mrs. Frink
Byron Foulger.... Shopkeeper
John Garris.... Opera singer
Jayne Hazard.... M.M.
Ted Hecht.... Man with bandaged ear
Jerry James.... Male nurse
Karl 'Karchy' Kosiczky.... Baby
Eddie Laughton.... Mr. Brophy
Theodora Lynch....Opera singer
William Meader.... Hardware man
James Millican.... Nurse
Pat Moriarity.... Irishman
Clarence Muse.... Washroom attendant
William Newell .... Liquor store proprietor
William O'Leary .... Irishman
Peter Potter .... Shaky and Sweaty
Stanley Price .... Fruit clerk
Craig Reynolds .... M.M.'s escort
Lester Sharpe .... Jewish man
Lee Shumway.... Guard
Douglas Spencer.... Beetle
Al Stewart .... Mattress man
Bunny Sunshine.... Little girl
Fred 'Snowflake' Toones.... Washroom Attendant
Emmett Vogan.... Doctor
Max Wagner.... Mike the bouncer
Milton Wallace.... Pawnbroker
Bertram Warburgh.... Jewish man
Gisela Werbisek.... Mrs. Wertheim
Crane Whitley.... Waiter
Ernest Whitman.... Black man talking to self
Written by
Charles Brackett
Charles R. Jackson (novel)
Billy Wilder |
 This harsh
and realistic film follows an alcoholic novelist, plagued by
writer's block, who goes on an unrestrained five-day drinking
binge. After eluding the watchful gaze of both his concerned
brother and his girlfriend, Don Birnam (Ray Milland) lurches
through the streets of New York City, begging, stealing, and
pawning his own typewriter for another drink. Eventually he ends
up in the detox ward of Bellevue Hospital, where they make one
last effort to help him go cold turkey. Based on Charles Jackson's
1944 novel. Academy Award Nominations: 7, including Best Editing,
Best Cinematography. Academy Awards: 4, including Best Picture,
Best Director, Best Actor--Ray Milland, Best (Adapted) Screenplay
(Charles Brackett/Billy Wilder). Filmed on location in New York
City. The National Board of Review named "The Lost Weekend"
one of the Best 10 English-language films of 1945. The New York
Film Critics Circle named it the Best Film of 1945. Ray Milland
was named Best Actor by the National Board and by the New York
Critics. Billy Wilder was named Best Director by the New York
Critics. Screened at 1946 Cannes Film Festival.
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