Analysis of Billy Wilder’s Dramatic Films

Q1: Billy Wilder is known for social commentary and keen observations about his adopted country and city life in the USA. Do you think he does a better job of this in his comedic or his dramatic films? Give reasons for your answer by citing specific moments in the films of the type you judge to be most effective at such social criticism.

Billy Wilder is one of the legendary film producers, writers and directors. He introduced the cinema world to perform things that were previously impossible, if not improbable. His daring nature to contradict common social constructs as well as present day-to-day activities in humorous ways became his trademark and had the ability to impart invaluable lessons from the ideas he postulated (Gewertz, 2003). Wilder was a critical thinker, a courageous man as well as a person of the art. Despite his humour and inclination to prefer comedy, his drama films were probably the most influential and impactful to the society through there articulation of societal issues that bedevilled the society thereby providing information that proved relevant to a wider group of persons.

Wilder, as a director, had a way of communicating his deep humorous messages, albeit with some shade of controversy. His creations led to debates in equal measure regardless of whether the films were comedic or dramatic. The dramatic films that Wilder produced were arguably better than the comedies. There are many reasons behind the premise that the dramatic films were better. This paper discusses the various productions by Wilder over the years whilst presenting their outstanding characteristics, as well as specific moments within the films which made Wilder’s dramas so effective. The paper also indicates the heroes and villains in two specific books: “The Apartment”

and The Seven Year Itch in the context of adultery and infidelity (Monroe et al., 2001).

Most film critics agree unanimously that there were a number of reasons behind the success of Wilder’s dramatic films which thrived over the comedic Broadway films. First, there is the depth of wit depicted by Wilder during the release of his films. After successfully persuading the management of paramount pictures to let him try his skills in directing, Wilder got the opportunity to direct the movie ”The Major and the Minor” in 1942 leading to a critical acclaim. In the meantime, he observed patiently the elements of a great movie production and this is where his creative nature to incorporate drama and suspense developed. Invariably, Wilder sharpened his craft of using visual experimentations to depict the American lifestyle which was often depicted through the display of unfussy and transparent association in between dramatic scenes. In the 1940’s while working closely with editor Doane Harrison, Wilder adopted a unique style which he called the ”The Wilderian Complimentary of Dialogue” which incorporated the use of image and compelling tales of dramatic scenes that served to highlight his fascination with the wild American contemporary temptation.

In the 1940s in particular, Wilder became so fascinated by the American culture and sampled the lifestyle in most of his comedic and dramatic movies which sometimes sampled love songs that somehow ironized the vicissitudes of love. Movies like ”Ball of Fire” and ”Double Indemnity,” Wilder highlighted the values and the often misinterpreted American capitalism and experimented with realism as a genre that also highlighted his journalistic zeal as depicted with movies like ”The Front Page” and the ”The Ace in the Hole” which attempted to highlight rot within the media industry and effectively depicted through dramatic irony, which appeared to be his favorite element in other movies he directed (Chandler et al., 2015)

Movies like ”Double Identity” served to provide social commentary on the transition America was undergoing both socially and economically and revolved around a larcenous insurance guy and a complacent, brassy claimant engaged in heated exchanges. Most of the other movies adopted similar characterizations evident in the language of choice which was sarcastic, diabolical and manipulative (Wilder & Douglas, 2007).

In furtherance, Wilder continued to produce most of his pieces in subtle ways. In his dramatic productions, Wilder brought out aspects that were previously unheard of. His illustrations revealed viewpoints that many never thought existed (Gewertz, 2003). He had a different, unique kind of presenting his ideas which involved the use of other unusual techniques such as paintings and info-graphics. In his earlier years, when he yet did not have much experience, his ingenuity was evident in the sight of all. For instance, the inspiration behind the swimming pool shot in the film Sunset Boulevard (1950) was without a doubt one of a kind.

Secondly, Wilder’s dramatic films had bravura of Multi-discipline activities. These activities made Wilder’s products more interesting and appealing. Wilder’s work cut across many disciplines and he produced films that addressed different topics in the society. For instance, his production, Foreign Affair was a retelling of the events that took place during the World War II; Stalag (1953) and Sabrina (1954) were a form of recounting the realities of life in the American society at the time. The breadth and variety of the ideas posited by Wilder was an attractive feature of the drama films that he produced (Wilder, Lang, Hepburn, & Bogart, 2008). Consequently, there was an aura of unpredictability as to what the content of his productions would be. However, there was never any doubt with regards to the quality of productions by Wilder. In many ways, the suspicion acted as the fuel for the expectation laid in the hearts of the Wilder’s followers.

Thirdly, Wilder’s films often had clouds of controversy surrounding them and coupled with a breath of confidence to experiment and try new things. One of the main attributes of Wilder was the courage to experiment new ideas. Due to his lack of fear to express opinions that were different from that of the majority, Wilder was always a source of controversy (Armstrong, 2004). There was always a thin line between Wilder’s thoughts portrayed in the movies and what the norms were within the American society at the time of production. More often than not, his productions raised questions or controversies, some of which remain debatable to date. For instance, in the film, ”The Apartment” (1960), Wilder brought out the realities of the lives of young people in a neighbourhood. In that film, Wilder introduced the issue of infidelity at a time when very few considered such a thing as acceptable to the general public (Wilder et al., 2013). While he also had protagonists to his modes of thinking, the majority of the people opposed his controversial though processes. Wilder also had a level of courage that spoke volumes of the kind of person he was. He was also an adventurous person as evidenced by the many experimental approaches that he tried to employ in his different films. Two cases in point include Sunset Boulevard – which addressed the industry itself – and Foreign Affair whose main audience was mid-Western (Wilder et al., 2006).  

Fourth, the films were more appealing given that they showed a wealth of experience that Wilder boasted. Wilder presented his ideas of his observations within the American society. Being one of the most experienced producers in the market, he is already a legend. Wilder saw the transition from the original, somewhat mechanical Hollywood to the modern-day creations assisted by technology. With the experience he has had over the years, the producer continues to build his reputation by producing films that are entertaining and empowering in more or less equal measure. For instance, one of his more recent productions was the Buddy Buddy which had a combination of drama and comedy. While the film elicited mixed reactions from Wilder’s followers, it evidenced the experienced Wilder in action in the ability to fuse the two film genres seamlessly, or rather creatively (Ebert, 2002).

Finally, compared to the unmatched effect of the dramatic films produced by Wilder, the comedies are occasionally underwhelming and overreaching. Contrasting Wilder’s drama and comedy pieces revealed some shades of comedy that is overreaching. For instance, in the film: the Emperor – the film prematurely brought out serious matters as less important. Since most of the films that Wilder did and was less impressive were the comedies, it is possible to claim that dramatic films were his best pieces.

Q2. Both Ace in the Hole and The Front Page deal with journalism but set in different eras. Which, if either, ultimately shows a more hopeful view of the profession – if not in the story, but perhaps in its conclusion. If in neither film, is Wilder saying that journalism is at its best a highly flawed profession, too often used for ill? Does he want us to be sceptical of journalists?

            Billy Wilder is arguably one of the best comedic and dramatic film actors as epitomized by his role in the film ”Ace in the Hole” which stirred a veteran and seasoned actor, Kirk Douglas casted as cynical, diabolical and disgraced journalist who is ready to do everything within his power to reclaim his spot on a newspaper company as one of their current employers. Invariably, the actions of the character of Kirk Douglas succeeds to highlight the often contentious relationship between the press, the news it often brings to the public and the manner in which it packages its contents for public consumption. Additionally, the film also co-stars another gifted actor in the name of Jan Sterling and features other reputable names as Robert Arthur and Porter Hall (Haskell, 2007). The release of the film marked the begging of a successful journey for Billy Wilder and was also the first time he got seriously engaged in a film project of magnanimous proportions as a writer, producer and director that achieved little international acclaim and commercial success in the global box office.

            The film ”Ace in the Hole” also highlights the gullibility of the public as manipulated by the mainstream media and is regarded as culturally and historically significant given its aesthetic value in revealing the human nature. On the other hand, ”The Front Page” which is a Broadway comedy focuses on the tabloid newspaper reporters and their unscrupulous antics that goes beyond the total disregard for human dignity to extort news from Hildy, a convicted murder suspect who escapes jail thereby exposing him to harm for the sake of his newsworthiness (Wilder, Lemmon, Hecht, & MacArthur, 2008). Nonetheless, Billy succeeds to highlight the significance of responsible journalism in any progressive society and critically analyzes the pitfalls often associated with the profession and even goes as far as casting aspersions of journalism from a sceptical and critical perspective that further underlines the significance of accountability in journalistic activities (Haskell, 2007).

            Imperatively, Wilder managed to juxtapose journalism as a profession vis-à-vis its expected outcomes which inherently fell short of the journalistic norms of integrity and transparency as depicted both in ”Ace in the Hole” and ”The Front Page” which are both coincidentally set in different periods but addressing the same conflicting theme of a morally divided media. Wilder seems to be set on a mission to antagonistically exploit the rot existing within the establishments of reputable media houses and the underhand methods they use to exploit and befuddle the unsuspecting public. The media which by extension represents the journalism profession is highly compromised as depicted by the character played by Douglas Kirk, Chuck Tatum. As a media personality, Chuck Tatum is expected to uphold the integrity of his profession but comes shortly due to his fiercely yet misleading ambitiousness, self-centeredness and dubious methods of journalism.  As a new resident of New Mexico, Chuck Tatum is a disgrace to the profession based on his individual misgivings which include libel, adultery and alcohol addiction which contributed to his firing from the previous working posts. It is also imperative to go on record that Chuck Tatum had been fired for an unprecedented eleven times and appears to be on a free-fall destined for the doldrums of oblivion. Wilder, therefore, uses symbolism to highlight the lapse that the industry has witnessed due to dubious reporting based on unethical behaviour that cannot be tolerated in a professional setting. The media as depicted by Wilder as condoning and promoting the vices that have purged the journalism profession as exemplified by the fact that Chuck Tatum can still get gainful employment despite his countless transgressions that could put any media house to shame. Despite his tribulations, Chuck Tatum still works for a nondescript newspaper agency called Albuquerque Sun-Bulletin, which is known for its chaotic operational tendencies (Wilder & Douglas, 2007).

            Furthermore, Wilder depicts journalism as a more hopeless profession that has lost its bearing based on their habit to capitalize on the suffering of others just to gather news and make a name for themselves. Tatum, a certified nondescript with a dwindling career after one year of uneventful reporting eventually seizes his opportunity to manipulate the rescue operations being conducted to rescue Leo Minosa, an artefact collector who has experienced a collapsed cave and is trapped. Instead of helping with the rescue efforts, Tatum manipulatively tricks the sheriff in charge of the rescue operations into accepting his proposal for nonprocedural drilling methods that would take longer days to reach the trapped victim as he reaps from continued nationally broadcasting and the publicity that comes with it (Wilder & Douglas, 2007).

             The media is inherently depicted as a toxic information relaying tool as epitomized by the connivance of Tatum and Lorraine, the victim’s wife who is ultimately convinced by Tatum himself to bother less with the rescuing efforts but rather focus on the financial windfall that comes with the publicity generated by the media coverage. The zenith of betrayal, negligence, recklessness and hazardous environment caused by Tatum highlights the rot that is often witnessed in the media industry which is often depended upon for truth and transparency, however, takes the center stage in propagating a chaotic society by orchestrating all the negative things that are against the norm of any media establishment (Wilder & Douglas, 2007).

            Wilder highlights the corruption within the profession by depicting journalism during his time as highly compressible and flawed and could not be depended on to bring justice to the ordinary citizen who coincidentally relied on it for a reprieve. The fact that journalism had failed and was being used to perpetuate ill in the society is also highlighted by the spread of the rot that had become so infectious that everyone was ready to compromise their moral obligations to achieve some mileage career-wise.  Herbie Cook, played by Robert Arthur for instance, easily gave away his idealism and joined Tatum’s team so that they could advance their selfishly motivated agendas. Despite the fact that the newspaper’s editors have tried unsuccessfully to remonstrate with the journalists on their reporting roles and obligations, Tatum resigns from his post after procedurally selling the exclusive rights of his column to the New York-based editor who has guaranteed to pay him a daily stipend of $1000 besides getting his former job back (Wilder & Douglas, 2007).

            As the chief instigator of the social evils depicted by Wilder, ”the Ace in the Hole”further shows the extent to which the contemporary media can go to achieve ulterior motives associated with political, social, and economic gains. The media is not functioning to promote truthful and honest reporting. Instead, the media engage in underhand methods to manipulate the public and swindle them of their resources. The journalists working for the media houses are incompetent at best and can never be relied upon thereby contributing to the cumulative malfunction of the journalism profession which is flawed and which can never promote social justice. Alternatively, journalists eventually get depicted as greedy individuals that have a total disregard of anything truthful. Wilder also successfully manages to paint a picture of journalists who are more than willing to forfeit their integrity for the right amount of money.

 Journalism is inherently depicted as unreliable and inconsistent in serving the expectations of the people. As thousands of curious onlookers and tourists flock to the town to witness the rescue operations, Tatum becomes disillusioned with his newfound celebrity status and soon negates his responsibilities due to the carnival atmosphere within the city. Tatum suffers a relapse and soon resumes heavy drinking all the while executing an orchestrated malicious plan to continue having Leo trapped in the cave (Wilder, 2014).

            Wider portray journalists as sadistic, nihilistic and uncouth professionals that are more than willing to risk the lives and safety of ordinary citizens as long as they gain from their evil schemes. As Tatum realizes that Leo’s plight is deteriorating, he makes amends to have him excavated fast but the drilling procedures are jeopardized by the vibrations of the drilling. Ultimately, Leo dies in the cave and Tatum bears the moral consequences of his actions when he gets stabbed and eventually confesses to killing Leo by delaying his rescue. Tatum himself agrees to work for nothing despite being a $1000 a day newspaperman and eventually dies from his wounds.  The journalism as a profession undergoes a transition and the resulting death of Tatum is symbolic of a new beginning to start sorting the purge that has tainted the image of the profession.

Q3. Consider the issue of adultery as portrayed in The Seven Year Itch and “The Apartment”. In Wilder’s assessment, how do men and women fare on this issue? Who are the innocents, and who are the guilty?

”The Apartment” remains one of the most enthralling pieces by Wilder due to the sheer smoothness that he brings forth his wit. The film centres on men and stars a New York City worker C. C. Baxter. Baxter thinks of ways to go up the corporate ladder. He decides to rent out his apartment to his colleagues at a cost (Armstrong, 2004). He was afterwards responsible for cleaning up the mess caused by his workmates. However, as a result of his offer, he is a victim even before the co-workers come to his place. The co-workers interpreted his actions as more of philanthropy (Ebert, 2002). Consequently, the workmates label him as a sociable person, which is the contrast of his true character. Baxter was a lonely file clerk who was trying to understand the complicated nature of the corporate world. Despite the oblivion of his colleagues to his plight, Baxter continues to faithfully avail his resources and support his superiors. Things soon progressed from the simple availing f his apartment for others’ use to a very complex situation which involved him developing a keen interest in elevator operator Fran Kubelik (Armstrong, 2004).

Wiley suggests, albeit indirectly that the victims of infidelity are not always the same people who are involved in the relationship. From the film, Baxter suffered a plight unbeknownst to the people surrounding him. Wiley suggested that sometimes people overthink situations and end up helping others at the expense of their own joy, and more so when it comes to adultery. Wiley paints the picture of adultery as something that comes as a result of social anxiety. Overthinking or what more is set to come upon every possible option.

It is the sort of creativity and the soul that Billy Wilder accords a character like C. C. Baxter in light of all the nastiness of his usual work that is almost priceless. Basing on that backdrop, Wilder sets up one of his best work as a director.” Wilder manages to thoughtfully craft out the laughable side of the story whilst also presenting the tough challenges that the newbie faces in his new place of work, which incidentally is also his place of residence. He presents Baxter as a person consumed in his thoughts of greed coupled with the hope of finding solace and peace (Armstrong, 2004). Imperatively, it is clear that Wilder is mocking this sort of character in oneself and again, it is almost like a moment for us to look back at what we have done just because we feel that what we have is not good enough for us (Gewertz, 2003). In Lemmon’s broken performance as Baxter, Wilder condemns the competitive nature of such an environment and is made clear with the bleak black and white photography, which still looks beautiful to this day.

The whole idea behind ” The Apartment” was that it had been played and shown to us as a comedy, and yet the fact we are watching broken people coming together is where it does not feel like such anymore (Ebert, 2002). But it appears like our own lives’ mirror for observing the facts and changes in which ”The Apartment” has suddenly turned darker, with the occasional comedy to remind us of our happiness. Sometimes, Wilder depicts the fact that we are not ourselves anymore but just faces in the crowd that are set to be lost in time because that is what trying too hard ends up doing to us. The story concludes with a climax in form of a letter which is in the form of an optimistic note. Wilder was creative enough to end the story like this since people always struggle to put things behind regardless of the struggles.

On the other hand, in his film The Seven Year Itch, Billy Wilder adapts George Axelrod’s play concerning a middle-aged father who left his son and his wife and a girl in an upstairs apartment (Armstrong, 2004). Wilder modifies Axelrod’s version which portrayed the man as a conflicted, unstable, fumbling persons, whereas Wilder portrays the husband as a castrated person though retains the fumbling and unstable features (Monroe et al., 2001). Additionally, Wilder presents the film in such a way that sex bombs are the cliché for women whereas men have the tag of rubber-faced cads or jaw-agape dorks. Tom exemplifies the absentee fathers in a society that was emerging back in the day and now exists. Wilder also presents the potential manipulative nature of men when placed in the hands of caring women. However, Wilder later expressed his disappointment at how he would have desired to have more openly adulterous scenes in the play (Seger, 1992).

            Given the controversial nature of Wilder’s movies in general, it is almost imperative that the guilty parties would be more than the innocent characters. As far as the guilty characters in the films – ”The Apartment” – go, there were the colleagues to Baxter who manipulated his perceived sloppiness to ensure that they abused their relationships. Given that at the time of the film production, the impact of adultery on families was marginal and relatively unknown. Another probably guilty person is the elevator operator in the film, ”The Apartment”. She had a semblance of truthfulness and naivety in the way she handled the association with Baxter. However, purpose it is clear. She determines to sow a rotten seed in Baxter’s mind, blaming her actions on the competitive nature of the corporate world. Ultimately, Baxter starts a romance with Kubelik, and focuses on putting a bold impression for his lady. He takes her to see The Music Man live. He earns her feelings, but she does not know who she really is just yet. But Baxter quickly finds out that she is a broken soul the way that she is, and in his sincerity and ambition he wants to provide the best for her despite the fact that he cannot. He is incapacitated because of his own lack of experience with proper communication after everything has been lost inside of corporate garble. Tom Ewell, in The Seven Year Itch, is a guilty party, together with Marilyn Monroe, the girl in an upstairs apartment. The man left his family alone which shows just how disinteresting that was, and went even further to be adulterous. Monroe, on the other hand was constantly luring the man even to his doorstep (Monroe et al., 2001).

            Given the diverse nature of the two films, and given also the fact that there were so many potential guilty parties, it was imperative that there were people who suffered at the expense of the guilty. In the film ”The Apartment”, Baxter, was the only innocent character given the ingenuousness with which he welcomed people to his apartment, only later to lament that decision? The spouses to the adulterers in the film are also part of the innocent people. While manipulative as well, Baxter always did things at his own expense and for the sake of others. In Wilder’s other production, ”The Seven Year Itch,” the innocent people are the wife and son of Mr Ewell. They are the ones who suffered the insensitivity of Tom Ewell and his poisonous interaction with Marilyn (Wilder, 2014).

References

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Ebert, R. (29 March 2002).”Movie Buffs Loved it Wilder.”

RogerEbert.com..             www.rogerebert.com/interviews/movie-buffs-loved-it-wilder

Gewertz, K. (17 July 2003). ”When men were men (and women, too): Through playbills,         posters, photos, ’Cross-Dressing on the Stage’ brings history to life.” Harvard University Haskell, M. (2007). ”Noir in Broad Daylight.” Liner notes. Ace in the Hole. Dir. Billy Wilder.    Perf. Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Bob Arthur, Porter Hall. 1951. DVD. Paramount,         Pictures.

Monroe, M., Ewell, T., Keyes, E., Wilder, B., Feldman, C. K., Axelrod, G., Charles K. Feldman          and Group Productions. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Inc. (2001). The          seven year itch. Beverly Hills, Calif: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Seger, L. (1992). Excerpt from ”Why Literature Resists Film.” In The Art of Adaptation: Turning   Fact and Fiction into Film. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 13-27

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Wilder, B., Diamond, I. A. L., Monroe, M., Curtis, T., Lemmon, J., Raft, G., O’Brien, P., Sony           Pictures Home Entertainment (Firm). (2006). Some like it hot. Culver City, Calif: MGM.

Wilder, B., Lang, C., Hepburn, A., & Bogart, H. (2008). Sabrina. Warszawa: Imperial Cinepix.

Wilder, B., Lemmon, J., Hecht, B., & MacArthur, C. (2008). The front page =: Das Extrablatt.       S.l.: Carol Media.