IMDb > The Lost Weekend (1945)
The Lost Weekend
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The Lost Weekend (1945) More at IMDbPro »

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The Lost Weekend (1945) -- MyMovieScripts.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
8.2/10   10,880 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 16% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Billy Wilder
Writers:
Charles R. Jackson (novel)
Charles Brackett (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for The Lost Weekend on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
3 September 1946 (Sweden) more
Genre:
Drama | Romance more
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
Plot Keywords:
more
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)

User Comments:
Feeling thirsty? Then have a cup of tea. 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
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Additional Details

Runtime:
101 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Don quotes twice from William Shakespeare when he is in Nat's bar. The first quote "Purple the sails, and so perfumed ... " is from Antony and Cleopatra: Act II, Scene 2. The second "Yea, all which it shall inherit ..." is from The Tempest, Act IV, Scene 1. 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:
Gloria: Don't be ridic'. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007) more
Soundtrack:
LOUISE more

FAQ

A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is "The Lost Weekend" based on a book?
What is the significance of the three balls outside of the pawnbroker's shop?
more
33 out of 41 people found the following comment useful.
Feeling thirsty? Then have a cup of tea., 4 January 1999
9/10
Author: Neil Dennis (neildennis@hotmail.com) from London, England

Seedy bars, pawnshops, and an array of elaborate hiding places are the overriding images from this film. The Lost Weekend is a grimly realistic account of four days in the life of a chronic alcoholic, played by Ray Milland. In films of this quality one always takes away unforgettable images. The most striking is Milland's drunken efforts to remember where in his apartment the last hiding place he used is. Degraded and thoroughly beaten by his addiction, his last refuge is to try and keep it a secret from those who still love him. Billy Wilder's direction and script is brilliant - sympathetic, but unpatronising in his handling of a delicate and rarely dealt with affliction. Not until Nicolas Cage's portrayal of a man determined to drink himself to death in Leaving Las Vegas, has alcoholism been dealt with so well. Milland's performance is first rate - no hammy shlurring of words - and the atmosphere is dark and seedy like the bars he frequents. The scene where he spends several hours trying to find an open pawnshop on a public holiday is both harrowing and dazzling - it is remeniscent of the filmic image of a parched man trying to cross the desert.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Lost Weekend (1945)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
I'm drunk right now erika-58
the bottle michaelboyeandersen
Near-perfext film - only false note is... BillyFisher
I need a drink after this one... redsox9
Anybody cry? tnj_6204
Has he written the book, or not? jbsalmonnc
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