... the films of Billy Wilder

Born in 1906 in what was the Austro-Hungarian empire (now Poland), Billy Wilder was already a well-known writer/director in Europe when he escaped the Nazis and hit Hollywood in the mid-1930s. Equally renowned as both a screenwriter and director, Wilder wittingly handled such diverse genres as the gritty Double Indemnity to the sublimely silly Some like it Hot, from the eerie Sunset Boulevard to the panic of a memory-loss alcoholic in The Lost Weekend. Billy officially retired in 1981 but remained active in film circles as a teacher and critic, passing away in 2002. Here are four of his varied films, all of which he both wrote and directed.

Stalag 17 (1953)
During WWII, a group of American Airmen are cooped up in Barrack 4 at a prisoner-of-war camp. They soon become aware that there is a stoolie in their midst, passing on escape plans to the Germans, led by their commandant (menacingly played by director Otto Preminger). Suspicion falls on Sefton (William Holden) who up until now has been their distrusted but grudgingly appreciated fixer, scrounging everything they need on the black market by paling around with the guards. As his countrymen turn on him, Sefton must discover the real culprit, or risk of his life. Holden won the Best Actor Oscar for this role.

The Apartment (1960)
Jack Lemmon plays C.C. Baxter, a young insurance clerk who begins a rapid rise on the corporate ladder when he lends his apartment first to the big boss Jeff (Fred McMurray) and other high-rollers, so they can have conduct trysts with their mistresses. Things become complicated when one of the ladies, Miss Kublenik (Shirley Maclaine), whom Baxter has a crush on, despairingly tries to commit suicide in the apartment after Jeff leaves her there following their assignation. Won three Oscars for Wilder (Best Picture, Best Writing, Best Director) and another for Lemmon.

Witness for the Prosecution (1947)
Curmudgeonly barrister Sir Wilfred Robarts (Charles Laughton) returns from an enforced sabbatical, away from his law offices due to ill health. Despite medical advice, and the ever-watchful presence of nurse Miss Plimsoll (Laughton’s wife, Elsa Lanchester), Sir Wilfred agrees to take on a murder case, not when he meets the accused man (Tyrone Power) but his impressive German wife Christine (Marlene Dietrich), who is determined to save her husband no matter what the cost. Nominated for six Oscars.

Sabrina (1954)
Humphrey Bogart, wonderfully cast against type, plays Linus, busy head of the Larabee family corporation. His playboy younger brother, David (William Holden) will soon marry into the Tyson family, creating both a familial bond and a large merger with that family’s company. But all of Linus’ work is thrown off-kilter with the return of the chauffeur’s daughter, Sabrina (Audrey Hepburn), who has undergone an ugly-duckling/swan transformation on a lengthy study trip to Paris. For Sabrina has always had a crush on David, and is delighted when he takes notice of her return, putting all of Linus' business plans in jeopardy.