Magic Lantern Video & Book StoreBilly Wilder
[1906-2002]
![comedy writer & film director Billy Wilder [1906-2002]](images/billywilder-color.jpg "comedy writer & film director Billy Wilder [1906-2002]") | short profile |
| Billy Wilder directed fourteen different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Audrey Hepburn, William Holden, Jack Kruschen, Elsa Lanchester, Charles Laughton, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Walter Matthau, Ray Milland, Nancy Olson, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Strauss, Erich von Stroheim, and Gloria Swanson. Three of them – Holden, Matthau & Milland – won the Oscar. |
Billy Wilder received seven Oscar Awards from A.M.P.A.S.
"I have ten commandments. The first nine are, thou shalt not bore. The tenth is, "The best director is the one you don't see." — Billy Wilder
thou shalt have right of final cut." — Billy Wilder
h e r e
He wrote five of the American Film Institute's 100 Funniest Movies: Some Like It Hot (1959) at #1, The Apartment (1960) at #20, The Seven Year Itch (1955) at #51, Ninotchka (1939) at #52 and Ball of Fire (1941) at #92.
Wilder's idol and mentor was German director Ernst Lubitsch [1892-1947]. Wilder always kept a sign hanging in his office that asked, "How would Lubitsch do it?"
Billy Wilder entry at Wikipedia
Billy Wilder credits [1929-1995] at Internet Movie Database
browse Billy Wilder on DVD at Amazon
![won Oscar for Best Picture for "The Lost Weekend" [1945]](images/oscar_sm.gif){kind=small}
Billy Wilder received seven Oscars
two for "The Lost Weekend" [1945] {Best Picture, Best Director},
one for "Sunset Blvd." [1950] {shared Best Original Screenplay},
three for "The Apartment" [1960] {Best Picture, Best Director, shared Best Script}
— out of 21 Oscar nominations
and the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award in 1988
He also received
the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prize for "The Lost Weekend", 1946
the B.A.F.T.A. Best Film Award for "The Apartment", 1961
shared D.G.A. Award for "The Apartment", 1961 (and 7 D.G.A. noms, 1951-60)
the David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Director for "The Front Page", 1975
a Film Society of Lincoln Center Gala Tribute, 1982
the D.G.A. Lifetime Achievement Award, 1985
the A.F.I. Lifetime Achievement Award, 1986
Kennedy Center Honors Award, 1990
the D.G.A. Preston Sturges Award, 1991
an Honorary Golden Bear at Berlin International Film Festival, 1993
N.E.A.'s American National Medal of The Arts, 1993
and a B.A.F.T.A. Fellowship, 1995
L i n k s
Billy Wilder entry at Wikipedia
browse Billy Wilder on DVD at Amazon
Billy Wilder credits [1929-1995] at Internet Movie Database
Billy Wilder's Broadway credits [since 1968] at Internet Broadway Database
Billy Wilder Theater of UCLA-TFT [est. 2008] in Westwood Village (Los Angeles), CA
Billy Wilder Institute [1999-2002] in Bonn, Germany
Movies of Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder credits [1929-1995] at Internet Movie Database
browse Billy Wilder on DVD at Amazon
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"Billy Wilder: The Complete Films" [2003] by Glenn Hopp Taschen 9½x7½ pb [11/2003] for $0.00 |
 | "The Billy Wilder DVD Collection" DVD Box Set [2002]
Paramount b&w DVD set [3/2006] 3 disks - out of prodn/used Paramount b&w DVD set [3/2002] 3 disks - out of prodn/used contains 3 feature films: "Sunset Boulevard" [1950] starring William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim & Buster Keaton; "Stalag 17" [1953] starring William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger & Neville Brand; "Sabrina" [1954] starring Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn & William Holden; extras unclear |
 | "The Billy Wilder DVD Collection" Box Set [2003]
M.G.M. Video color/b&w DVD set [7/2003] 9 disks for $90.49 contains 9 feature films: "The Apartment" [1960] starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray & Ray Walston {won 5 Oscars); "Avanti!" [1972] starring Jack Lemmon & Juliet Mills; "The Fortune Cookie" [1966] starring Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau (won Oscar); "Irma la Douce" [1963] starring Jack Lemmon & Shirley MacLaine; "Kiss Me, Stupid" [1964] starring Dean Martin, Kim Novak & Ray Walston; "One, Two, Three" [1961] starring James Cagney, Horst Buchholz & Pamela Tiffin; "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" [[1970] starring Robert Stephens & Colin Blakely; "Some Like It Hot" [1959] starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft & Joe E. Brown; and Agatha Christie's "Witness For The Prosecution" [1957] starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton & Elsa Lanchester; extras include theatrical trailers, outtakes, featurettes & photo gallery |
 | "Billy Wilder Film Collection" DVD Box Set [2008]
M.G.M. Video DVD set [3/2008] 4 disks for $35.99 contains 4 feature films: "The Apartment" [1960] starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray & Ray Walston {won 5 Oscars); "The Fortune Cookie" [1966] starring Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau (won Oscar); "Kiss Me, Stupid" [1964] starring Dean Martin, Kim Novak & Ray Walston; and "Some Like It Hot" [1959] starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft & Joe E. Brown; extras include theatrical trailers, outtakes, 4 featurettes, documentary "Nostalgic Look Back" |
Billy Wilder wrote scripts in Europe from 1929 to 1933; then he wrote scripts
for Hollywood studios until moving to the director's chair in 1942.
"Un Rêve Blond (A Blond Dream)" [Germany 1932]
script for musical comedy /tt0159068/
"The Blue From The Sky (Das Blaue vom Himmel)" [Germany 1932] /tt0022695/
Wilder co-wrote musical comedy script
"Ninotchka" [M.G.M. Oct 1939]
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Three Russian agents are sent to Paris to sell jewelry confiscated during the Revolution; a former Russian noblewoman enlists a British count to retreive her family's jewelry, the three agents are seduced by Western decadence, and stiff agent Ninotchka Ivanoff is sent to bring the jewels and agents back.
Co-produced & directed by Ernst Lubitsch; written by Melchior Lengyel, Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder & Walter Reisch; starring Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire, Bela Lugosi, Sig Ruman & Felix Bressart; Oscar nomi- nations for Best Picture, Best Original Story, Best Screenplay, Best Actress (Garbo); listed on National Film Registry (1990); listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Movies (5/2005)
Warner Home Video b&w DVD [9/2005] for $5.79 M.G.M. Video b&w VHS [1/99] out of prodn/many used 11"x17" square 'Garbo laughs!' poster from Amazon for $14.99 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
 | "Ernst Lubitsch's Ninotchka Starring Greta Garbo" script & critical text [1975] Edited by Richard J. Anobile Flare/Avon pb [4/75] out of print/used Universe/Darien House 11x8¾ hardcover [4/75] out of print/many used |
"The Major and The Minor" [1942] Wilder's directorial debut
"Five Graves To Cairo" [1943] /tt0035884/
"Double Indemnity" [Paramount Sept 1944]
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An insurance salesman plots with a beautiful client to murder her elderly husband for the insurance. But a company investigator suspects foul play, the old man's daughter accuses the woman of murdering her mother in order to marry him, and suddenly the salesman fears a double cross.
Co-written & directed by Billy Wilder; script co-written by Raymond Chandler [1888-1959] from the James M. Cain novel; starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Tom Powers & Edward G. Robinson; Oscar noms for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Script, Best Actress [BS], Best Cinematography, Best Music Score, Best Sound; listed on National Film Registry 1992; listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Movies (/2005)
Universal b&w VHS [4/98] for $13.99 Image Ent b&w DVD [10/2000] out of stock/used full credits on IMDb |
 | "Double Indemnity" script by Billy Wilder & Raymond Chandler Univ CA Press 9x6 pb [12/2000] for $11.17 critical textbook [1992] by Richard Schickel
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 | 1936 novel by James M. Cain [1892-1977] Vintage 8x5¼ pb [5/89] for $8.76 Amereon 9x6¼ hardcover [9/96] out of print/rare Caedmon UNABR audio CD [5/2005] for $18.87 |
"Death Mills" Holocaust documentary [1945] /tt0259271/
"The Emperor Waltz" (1948) /tt0040317/
"A Foreign Affair" (1948) /tt0040367/
| | "Sunset Boulevard: A Hollywood Story" [Paramount Aug 1950] |
 | Joe is an unsuccessful screenwriter who has another script rejected by the studio; fleeing the men trying to repossess his car, he hides in a garage at a Sunset Blvd. mansion; the owner is Norma Desmond, a failed star who asks Joe to help polish the script intended to ignite her comeback on the screen. The butler moves Joe's possessions into the mansion where he is essentially a 'kept man'; that is okay, but Joe is horrified to learn that Norma thinks that she is in love with him. She sends the completed script to DeMille at Paramount, then drives her rare limousine to the studio for a confrontation. Joe has been working with a studio secretary on another script, and the pair have fallen in love. Joe tells Norma, Norma calls the girl to bad-mouth Joe, Joe invites the girl to the mansion to see for herself. After the girl leaves, Norma shoots Joe, his body falls into the pool. By the time the police arrive, Norma is lost in fantasy; the butler persuades her that the waiting cops and news reporters are part of her new movie, so she descends the staircase and utters the famous line "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up". Co-written & co-produced by Charles Brackett; co-written & directed by Billy Wilder; co-written by D.M. Marshman Jr.; starring William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Jack Webb, Julia Faye & Henry Wilcoxon; cameos by Cecil B. DeMille, Hedda Hopper, Buster Keaton, Anna Q. Nilsson & H.B. Warner; won Oscars for Best Original Script, Best Music Score & Best B&W Art Direction, also Oscar nomiations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor & Actress, Best B&W Cinematography & Best Editing; won W.G.A. Award; nominated for D.G.A. Award; listed on National Film Registry (1989)
watch the theatrical trailer [3:14] for free at YouTube not yet available on Blu-ray Paramount b&w DVD [11/2002] for $18.74 Paramount b&w DVD [11/2008] 2 disks out of prodn/used Paramount b&w VHS [1/96] for $14.95 Paramount b&w VHS [undated] for $7.40 full credits at IMDb • film entry at Wikipedia |
more details (synopsis & history, DVDs, books, posters) at
Magic Lantern's "Sunset Blvd." 1950 Movie Page
"Ace In The Hole" aka "The Big Carnival" [Paramount June 1951]
Filmed at Albuquerque, Gallup & Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico; co-produced, co-written & directed by
Billy Wilder; music by Hugo Friedhofer; starring Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur,
Porter Hall, Frank Cady, Richard Benedict, Ray Teal, Lewis Martin, John Berkes, Frances Dominguez &
Iron Eyes Cody; Oscar nom for Best Script •
full credits at IMDb
"Stalag 17" [1953]
Directed by Billy Wilder; starring William Holden;
full credits at IMDb
"Sabrina" [1954] /tt0047437/
http://www.amazon.com/Sabrina-Centennial-Collection-Humphrey-Bogart/dp/B001EXE300/
"The Seven Year Itch" [1955]
starring Tom Ewell & Marilyn Monroe
"Witness For The Prosecution" [1957]
based on the Agatha Christie stageplay; starring Tyrone Power,
Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton & Elsa Lanchester
"The Spirit of St. Louis" [1957] /tt0051003/
"Love in the Afternoon" [1957] /tt0050658/
"Some Like It Hot" [1959]
starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft & Joe E. Brown
"The Making of Some Like It Hot" [2006 video] /tt0899073/
http://www.amazon.com/Making-Some-Like-Hot-Memories/dp/0470537213/
http://www.amazon.com/Some-Like-Hot-Anniversary-Companion/dp/0061761230/
http://www.amazon.com/Some-Like-Hot-Anniversary-Companion/dp/B004IK9FSG/
http://www.amazon.com/Some-Like-Blu-ray-Marilyn-Monroe/dp/B004TJ1H1E/
"The Apartment" [United Artists 1960]
won 5 Oscars; starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray & Ray Walston
http://www.amazon.com/Apartment-Collectors-Jack-Lemmon/dp/B0010AN7Z4/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4OXm9-E8OQ
Neil Simon wrote musical "Promises, Promises" based on BW's "The Apartment"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promises,_Promises
"One, Two, Three" [1961]
starring James Cagney, Horst Buchholz & Pamela Tiffin
"Irma la Douce" [1963]
starring Jack Lemmon & Shirley MacLaine; based on the stageplay by Alexandre Breffort
http://www.ibdb.com/show.php?id=4767
"Kiss Me, Stupid" [1964]
starring Dean Martin, Kim Novak & Ray Walston
"The Fortune Cookie" [United Artists 1966]
starring Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau (won Oscar)
"The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes"
[Mirisch / United Artists Oct 1970]
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A beautiful Belgian woman found in the river Thames is brought to
Sherlock Holmes, who is quickly warned to stay out of official business. The investigation leads to Scotland, and soon involves six missing midgets, villainous monks, a Scottish castle, the Loch Ness monster, and covert naval experiments. Originally filmed for roadshow-length (with intermission) release, U.A.'s financial troubles forced Wilder to agree to a shortened version; he was not happy with editor Ernest Walter's 125-minute version; most of the removed elements were destroyed or lost, so Wilder's original intention may never be re-created.
Co-written & co-produced by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond; directed by Billy Wilder; music by Miklós Rózsa; starring Robert Stephens (as Holmes}, Colin Blakely {as Watson}, Geneviève Page, Christopher Lee, Tamara Toumanova, Clive Revill, Irene Handl, Mollie Maureen & Stanley Holloway; W.G.A. nom for Best Original Comedy Script
M.G.M. Video widescreen color DVD [7/2003] for $14.49 M.G.M. Video color VHS [6/94] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia Orchestral music for the film performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Nic Raine Silva America music CD [undated] out of prodn/used |
"Avanti!" [1972] starring Jack Lemmon & Juliet Mills
"The Front Page" [1974]
"Fedora" [1978]
Other Works of Billy Wilder
 | "Billy Wilder: Interviews" [2002] Edited by Robert Horton Univ Press MS 9x5¾ pb [5/2002] for $22.00 Univ Press MS 9¼x6½ hardcover [5/2002] for $46.71 |
seven video clips of Billy Wilder answering questions at A.F.I. class in 1976 (at YouTube)
® ®
Billy Wilder's Broadway credits [since 1968] at Internet Broadway Database
"Promises, Promises" Broadway musical [1968-72 & 2010]
based on the script of "The Apartment" [1960]
"Sugar" Broadway musical [1972-73]
based on the script of "Some Like It Hot" [1959]
"Sunset Blvd." Broadway musical [1994-97]
adapted by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the 1950 film
Works About Billy Wilder
"Billy Wilder" [1970 TV] /tt0352209/
 | "Billy Wilder In Hollywood" [1977] by Maurice Zolotow, Foreword by Jack Lemmon Limelight Editions 8½x5½ pb [8/2004] for $18.95 Pavilion Books 8x5½ hardcover [1988] out of print/used Putnam hardcover [1977] out of print/used |
"Portrait d'un Homme 'à 60% Parfait': Billy Wilder" [France 1980] /tt0447372/
"Marilyn: The Untold Story" [1980 TV] Wilder is portrayed by Howard Caine
"Film Society of Lincoln Center: A Tribute To Billy Wilder" [1982 TV] /tt0633422/
American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Awards 1986: Billy Wilder
honoree credits from IMDb; video not available; show credits from IMDb
"The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts"
[1990 TV special] /tt0356787/
"Billy Wilder, Wie Haben Sie's Gemacht?" [Germany 1992]
German-language 1988 interviews with Billy Wilder for German television by Hellmuth Karasek & Volker Schlöndorff;
broadcast in 1992, later reworked into English-language docufilm "Billy Wilder Speaks" [T.C.M. 2006] {see below}
German VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available •
credits at IMDb
 | "Norma Jean & Marilyn" [H.B.O. May 1996]
A psychological biopic, with Judd portraying the dark-haired Norma Jeane Baker and Sorvino portraying the conflicting glamorous 'blonde bombshell' Marilyn Monroe persona. Directed by Tim Fywell; telescript by Jill Isaacs, based on a book by Anthony Summers; starring Ashley Judd {as Norma Jean}, Mira Sorvino {as Marilyn Monroe}, Josh Charles, Ron Rifkin, David Dukes {as Arthur Miller}, Peter Dobson {as Joe DiMaggio}, John Rubinstein {as Darryl Zanuck}, Allan Corduner {as Billy Wilder}, Dana Gold-stone {as Lee Strasberg}, Nancy Linehan Charles {as Bette Davis}, Jeffrey Combs {as Montgom-ery Clift}, Howard Platt {as Howard Hawks}, Steven Culp {as Robert Kennedy} & Perry Stephens {as John F. Kennedy}; nominated for 5 Emmy Awards, including both lead actresses H.B.O. Home Video color DVD [9/2004] for $8.99 H.B.O. Home Video color VHS [1/98] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia • official movie site |
 | "Wilder Times: The Life of Billy Wilder" [1996] by Kevin Lally Owl Publng pb [9/2000] out of print/used Henry Holt & Co. 9¼x6 hardcover [5/96] out of print/many used |
 | "Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy" [P.B.S. Feb 1998] Hour-long episode of "American Masters" featuring Billy Wilder, Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Nancy Olson, I.A.L. Diamond, Audrey Wilder, critic Richard Schickel, and writer-directors Robert Towne, William Friedkin & Ron Shelton Co-produced & directed by Mel Stuart; written by Robert Mundi; narrated by Walter Matthau VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • credits at IMDb • official movie site |
 | "On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder" [1998] by Ed Sikov Hyperion 8¾x5¾ pb [1/99] out of print/many used Hyperion 9½x6½ hardcover [11/98] out of print/many used |
 | "Conversations With Wilder" [1999] by director-writer Cameron Crowe Knopf 10x8 pb [9/2001] out of print/used Knopf 10¼x8 hardcover [11/99] out of print/used |
 | "The Audrey Hepburn Story" [ABC-TV March 2000] Covers Hepburn's early years in Holland (five years under Nazi occupation), early career in America, and her eventual stardom in the movies. Exec produced by Robert Greenwald; directed by Steven Robman; starring Jennifer Love Hewitt {as Audrey Hepburn}, Gabriel Macht {as William Holden}, Ray Landry {as Humphrey Bogart}, Eric McCormack {as Mel Ferrer}, Michael J. Burg {as Truman Capote}, Swede Swensson {as Gregory Peck} & Peter Feder {as Billy Wilder} Sony Pictures widescreen color DVD [7/2000] for $9.49 Sony Pictures color VHS [7/2000] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb |
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"Ethics and Social Criticism In The Hollywood Films of Erich von Stroheim, Ernst Lubitsch, and Billy Wilder" [2000] by Nora Henry Praeger Publng 9½x6½ hardcover [10/2000] for $125.00 see also Magic Lantern's Erich von Stroheim [1885-1957] Page
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 | "Nobody's Perfect: Billy Wilder, A Personal Biography" [2002] by Charlotte Chandler book reviewed as 'non-essential', 'uninteresting' - included here for completists Applause Books 9¼x6 pb [8/2004] for $14.00 S&S 9½x6½ hardcover [10/2002] out of print/many used |
 | "Conversations With The Great Moviemakers of Hollywood's Golden Age: At The American Film Institute" [2006] by George Stevens, Jr.
Knopf 9½x6½ hardcover [2/2006] for $23.10 interviews with 32 major writers, directors & cinematographers, including Ingmar Bergman, writer Ray Bradbury, Richard Brooks, Frank Capra, William Clothier, Stanley Cortez, George Cukor, Federico Fellini, George Folsey, Howard Hawks, Alfred Hitchcock, James Wong Howe, John Huston, Elia Kazan, Gene Kelly, Stanley Kramer, Fritz Lang, David Lean, Ernest Lehman, Mervyn LeRoy, Harold Lloyd, Rouben Mamoulian, Satyajit Ray, Jean Renoir, George Stevens, King Vidor, Hal Wallis, Raoul Walsh, Billy Wilder, Robert Wise, William Wyler & Fred Zinnemann |
 | "Billy Wilder Speaks: The Wit & Wisdom of One of Hollywood's Most Acclaimed Filmmakers" TV docufilm [T.C.M. June 2006] Based on interviews of Billy Wilder filmed in 1988; DVD contains 71-minute docufilm, featurettes, 18 theatrical trailers, filmography; written, co-produced & co-directed by Volker Schlöndorff; co-directed by Gisela Grischow Kino Video color/b&w DVD [10/2006] for $22.49 full credits at IMDb |
 | "The Playboy Interviews: The Directors" [2007] Edited by by Stephen Randall 17 interviews including Robert Altman, Ingmar Bergman, the Coen brothers, Francis Ford Coppola, Federico Fellini, Stanley Kubrick, Spike Lee (1991), David Mamet, Roman Polanski (1971), Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino (2003), Orson Welles, Billy Wilder (1963), with Clint Eastwood and Oliver Stone each featured twice M Press/Dark Horse 9x6 hardcover [10/2007] for $18.36 |
 | "Conversations With Directors: An Anthology of Interviews From Literature/Film Quarterly" [2008] Edited by Elsie M. Walker & David T. Johnson
interviewees include: Robert Altman, Frank Capra, René Clair, Martha Coolidge, Wes Craven, Terence Davies & Olivia Stewart, Edward Dmytryk, Federico Fellini, William Friedkin, Richard Leacock, Richard Linklater, Baz Luhrmann, Louis Malle, Jonas Mekas, Marcel Ophüls, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Eric Rohmer, Patricia Rozema, John Schlesinger, Jean-Charles Tacchella, Marcela Fernández Violante, Andrej Wajda, Wayne Wang, Billy Wilder, Robert Wise & Franco Zefferelli Scarecrow Press 9x6 pb [3/2008] for $55.00 |
 | "Some Like It Wilder: The Life and Controversial Films of Billy Wilder" [2009] by Gene D. Phillips Univ Press KY 9x6¼ hardcover [12/2009] for $31.96 |
 | "A Divided World: Hollywood Cinema and Emigre Directors In The Era of Roosevelt and Hitler, 1933-1948" [2011] by Nick Smedley
Examines some of the important programs of the New Deal and the subsequent response of the film community, and also compares and contrasts the major works of three European directors – Fritz Lang, Ernst Lubitsch & Billy Wilder – with the products of mainstream Hollywood. Intellect Ltd 9x6¾ pb [2/2011] for $40.00 |
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