In memory of Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder died 10 years ago today. There are many remarkable aspects to Wilder’s career as a filmmaker, but perhaps the thing that stands out most is the breadth of stories he was involved in as a writer. Look at this partial list of writing credits:

Ninotchka (1939)

The Major and the Minor (1942)

Double Indemnity (1944)

The Lost Weekend (1945)

A Foreign Affair (1948)

Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Ace in the Hole (1951)

Stalag 17 (1953)

Sabrina (1954)

The Seven Year Itch (1955)

Love in the Afternoon (1957)

The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

Some Like It Hot (1959)

The Apartment (1960)

One, Two, Three (1961)

Irma la Douce (1963)

The Fortune Cookie (1966)

Comedies, romantic comedies, dramas, crime, historical dramas, male leads, female leads, buddy pictures, on and on and on, just an amazing career and an incredible contribution to films.

In memory of the great writer-director, here are several GITS posts from the past which featured him:

Interview [Paris Review]

Wilder’s 10 rules of storytelling

Conversation: Incredible talk given by Wilder and long-time writing partner I.A.L. “Izzy” Diamond

How They Write A Script: Billy Wilder

Wilder at AFI [1986] [video]

“Tales of Buffalo Billy” [LA Review of Books]. HT to Teddy Pasternak for forwarding me this link.

If you have any other online resources about Billy Wilder, please post in comments.

What are your favorite Billy Wilder movies?

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