Billy Wilder’s Best Movies (The Apartment)
(Photo by Bob Riha Jr./ Getty Images.)
Considered one of the last and greatest the Old Hollywood directors, Billy Wilder may be best known for his sex comedies, which are some of the funniest movies ever made. Making these types of movies was even more impressive because he was working under the Hays Code, an extremely Puritan and restrictive moral code imposed by the government over all Hollywood motion pictures.
Looking at Wilder’s entire body of work, though, he created so much more, from Hitchcock-esque murder mysteries, to harrowing film noir, to critiques of Hollywood excess, a war escape film and even a courtroom drama. Along the way, he worked with some of the best actors and actresses in movie history, including Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Stewart, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and James Cagney.
Wilder’s most incredible run of films began in 1957 and continued through to the end of his career, and coincided with his collaboration with co-writer I.A.L. Diamond. Wilder won many Oscars, and Diamond won Best Original Screenplay for The Apartment (1960).
Here’s a look at some of Wilder’s best films, followed by a ranking of 25 films in the Wilder canon by Tomatomter.
FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO (1943): Wilder’s second film is a war picture set during World War II, and filmed while the war was still going on. It’s a suspenseful spy thriller that takes place at the Empress of Britain, an isolated hotel in the Egyptian desert. Five Graves to Cairo refers to Axis supply dumps hidden throughout Egypt and designed for conquest, and Franchot Tone as Corporal Bramble’s quest to see them destroyed.
Sean Axmaker of Stream on Demand on Five Graves to Cairo: “Wilder keeps the tension taut with his crisp direction and measured pacing. The sharp black and white cinematography by John Seitz gives the battered hotel adrift in a sea of sand its own identity, and it earned one of the film’s three Oscar nominations.”
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944): A rare nasty turn from Disney everyman Fred MacMurray, this murder plot film noir co-stars Barbara Stanwyck and is considered one of the best movies ever made. Double Indemnity garnered seven Oscar nominations and was co-written by one of the masters of detective fiction, Raymond Chandler.
Kate Cameron of New York Daily News on Double Indemnity: “The power of the James M. Cain novel has been captured by director Billy Wilder for his screen version of the book. He has taken the insidious development of a murder plan in the distorted brains of two people and built it into the most terrifying study of crime, and of the behavior of the criminals, that has ever reached the screen.”
(Photo by Courtesy Everett Collection. THE LOST WEEKEND.)
THE LOST WEEKEND (1945): A harrowing drama about a novelist’s struggle with alcoholism and the desperate lengths he’ll go for one more drink, even at the expense of his relationship with his girlfriend Helen and his writing career, The Lost Weekend was sobering fare for the time period, and won four out of seven Oscars that it was nominated for. It also won the Grand Prix at Cannes.
Ida Belle Hicks of Fort Worth Star-Telegram on The Lost Weekend: “There is nothing gentle about The Lost Weekend. It is stirring, horrible, and fearsome. The excellent cast, which includes a newcomer, Doris Dowling, is expertly directed by Billy Wilder, who undoubtedly will get an Oscar for his work if Milland is the choice for the top honor.”
A FOREIGN AFFAIR (1948):A dark comedy featuring one of the last and greatest Marlene Dietrich roles, she plays a Nazi lounge singer in Berlin just after the war, and is involved in a love triangle with a congresswoman played by Jean Arthur, and a captain they both love (John Lund). Though it’s ostensibly a comedy, the Nazi themes of A Foreign Affair (and it being made just a few years after D-Day) gives the movie a sinister undercurrent.
Nicholas Bell of Ion Cinema on A Foreign Affair: “Fans of Dietrich can drink her up (even as she was on the eve of becoming a grandmother here) as a two-faced monster doing whatever she can to survive, whilst Arthur gets the fuzzy end of the stick as an uptight Plain Jane Republican congresswoman from Iowa sent on a detail to heighten the morale of the American troops placed to keep the peace. It’s a tall order for a romantic comedy, and yet, Wilder instills an effortless tone which makes even its morbidity escapable, at times.”
(Photo by Courtesy Everett Collection. SUNSET BLVD.)
SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950): Another on the list of the greatest movies ever made, Sunset Boulevard is a three-time Oscar winning film about a struggling screenwriter (William Holden) who’s caught up with a lunatic ex silent film star (Gloria Swanson) who years for one final comeback in the age of talkies. Though made in 1950, when color films were all the rage, Wilder and master cinematographer John F. Seitz close to make this in dark, moody black and white.
Virginia Graham of London Evening Standard on Sunset Boulevard: “The direction is by Billy Wilder, who did Lost Weekend, and it is superb – detailed, evocative, and absorbing. Hollywood, with its mania for success, is sardonically observed, and there are a hundred witty touches to enliven the general atmosphere of decay.”
STALAG 17 (1953): A cathartic, comedic World War II prison camp escape movie, Stalag 17 is the blueprint for both tragic and irreverent war comedies ranging from The Great Escape to M.A.S.H. to Hogan’s Heroes. Beginning as a hit Broadway production based on a true story, Wilder brought it to the screen and cast his frequent featured played Holden as the lead.
Marjory Adams of Boston Globe on Stalag 17: “Sig Ruman, in the role of a German guard who laughs heartily at all the japes of the prisoners, but is getting the story from one of them as to escape plans, gives a splendid performance. But for that matter, so does everyone else under the perceptive direction of Billy Wilder.”
(Photo by Courtesy Everett Collection. SABRINA.)
SABRINA (1954): Though filmgoers may remember first the more modern remake starring Harrison Ford, the original Sabrina is based on a Samuel Taylor play and starred Humphrey Bogart against type as a reluctant, but romantic leading man and a young Audrey Hepburn as his foil and eventual love interest. This would begin an impressive run of Wilder romantic comedies.
Derek Adams of TimeOut on Sabrina: “Getting to this characteristic Wilder reversal of roles is romantic, funny and astringent all at the same time. Bogart is the man of plastic – he doesn’t burn, melt or scorch – and Wilder satirizes him and his ideals ruthlessly.”
THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955):One of two historically significant collaborations between Wilder and Marilyn Monroe, she completely upstages every other character in this romantic comedy, even though her character isn’t even given a name, because of one scene: that famous air vent dress mishap. Monroe’s husband at the time, baseball player Joe DiMaggio, was livid that this scene was kept in The Seven Year Itch, and their relationship crumbled as a result.
Virginia Graham of The Spectator on The Seven Year Itch: “This film, which admittedly skates on the thinnest of ice, is directed by Billy Wilder, who, as it were, waltzes round the orange with ingenuity, avoiding the ‘Danger’ signs by the breadth of a nuance.”
(Photo by Courtesy Everett Collection. WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION.)
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957): A thrilling courtroom drama and an Agatha Christie adaptation, it’s considered one of the best and most ingenious courtroom films ever made, and star Marlene Deitrich refused to go on unless Wilder was chosen as the director. Witness for the Prosecution also features a twist ending that must be seen to be believed, and was even kept from the cast until the last possible moment.
Clayton Dillard of Slant on Witness for the Prosecution: “The final scene – an obvious product of the Hays Code – makes it easy for one to want for a more agonizing ending. Nevertheless, Witness for the Prosecution remains vintage Wilder for its acidic sense of humor and its certainty that death, however it comes, will never be quite as ceremonious or as simple as one might have hoped.”
SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959): The second, and far superior Wilder-Monroe film, Some Like it Hot is one of the funniest and best comedies ever made, not just because Monroe gets to show off her comedy chops, but because of comedy geniuses Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon spending most of the picture in drag. This one is a must-see.
Kate Cameron of New York Daily News on Some Like it Hot: “The powers that be in Hollywood had better take good care of producer-director Billy Wilder, who thought up the whole crazy idea, put it into screen format and directed the players into the greatest laugh fest the screen has offered in years.”
(Photo by Courtesy Everett Collection. THE APARTMENT.)
THE APARTMENT (1960): Extremely scandalous subject matter for the time, and possibly the greatest Wilder film and greatest collaboration with co-writer I.A.L. Diamond, The Apartment is about Bud Baxter (Jack Lemmon) subletting his apartment to his corporate masters for the purpose of extramarital affairs and the chaos that ensues. This black romantic comedy won five Oscars, and Roger Ebert added it to his Great Movies list.
Marjory Adams of Boston Globe on The Apartment: “Scintillating, witty direction on the part of Billy Wilder, a bright characterization of charm and gullibility from Jack Lemmon, and a versatile portrayal of a girl who can’t say no by rompish Shirley MacLaine are among the superlative values of The Apartment…”
THE FORTUNE COOKIE (1966): Considered Wilder’s last great comeback film and his last great collaboration with Diamond, this is also the first movie where Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau starred together, a pair which would soon prove fruitful in productions like The Odd Couple and Grumpy Old Men. Another insurance fraud picture like Double Indemnity, this wacky-but-dark comedy is often compared to a cartoon brought to life.
James Powers of The Hollywood Reporter on The Fortune Cookie: “The Fortune Cookie is Billy Wilder’s best picture since The Apartment, his funniest since Some Like It Hot. Wilder has mixed such unlikely elements as Waiting for Godot and Dr. Kronkite, or their spiritual essences, and given them the verve of his own style with a subject that is a natural for his special brand of mordant humor.”
Witness for the Prosecution
(1957)
100%
Sunset Boulevard
(1950)
98%
Double Indemnity
(1944)
97%
The Lost Weekend
(1945)
97%
Some Like It Hot
(1959)
95%
The Apartment
(1960)
93%
Stalag 17
(1953)
91%
Ace in the Hole
(1951)
90%
The Major and the Minor
(1942)
100%
Five Graves to Cairo
(1943)
100%
A Foreign Affair
(1948)
100%
The Fortune Cookie
(1966)
96%
One, Two, Three
(1961)
88%
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
(1970)
87%
The Seven Year Itch
(1955)
84%
The Spirit of St. Louis
(1957)
83%
Love in the Afternoon
(1957)
81%
Irma La Douce
(1963)
75%
Kiss Me, Stupid
(1964)
74%
The Emperor Waltz
(1948)
73%
Buddy Buddy
(1981)
63%
The Front Page
(1974)
57%
