The Lost Weekend

"The screen dares to open the strange and savage pages of a shocking bestseller!"

1945 1h 41m EN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

🔥

97%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

7.8

IMDB

★7.6TMDB · 691🍅97%Rotten Tomatoes★7.8IMDB · 43,659

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Longtime alcoholic Don Birnam has been sober for ten days and appears to be over the worst... but his craving has just become more insidious. Evading a country weekend planned by his brother and girlfriend, he begins a four-day bender that just might be his last – one way or another.

“The screen dares to open the strange and savage pages of a shocking bestseller!”

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Cast

Ray Milland
Don Birnam
Jane Wyman
Helen St. James
Phillip Terry
Wick Birnam
Howard Da Silva
Nat the Bartender
Doris Dowling
Gloria
Frank Faylen
'Bim' Nolan
Mary Young
Mrs. Deveridge
Anita Sharp-Bolster
Mrs. Foley

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Billy Wilder
Writers: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 8.8× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

81 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Billy Wilder, shot by John F. Seitz. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Miklós Rózsa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Doane Harrison shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ray Milland and Jane Wyman and Phillip Terry carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The screen dares to open the strange and savage pages of a shocking bestseller!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Billy Wilder directs. John F. Seitz behind the camera. Miklós Rózsa scores. Doane Harrison cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 8.8× over at the box office.
381 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Billy Wilder, shot by John F. Seitz. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Miklós Rózsa. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Doane Harrison shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Ray Milland and Jane Wyman and Phillip Terry carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The screen dares to open the strange and savage pages of a shocking bestseller!".
9IMDB entry: tt0037884 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 20 themes, including "based on novel or book", "alcohol", "brother", "paranoia".
11Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: John F. Seitz
Original score: Miklós Rózsa
Editing: Doane Harrison
Costume design: Edith Head
Makeup / hair: Wally Westmore
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Status: Released
Budget: $1,250,000
Box office: $11,000,000
Return: 880% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Lost Weekend (1945)
Rotten Tomatoes: 97% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.8/10 · 43,659 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

Won 4 Oscars. 18 wins & 3 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Director
Academy Award for Best Picture

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Billy Wilder

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2017-02-08
★ 9/10
Delirium is a disease that only comes at night. Don Birnham is not a drinker, he is in fact a drunk, he is left alone for the weekend by those who love him under the proviso that he gets stuck into his writing, thus the hope is that he stays away from the booze that is killing his life and the loving foundation that his life is built upon. Billy Wilder directs this with brilliant hands, he pulls his first masterstroke by casting Ray Milland in the lead role of Don Birnham, at the time Milland was better known for light and airy roles, so for audiences of the time it was quite something to see someone so normally affable descend into a real dark shadow of their perceived persona. It was a formula that "Blake Edwards" would repeat some 17 years later with "Days Of Wine And Roses", there, comedy great "Jack Lemmon" would wow the viewers with his own descent into alcoholic hell. It's no different here in 1945, Milland (and Wilder) drag us into an airy, almost jaunty first reel, and the foundation is set here for us to firmly stand by Don as he spirals through a series of nightmares that is acted with genuine skill by the leading man. The journey has us rapidly trying to hock a typewriter - if only we could just find a pawnbrokers open. We will beg in touchingly heart breaking fashion for a drink from the trusted barkeep, we will find ourselves in a dry out ward where the night terrors take over, we will be terrified by the delirium as sobriety threatens to unhinge this vile addiction... We will be part of this film because of the simple magnetic qualities that draws you in. It's not just Milland's realistic show, Wilder the crafty sod uses deep focus to emphasise anything that will steer us to the demon drink, be it escalating water rings as each shot of Rye is consumed, or camera shots through the bottles themselves, Wilder doesn't let up with knowing reminders of the core subject. The score is just terrific, Miklos Roza scores it to perfection because the music leads you into a swirling nightmare as Don's functional mind gives way to the haven of numbness, in short, the tech work on the film is tops. The back story to this now revered masterpiece is somewhat hilarious, Paramount didn't want to release the film after temperance groups protested that the film championed drinking (LOL). One strong arm group even offered 5 Million Dollars to have the film's negative destroyed, Wilder stood by his guns and thankfully the movie watching world still has a dark and poignant classic to view with resonance in any decade. 10/10
Nutshell2019-08-03
★ 10/10
One of Billy Wilder's best films, and certainly Ray Milland's best performance as he's cast against type playing a failed alcoholic author. Milland perfectly captures the despondent, manipulative and even criminal behavior of the lead character. More than 70 years after its release this film still packs a huge punch.
JPV8522020-12-04
★ 8/10
This Best Picture winner (also won for director, actor and screenplay) was decently acted, albeit a bit too theatrical (stage type) for my taste but still well made movie with what I assume is a realistic take on alcoholism (never drank myself) from director Billy Wilder. It is a bit optimistic in the end but still an engaging enough drama. 3.75/5