The Lost Weekend

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The Lost Weekend is a 1945 motion picture directed by Billy Wilder for Paramount Pictures, starring Ray Milland, Jane Wyman and Phillip Terry. The film was based on a novel of the same title by Charles R. Jackson about a writer who drinks out of a frustration over the accusation that he had an affair with one of his male buddies while in college. It was one of the first to use the theremin, a musical instrument, to create the pathos of the disease of alcoholism.

It tells the story of an alcoholic, Milland, on a weekend bender. While on his bender he stops in at his favorite watering stop - Nat's Bar on Third Avenue, based on the legendary P. J. Clarke's. There he seeks companionship in his drinking with congenial bartender Nat (Howard da Silva). As the weekend continues, Milland drifts deeper and deeper into his living nightmare, committing crimes and even spending time in a mental ward. Unlike the novel, the protagonist's frustration in the film stems not from homosexuality but from his frustrations as a would-be writer.

Awards

The movie received Academy Awards for:

• Best Picture - Charles Brackett, producer
• Best Actor in a Leading Role - Ray Milland
• Best Director - Billy Wilder
• Best Writing of Adapted Screenplay - Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder

It also received Oscar nominations for:

• Best Cinematography, black-and-white - John F. Seitz
• Best Original Music Score - Miklós Rózsa
• Best Film Editing - Doane Harrison

The movie also shared the 1946 Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival. As of 2006, it and Marty are the only films to ever win both Academy Award for Best Picture and Palme D'Or.

Trivia

• Tribute was paid to the film in the Simpsons episode A Star is Burns: Barney Gumble's short film 'Puke-a-Hontas' recreates several of the iconic images such as the main character lying on his bed surrounded by the detritus of his habit.

External links

• [The Lost Weekend at Movie Tome]

 

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