And now, a year and change later, and I have seen the Front Page and thus completed my Billy Wilder dance-card. I don't know why Wilder or any director felt compelled to tackle this material after Hawks' literally perfect film adaptation, but here's Wilder with a lot of mild swears to show he's with it... whatever he thinks that means, at least (as evidenced by Buddy Buddy, it might literally just be second degree swears). I hardly hated it but man alive, it's just not funny and it's just not His Girl Friday (or even the first the Front Page).domino harvey wrote:Well, now I just need to watch the Front Page and I'll have seen all of Wilder's output! Though, technically I've already seen it a couple times...
And, because I now can, here's how I'd rank Wilder's entire Hollywood and beyond oeuvre, in order of preference:
MASTERPIECE
the Apartment
Sabrina
GREAT
Irma la Douce
Kiss Me, Stupid
Five Graves to Cairo
PRETTY GOOD
the Emperor Waltz
Stalag 17
Witness for the Prosecution
Ace in the Hole
the Spirit of St. Louis
EH
the Major and the Minor
Avanti!
Double Indemnity
Sunset Boulevard
NOT GOOD
Buddy Buddy
the Front Page
the Lost Weekend
A Foreign Affair
Mauvaise graine
the Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
Fedora
GOODNESS THIS SUCKS
Some Like It Hot
Love in the Afternoon
One, Two, Three
the Seven Year Itch
the Fortune Cookie