Bewitched, Bothered and Be Wilder Quiz

Answer: Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland

This cute film was directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and it was actually his first foray into directing. His co-writer in this and many of his earlier films was long-time collaborator, Charles Brackett. The story line involves a mistaken identity, and Ginger Rogers gets the chance to show off her acting talents by pretending to be a 12-year-old girl, pretty believably. Ray Milland also contributed a lot to the film with his portrayal of the man who tries to help out the fake younger Ginger's character, and eventually becomes the object of the real older Ginger's affections.

It is a tribute to his acting ability that the film doesn't seem creepy, even when viewed though today's sensitivities, and if you get the chance to watch this one, you should take it!

Answer: Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray

This is another one directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and it shows the versatility of his creativity. His co-writer this time around was Raymond Chandler. The film is a classic film noir tale in which the flawed femme fatale, played perfectly by Barbara Stanwyck, wearing what might be the the worst wig in classic film, makes a man who has always been ethical until crossing paths with her fall into a deeper and deeper spiral of crime.

Her victim is played by the wonderful Fred MacMurray, and the trifecta is rounded out by Edward G. Robinson, MacMurray's co-worker and mentor, who ends up unraveling the mystery. Though it didn't win any Academy Awards, the film was nominated in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing, Best Actress, and Best (black and white) Cinematography, among others.

This is another film that shouldn't be missed.

Answer: Jane Wyman and Ray Milland

"The Lost Weekend" was another film written and directed by Wilder. It earned seven Academy Award nominations when it came out, and it tells the tale of an alcoholic, played by Ray Milland, who almost loses everything to his addiction, despite the love and devotion of his girlfriend, played by Jane Wyman.

The film was groundbreaking when it came out, though it has not aged well, in my opinon, and Milland's Oscar-winning performance (Best Actor) now seems heavy-handed and exaggerated. It is still worth a view, though, and serves to show Wilder's versatility.

The film eventually won Oscar's for Wilder as Best Director and Best Writer (for which he shared the honors with co-writer Charles Brackett, who was also the producer of the film, and won the Best Picture Oscar).

Answer: Gloria Swanson and William Holden

This is another of the wonderful film noirs directed and co-written (with Charles Brackett) by Billy Wilder. The film's dramatic opening, with William Holden's character found dead in a swimming pool, is the perfect start to this dark tale. Gloria Swanson gave the performance of her career as the washed-up silent screen actress whose descent into madness turns deadly.

The competition was very stiff that year, and though "Sunset Boulevard" received eleven Oscar nominations, it ended up losing out to "All About Eve" in most of the major awards for which it was nominated, winning only the Best Writer Oscar for Wilder and Brackett. Even "All About Eve" was snubbed in the Best Actress category, when Judy Holliday won for "Born Yesterday".

The film has aged well and was chosen by the Library of Congress to be among the first 25 films to be restored and preserved for posterity.

Answer: Audrey Hepburn and William Holden

"Sabrina" is another film where Wilder did the producing, directing and co-wrote (this time with Ernest Lehman and Samuel Taylor). It is a romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn, William Holden and Humphrey Bogart. Hepburn plays the grown-up daughter of the gardner on the estate of Holden's and Bogart's family who has returned home after finishing her education. Holden is the playboy younger brother who Hepburn has always had a crush since she was a girl, and Bogart plays the responsible older brother who eventually wins her heart.

The magnetism of the stars makes the story believable, despite the huge age difference between Bogart and Hepburn. Though the film was nominated for Oscars in six categories (including Best Director, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay), it ended up winning only for Best Costume Design. Still an audience favorite, the story has remade a few times, most notably in 1995 under the direction of Sydney Pollack.

Answer: Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell

This is another film directed and co-written (with George Axelrod) by Billy Wilder. It is the first film he made with Marilyn Monroe, with whom he had a difficult working relationship, though fortunately that did not end up showing up on the screen. The movie tells the tale of a man who has been happily married for seven years, and who falls prey to the infamous "seven-year itch", the supposedly common desire of maarried men to experience change and excitement in the area of romance, even when in good marriages. Enter "The Girl", Marilyn Monroe's ditzy character, and all sorts of comic mayhem ensues.

The film is probably best remembered for Monroe's famous scene of having her dress blown up while standing over a sidewalk grate. Though the film is sexist and expresses values no longer commonly accepted today, it is a great example of the comic talents of its two stars, under the direction of Billy Wilder.

Answer: Tyrone Power and Marlene Dietrich

For this movie, Billy Wilder returned to a noirish storyline, with a great cast and a courtroom setting. Also starring are Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laughton. Without giving two much away, Tyrone Power's character is on trial, and the surprise contribution of an unexpected witness for the prosecution brings unexpected results. Wilder directed and co-wrote (with Larry Marcus and Harry Kurnitz), and though the film did not win any of the seven Oscars it was nominated for, it has remained a fan favorite over the years and merits viewing, especially to spot many of the actors who made cameo appearances in it.

Answer: Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon

This movie, directed, produced and co-written (with I.A.L. Diamond) by Wilder, may be the one that people remember most and are most bewitched by. It stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as musicians who disguise themselves as women to avoid mafia hitmen and join an all-female band in the process.

Their foibles as not-very-convincing women, with the foil of the lovely Marilyn Monroe as one of the musicians in the band, Sugar Kane, produced some of the funniest moments in film history. Wilder and Monroe had many problems making this film, which was shot in black and white, and it almost didn't get finished. Nevertheless, the final product is a joy to behold.

The film was nominated for five Oscars, including Best Director and Best Writer for Wilder, and best Actor (for Lemmon), but it did not win any other than Best (black and white) Costume Design, a slight which seems strange today in view of how well the film has aged.

Answer: Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine

Billy Wilder followed up "Some Like It Hot" by working on another film with the same co-writer, I.A.L. Diamond, which was "The Apartment". It is a romantic comedy with a dark side, like many of Wilder's films. Once again, Jack Lemmon was tapped to star, and his teaming with Shirely MacLaine was pure genius. The two work at the same office, where Lemmon has an apartment that he lets male married company executives use for trysts with their lovers for a fee. Things get complicated when Lemmon falls for the lover of one of the company's bigwigs, played by Fred MacMurray. This is another one that is worth seeing if you get the chance.

Perhaps because of the magic created by the teaming of MacLaine and Lemmon in "The Apartment", Wilder followed up with another teaming of the two stars in "Irma La Douce" in 1963. It was produced, directed and co-written (once again with I.A.L. Diamond) by Wilder. This time the story is of an ex-cop, Lemmon, falling for a Paris prostitute, MacLaine. Lemmon's character would like MacLaine's to stop her chosen trade, which she does not want to do. The movie is a good pairing for the duo, and displays the Wilder touch. No one plays bewildered better than Jack Lemmon!

Answer: Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau

These three movies were all directed by Wilder and all starred the great comic team of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. "The Fortune Cookie" was the first time that the two actors worked together, even though Lemmon was supposed to star in it with Frank Sinatra or Jackie Gleason. Lemmon insisted that Matthau be cast, and production was suspended briefly when Matthau had a heart attack so that it could be finished with him. Matthau won the Best Supporting Oscar for the film, so Lemmon's judgement was on the mark. The two play scamsters faking an injury so that they can collect insurance moneys, and their teaming was so enjoyable that they they repeated their teaming twice more with Wilder at the helm and also appeared in eight other films together, often playing bachelors at odds who eventually come to understand and appreciate each other.

"The Front Page", their second Wilder-directed movie, had them playing newspapermen covering an important case. The story was a departure for Wilder, in that it was one that had been filmed earlier many times and was based on a Ben Hecht play. It was a great choice for the team of Lemmon and Matthau, though.

The team's final Wilder-directed movie, "Buddy, Buddy" was also Wilder's final film of his career. In Wilder's own words, "Wilder the writer let Wilder the director down" on this one. Unfortunately, it was not a very good movie, and all concerned preferred to let it be forgotten, to the bewilderment of the public and critics alike.