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The Lost Weekend (1945)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
3 September 1946 (Sweden)
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Tagline:
How daring can the screen dare to be? No adult man or woman can risk missing the startling frankness of The Lost Weekend! more
Plot:
The desperate life of a chronic alcoholic is followed through a four day drinking bout. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Won 4 Oscars.
Another 9 wins
&
3 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(3 articles)
Scores from Outer Space
(From SoundOnSight. 30 September 2009, 7:38 PM, PDT)
Hooch ‘n’ Harmonies
(From SoundOnSight. 26 June 2009, 9:54 AM, PDT)
(From SoundOnSight. 30 September 2009, 7:38 PM, PDT)
Hooch ‘n’ Harmonies
(From SoundOnSight. 26 June 2009, 9:54 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
"Before 'Weekend', alcoholism was treated as something funny. There were character actors who only played drunks, and always for laughs.There's nothing funny about a drunk."
more (98 total)
Cast
(Complete credited cast) | Ray Milland | ... | Don Birnam |
 | Jane Wyman | ... | Helen St. James |
 | Phillip Terry | ... | Wick Birnam |
| Howard Da Silva | ... | Nat |
| Doris Dowling | ... | Gloria |
 | Frank Faylen | ... | 'Bim' Nolan |
| Mary Young | ... | Mrs. Deveridge |
| Anita Sharp-Bolster | ... | Mrs. Foley (as Anita Bolster) |
| Lillian Fontaine | ... | Mrs. Charles St. James (as Lilian Fontaine) |
| Frank Orth | ... | Opera Cloak Room Attendant |
| Lewis L. Russell | ... | Charles St. James |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
101 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
Germany:12 |
UK:A (original rating) |
UK:PG |
South Korea:15 (2003) |
Argentina:16 |
Australia:PG |
Finland:K-16 |
Sweden:15 |
USA:Approved
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
To prepare for the part, Ray Milland spent one night in Bellevue Hospital as a patient. He also stopped eating as much, as most alcoholics forget to do so.
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Goofs:
Continuity: Amount of rye in shot glass changes. When bartender Nat pours Don Birnam's first drink, the shot glass is approximately 75% full as seen over bartender's left shoulder. Birnam lifts glass, but does not drink. Cut to camera over Birnam's right shoulder looking at bartender. As Birnam leans away from bar, glass is now filled almost to brim.
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Quotes:
Wick Birnem:
If it happens, it happens and I hope it does. I've had six years of this. I've had my bellyfull... Who are we fooling? We've tried everything, haven't we? We've reasoned with him. We've baited him. We've watched him like a hawk. We've tried trusting him. How often have you cried? How often have I beaten him up? Scrape him out of a gutter and pump some kind of self-respect into him and back he falls, back in every time.
Helen St. James: He's a sick person. It's as though there was something wrong with his heart or his lungs. You wouldn't walk out on him if he had an attack. He needs our help.
[...]
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Helen St. James: He's a sick person. It's as though there was something wrong with his heart or his lungs. You wouldn't walk out on him if he had an attack. He needs our help.
[...]
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Movie Connections:
Spoofed in Butterscotch and Soda (1948)
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Soundtrack:
IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL
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FAQ
A Note Regarding SpoilersIs "The Lost Weekend" based on a book?
What is the significance of the three balls outside of the pawnbroker's shop?
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more (98 total)
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The often stated belief that alcoholism is a mere bodily addiction does not do the truth any justice. Alcoholism is more. It's a state of mind. It's addictive escapism for those who feel cheated by life, a way of avoiding fears and unhappiness, an illusionary method to make up for ones failures. Maybe that's why most therapies do not succeed. They solely concentrate on the illness, rather than on the cause of it. Of course, in many cases the cause cannot be helped...
In The Lost Weekend we accompany the failed writer Don Birnam (Ray Milland) surrendering to the self-destructive nature of his addiction. Despite being good-looking and intelligent, Don is a hopeless alcoholic filled with self-loathing ("The reason is me. What I am. Or rather what I am not.") The brand doesn't matter, the cheaper the better – to him it's all the same. Drinking seems to be his only way to escape from his misery and low self-esteem. "Suddenly I'm above the ordinary. I'm competent. I'm walking a tightrope over Niagara Falls. I'm one of the great ones. I'm Michaelangelo, molding the beard of Moses. I'm Van Gogh painting pure sunlight. [...]" That's what a drunk Don tells his favourite barkeeper Nat (Howard Da Silva).
Yet, in one aspect he is lucky. Unlike many of his fellow sufferers he is not alone. After years of abuse, his faithful girlfriend Helen (Jane Wyman) and his brother Wick (Phillip Terry) have still not deserted him. Compassionately they do their utmost to protect Don from himself by keeping him under close observation. With great effort they determined the most inventive hiding-places of his bottles and they even visited nearby liquor stores and bars, begging not to accept Don as a customer. There is nothing they haven't tried, but Don appears to be beyond salvation ("I am not a drinker. I'm a drunk." he tells them.). Just before the three of them are about to go on a weekend trip, Don devises a cunning plan to temporarily get rid of the two persons who care about him, giving him time to acquire the liquid he treasures the most. Soon he is stone drunk, staggering through the streets, always on the lookout for the next drink. For Don there will be no weekend trip. Only the bottle and the desperate humiliations connected with attaining it.
The Lost Weekend is a a drama of great emotional vehemence, lacking the light heartedness of Billy Wilder's later works. It gives unclouded insight into the darkest corners of alcoholism and depicts the powerlessness of the alcoholic over himself. Wilder created great controversy at that time by letting the lead actor succumb to his addiction. He didn't shy away from showing the addict's humiliations when begging for money or booze. Neither did he hesitate to point out the addict's loss of all self-respect when stealing and lying to pay for his one need. The horrifying hallucination scene only adds up to the disturbing decline of Don Birnam's humanity, proving that the greatest horrors lie within our imagination.
This is an excellent film of lasting relevance. It is technically brilliant and shines with great dialogue (which is typical for Wilder). Its storytelling (flashbacks) is superior. Furthermore Ray Millard (Dial M for Murder) gives a terrific and equally courageous performance as the the self-destructive alcoholic. You can see the desperate self-loathing and calculating slyness of a true addict written on his face.
In the end it comes down to two choices. Don can give in to alcoholism and thereby give up on life. Or he can try to overcome his addiction and face his fears and discontentment. Although sheer will-power may not be enough to achieve the latter, it is essential for succeeding. And the cause isn't lost, for there is Helen to help and care for him. Don is not alone. May someone have mercy on those who are...