The Lost Weekend (1945)

My Review

The Best Picture of 1945 is…..”The Lost Weekend.” This hard-hitting and realistic drama about the effects of alcoholism shocked movie audiences in the 1940’s. Director Billy Wilder bought the paperback novel at a newsstand, and was so impressed by the story that he approached the Paramount Pictures brass about adapting it into a feature film. They reluctantly agreed, and the rest is history.

The cast is headed by Ray Milland in the lead role, doing extensive research to play alcoholic Don Birnam. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor, one of four wins including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay (Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett). Jane Wyman played Don’s girl friend, her first big dramatic role in films, which moved her into superstardom as a result. She was married to Ronald Reagan at the time.

Co-stars include Howard da Silva, Phillip Terry, Doris Dowling, Frank Faylen, Mary Young, Anita Bolster, and Lilian Fontaine, the mother of Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine. “The Lost Weekend” was the eighth highest grossing film of 1945 for producer Charles Brackett and Paramount Pictures.