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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
more
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:
more than just a simple "message" movie, Wilder tries to make addiction as human a crisis as possible
more (98 total)
Cast
(in credits order) (verified as complete) | 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 |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Gene Ashley | ... | Male nurse (uncredited) |
| Walter Baldwin | ... | Man from Albany (uncredited) |
| Harry Barris | ... | Piano Player at Harry & Joe's (uncredited) |
| Ian Begg | ... | Bit part (uncredited) |
| Jess Lee Brooks | ... | Bit Part (uncredited) |
| David Clyde | ... | Dave (uncredited) |
| James Conaty | ... | Man in Nightclub Washroom (uncredited) |
| Willa Pearl Curtis | ... | Mrs. Wertheim's assistant (uncredited) |
| Helen Dickson | ... | Mrs. Frink (uncredited) |
| Franklyn Farnum | ... | Concert Attendee (uncredited) |
| Byron Foulger | ... | Shopkeeper (uncredited) |
| John Garris | ... | Opera singer (uncredited) |
| Jayne Hazard | ... | M.M. (uncredited) |
| Ted Hecht | ... | Man with bandaged ear (uncredited) |
| Ernest Hilliard | ... | Headwaiter (uncredited) |
 | Earle Hyman | ... | Smoking Man (uncredited) |
| Jerry James | ... | Male nurse (uncredited) |
| Karl 'Karchy' Kosiczky | ... | Baby (uncredited) |
| Eddie Laughton | ... | Mr. Brophy (uncredited) |
| Perc Launders | ... | Doorman (uncredited) |
| Audrey Long | ... | Cloak room attendant (uncredited) |
| Theodora Lynch | ... | Opera singer (uncredited) |
| William Meader | ... | Hardware man (uncredited) |
| James Millican | ... | Nurse (uncredited) |
| Frank Mills | ... | Drunk in Alcoholic Ward (uncredited) |
| Pat Moriarity | ... | Irishman (uncredited) |
| William Newell | ... | Liquor store proprietor (uncredited) |
| William O'Leary | ... | Irishman (uncredited) |
| Peter Potter | ... | Shaky and Sweaty (uncredited) |
| Mark Power | ... | Bit part (uncredited) |
| Stanley Price | ... | Fruit clerk (uncredited) |
| Craig Reynolds | ... | George (uncredited) |
| Lester Sharpe | ... | Jewish man (uncredited) |
| Lee Shumway | ... | Guard (uncredited) |
| Sophie | ... | Mrs. Deveridge's dog (uncredited) |
| Douglas Spencer | ... | Beetle (uncredited) |
| Al Stewart | ... | Mattress man (uncredited) |
| Bunny Sunshine | ... | Little girl (uncredited) |
| Harry Tenbrook | ... | Drunk in Alcoholic Ward (uncredited) |
| Fred 'Snowflake' Toones | ... | Washroom Attendant at Harry & Joe's Bar (uncredited) |
| Emmett Vogan | ... | Doctor (uncredited) |
| Max Wagner | ... | Mike (uncredited) |
| Milton Wallace | ... | Pawnbroker with Helen's Coat (uncredited) |
| Bertram Warburgh | ... | Jewish man (uncredited) |
| Gisela Werbisek | ... | Mrs. Wertheim (uncredited) |
| Crane Whitley | ... | Waiter at Harry & Joe's Bar (uncredited) |
| Ernest Whitman | ... | Black man talking to self (uncredited) |
| Harry Wilson | ... | Drunk Tank Voices (uncredited) |
| Isabel Withers | ... | Woman in Front of Pawn Shop (uncredited) |
Directed by | |||
| Billy Wilder | |||
Writing credits | ||
| Charles R. Jackson | (novel) | |
| Charles Brackett | (screenplay) and | |
| Billy Wilder | (screenplay) | |
Produced by | |||
| Charles Brackett | .... | producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Miklós Rózsa | (as Miklos Rozsa) | ||
Cinematography by | |||
| John F. Seitz | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Hans Dreier | |||
| A. Earl Hedrick | (as Earl Hedrick) | ||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Bertram C. Granger | (as Bertram Granger) | ||
Costume Design by | |||
| Edith Head | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Wally Westmore | .... | makeup artist | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Charles C. Coleman | .... | assistant director (uncredited) | |
Art Department | |||
| Gene Lauritzen | .... | construction coordinator (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| Stanley Cooley | .... | sound recordist | |
| Joel Moss | .... | sound recordist | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Farciot Edouart | .... | process photography | |
| Gordon Jennings | .... | special photographic effects | |
| Loyal Griggs | .... | process photography assistant (uncredited) | |
| Paul K. Lerpae | .... | special photographic effects assistant (uncredited) | |
| Harry Perry | .... | process photography assistant (uncredited) | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Doane Harrison | .... | editorial supervisor | |
Music Department | |||
| Sidney Cutner | .... | orchestrator (uncredited) | |
| Samuel Hoffman | .... | musician: theremin (uncredited) | |
| George Parrish | .... | orchestrator (uncredited) | |
| Leo Shuken | .... | orchestrator (uncredited) | |
| Victor Young | .... | musical director (uncredited) | |
| Eugene Zador | .... | orchestrator (uncredited) | |
Other crew | |||
| Dr. George Thompson | .... | medical advisor (uncredited) | |
Production CompaniesDistributors
- Paramount Pictures (1945) (USA) (theatrical)
- MCA/Universal Pictures (1958) (USA) (TV)
- MCA/Universal Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
- Universal Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
- ClassicLine (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
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:
The only film to win both an Academy Award for Best Picture and the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix du Festival International Film.
more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Helen pours whiskey for Don near the end then divides it into two glasses, it is nowhere near a quarter of the way up the glass. When Don chooses not to drink it moments later, and drops his cigarette in the glass, it is more than half-way full.
more
Quotes:
Don Birnam:
Let me have one, Nat. I'm dying. Just one.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Dawson's Creek: The Lost Weekend (#5.2)" (2001)
more
Soundtrack:
IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL
more
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?
more
more (98 total)
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Although in some respects some of the conditions and dialog from the Lost Weekend have become dated, the performances and the ideas behind it- plus the heightened style of it- make it work many years down the line. Oscar winning director Billy Wilder makes Don Birnem's struggle something that is unmistakable, especially if you've been around these kinds of people. Most of us have seen the drunk at the end of the bar with grandiose ideas and romanticized visions amid that need (nevermind enjoyment) of the booze. But the film is successful if only because it makes this obsession with the flailing writer Don as his major internal conflict, and that it goes deeper to something that is in many of us, even if we don't drink.
Basically, Don wants to get off alcohol so he can write his great book. Despite some advice from the "friendly enemy" (as I would call one) local bartender, and the girl Gloria, there is little hope for him it seems. He goes on a four-day bender, looking frantically all over the apartment when it's not in easy reach. This all leads up to going clean, which involves a truly paranoid-filmed sequence by Wilder (one of his very best).
It is almost all harrowing drama, and only in the minute moments when Don is completely unsympathetic does the film lose some of its momentum. But really, the film is as much about the psychology of this man, of the writer in desperation (though never wanting to admit it), and Ray Milland's performance (at least for the time) was daring enough to show as much as could be shown at the time. The film probes just enough into the subject matter to not become very preachy (I don't think Wilder's message is to never drink ever as much as one of keeping control of one's life and system), and at the core is just entertaining drama.