by Ed Sikov
362 Axelrod hired: New York Herald-Tribune, April 2, 1954.
363 “He sees the worst…”: Anon., Playboy, June 1963.
363 “I thought we might use …”: Gehman, p. 70.
363 “Bosoms a thing of the past”: Head, p. 103.
363 Monroe’s participation: UCLA Arts Library, Special Collections, Twentieth Century–Fox legal files on The Seven Year Itch.
363 Note on Wilder’s deal: Later, Fox paid Wilder’s share to him directly. UCLA Arts Library, Special Collections, Twentieth Century–Fox legal files on The Seven Year Itch.
364 Neckties: Zolotow, p. 190.
364 Lemmon in Itch: Hollywood Reporter, Aug. 3, 1954; AFI, Charles K. Feldman Collection, folder 272.
364 “He was so funny …” and “I was not powerful enough …”: Kirkham, p. 20.
364 Casting decisions: AFI, Charles K. Feldman Collection, folder 263.
364 Itch finances: UCLA Arts Library, Special Collections, Twentieth Century–Fox legal files on The Seven Year Itch; AFI, Charles K. Feldman Collection, folder 274.
364 The title song lyrics: AMPAS, MPAA file on The Seven Year Itch.
365 Ariane and Love plans: Sammlung Paul Kohner, Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, h. ss-88/1h-6, file 1.
365 Yankee Stadium: AFI, Charles K. Feldman Collection, folder 272.
365 “Personally I prefer …”: Ciment, Positif, July/Aug. 1983.
365 Note on George W. Davis: Davis shares screen credit with Lyle Wheeler on the production design of The Seven Year Itch, but that was simply studio politics; Wheeler was the head of Fox’s design department but had nothing to do with this film’s actual design.
365 Monroe details: Guiles, pp. 154–57.
366 “There were a good 5, people …”: Ciment, Positif, July/Aug. 1983.
367 “I controlled nothing …”: Ciment, Positif, July/Aug. 1983.
367 Feldman’s advice: AFI, Charles K. Feldman Collection, folder 263.
367 “In medium shots he is very likable …” and Wilder’s refusal to use second unit: AFI, Charles K. Feldman Collection, folder 270.
367 “I had no problems with Monroe …”: Ciment, Positif, July/Aug. 1983.
368 “Didn’t realize what a disorganized …”: James Thomas, “Wilder’s winning ways,” London Daily Express, April 19, 1961.
368 Zanuck’s remarks, Monroe’s absence, the song, and the duet: AFI, Charles K. Feldman Collection, folders 263, 270, and 272.
369 “Billy’s a wonderful director …”: Zolotow, p. 256.
369 “Apparently I wasted …”: AFI, Charles K. Feldman Collection, folder 270.
369 Cuts for Code approval: AMPAS, MPAA file on The Seven Year Itch.
369 Wilder and Bass: Kirkham, p. 20.
369 Axelrod’s bonus: UCLA Arts Library, Special Collections, Twentieth Century–Fox legal files on The Seven Year Itch.
369 Itch premiere: AFI, Charles K. Feldman Collection, folder 266.
369 “I do not have the reputation …”: AFI, Charles K. Feldman Collection, folder 269.
370 “I could have done it…”: Richard Brown interview with Billy Wilder, aired on American Movie Classics, 1993.
370 Gross of Itch: UCLA Arts Library, Special Collections, Twentieth Century–Fox legal files on The Seven Year Itch.
370 Truffaut on Itch: Truffaut, p. 159.
370 “My theory about collaborators …”: McDonald, p. xiii (from the foreword by Billy Wilder).
370 A New Kind of Love announcement: New York Times, June 19, 1955.
371 Preparing Ariane: Sammlung Paul Kohner, Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, h. ss-88/1h-6, file 1.
371 Plans for The Bad Seed: AMPAS, MPAA file on The Bad Seed.
372 Meeting with Cohn: Zolotow, pp. 196–97.
372 Wilder’s first day at Warners: Hollywood Reporter, Dec. 20, 1954.
372 Lederer’s fee: USC, Jack L. Warner Collection, Spirit of St. Louis file 2.
372 “For surgery …”: Lemon, p. 37.
373 Kerr’s refusal: Zolotow, pp. 314–15.
373 “I always regarded the fuss …”: Mosley, pp. 218–35.
374 “I need a star …”: Pickard, pp. 129–30.
374 Dinner with the Stewarts: Lally, p. 249.
374 Sharing Spirit profits: Variety, March 23, 1955.
374 Meeting with Lindbergh: Beverly Hills Citizen, Feb. 26, 1957; Lally, p. 248.
374 “I couldn’t get into his private life …”: Zolotow, p. 194.
375 Research questions: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis file 1.
375 Travel to Paris and lone gendarme scene: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis unnumbered research file.
376 “There were three thousand extras …”: Trauner, p. 4 (from the introduction by Billy Wilder).
376 “No children”: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis Special Material file and unnumbered research file.
376 Eames and second unit filming: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis unnumbered research file; Billy Wilder to Donald Albrecht, May 20, 1994.
377 Stewart’s difficult behavior: USC, Jack L. Warner Collection, Spirit of St. Louis file 2.
378 Skyrocketing costs: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis unnumbered research file.
378 Script not yet completed: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis unnumbered research file.
378 Note on locations: there was also a Santa Ana location used for some Spirit in-flight sequences.
378 Difficulties with planes: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis file 393.
378 Script still incomplete: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis file 393.
378 “God, it was horrendous …”: Zolotow, p. 275.
379 Shooting on Spirit, abandonment of Love: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis file 393; Sammlung Paul Kohner, Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, h. ss-88/1h-6, file 2.
379 Production log, process shots, accident, and circus rehearsals: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis file 393, Special Material file, unnumbered research file.
379 “I never got tired …”: AMPAS, Spirit of St. Louis clippings file. Note: Lindy was being disingenuous; his book describes his exhaustion in some detail, though not as extensively as Stewart portrays it.
379 “Mr. Stewart did not object…”: Zolotow, p. 195.
379 On the fly: Wilder to Donald Albrecht, May 20, 1994; Los Angeles Mirror-News, April 11, 1957; Variety, March 23, 1955.
379 Production log: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis file 393.
379–80 Sullivan show and aftermath: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis unnumbered research file.
380 Cutting of scenes from Spirit and new footage shot: USC, Jack L. Warner Collection, Spirit of St. Louis file 1; USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis file 393.
380 One, Two, Three; Ariane; Spionage; and the Wilders’ voyage: Sammlung Paul Kohner, Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, h. ss-88/1h-6, files 1 and 2.
380 Sturges takes over: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis file 393.
381 “Warner would have given everything …”: Thomas, Bob, Warner, p. 5.
381 Note on Wilder’s sense of religion: In the final moments of his descent into Le Bourget, Lindbergh, fearing a crash, exclaims “Oh God help me!” There’s a cut to a St. Christopher medal. Though I could not verify it, my guess is that these shots were among the ones filmed by John Sturges. Whoever shot them, they defy the spirit of everything that comes before them. If Wilder did write and shoot them, they would mark the only moment of religious conversion in his career.
381 “Cum Dio”: Columbus, p. 24.
381 Hunter’s tour: Variety, March 23, 1955; Motion Picture Herald, March 23, 1957.
381 Stewart’s departure: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis Special Material file.
382 Premiere and promotion: AMPAS, Spirit of St. Louis clippings file; USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of S
t. Louis unnumbered research file and Special Material file.
382 “I asked Billy Wilder …”: An unsourced clipping on file at AMPAS claims that Wilder did appear at the premiere, but this item may have been planted by Warner Bros. to save embarrassment. USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis unnumbered research file; AMPAS, Spirit of St. Louis clippings file.
382 New Yorker cartoon: Mosley, p. 351.
382 Gross of Spirit: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis Special Material file; Pickard, p. 135.
382 Note on The Bad Seed: That film was released in 1956 but continued to make money well into 1957.
382 “I felt sorry …”: Pickard, p. 136.
382 “The picture should have …”: Pickard, p. 127.
382 “I succeeded with some good moments …”: Domarchi and Douchet, p. 7.
383 “I should confine …”: Pickard, p. 133.
383 Awards for Spirit: USC, Warner Bros. Archives, Spirit of St. Louis unnumbered research file.
CHAPTER 22
387 Note on I. A. L.: This is the more colorful explanation of Diamond’s initials. A somewhat more pedestrian explanation appeared in 1960, when the Los Angeles Examiner reported that the initials first appeared when Diamond was writing for the Jester, a humor magazine. The Jester’s editor gave him a made-up first name—“Ian.” Diamond hated it, complained, and was told to make up some initials. He picked I. A. L. Los Angeles Examiner, June 19, 1960.
387 Diamond’s biography: McCarthy, Variety, April 27, 1988; Rodman, pp. 71, 78.
387 “I wanted a goyische …”: Rodman, pp. 71, 78.
388 Diamond and Monkey Business: McCarthy, Hawks, p. 495.
388 Guild skits: Rodman, pp. 71, 78.
389 “I was married to him …”: Schumach, “Diamond,” p. 80.
389 “The highest compliment…”: Freeman, p. 78.
389 “In the top 10 percent…”: Los Angeles Examiner, June 19, 1960.
389 Final polish on The Apartment: Rodman, pp. 71, 78.
389 “The two men complement…”: Morris, p. 34.
390 Note on the Omaha story: Maurice Zolotow tells the same story, though not as well as the friend of Billy’s who told it to me. In Zolotow’s version, Broidy suggests “Meanwhile, Back at the Ritz”—admittedly a more likely recommendation, given the subject of Love in the Afternoon, but far less successful as a punchline. Zolotow, p. 199.
390 “I bought a painting …”: Reed and Bacon, p. 157.
390 Note on Ariane: Mayer’s Ariane was itself a remake of a silent 1926 film; both were adaptations of Claude Anet’s novel. Kracauer, p. 255; Behr, p. 301.
390 The train sequence: Zolotow, p. 197.
390 “Ariane without you …”: Sammlung Paul Kohner, Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, h. ss-88/1h-6, file 1.
391 Note on Hepburn’s roles for Wilder: Thanks to Adam Orman for this observation.
391 War and Peace: Walker, p. 119.
391 Relationship with Frings: Walker, p. 140; Harris, p. 119.
391 Aly Khan story: Arce, p. 258; Zolotow, p. 198.
391 “Coopsy”: Annie Tresgot interview with the author, Oct. 11, 1997.
391 “A little more French” and no singing: Behr, pp. 108, 301; Bret, p. 173.
392 Note on street rioting: Reportedly, the man died of his injuries, but this could not be confirmed. In fact, Annie Tresgot told me she remembered nothing of the sort occurring—no rioting, no injury, no death. Annie Tresgot interview with the author, Oct. 11, 1997.
393 Evacuation and “How proud I would be …”: Walker, pp. 140–43.
393 Note on the parties: Annie Tresgot, on the other hand, makes the point that Chevalier left early because he lived outside of Paris and simply wanted to get home. Behr, p. 301; Freedland, p. 218.
393 On Henri Betti: Freedland, p. 218.
393 Retakes: Walker, p. 140.
394 “Somebody wake up Coop …”: Anon., “Why Not Be in Paris?” Newsweek, Nov. 26, 1956, pp. 106–8.
394 On Trauner: Jerry Carlson interview with the author, May 29, 1996.
394 “It was exactly thirty …”: Trauner and Berthomé, p. 4 (from the introduction by Billy Wilder). Note: according to Annie Tresgot, Lina Trauner was a basset hound, not a dachshund.
395 Chandelier story: Trauner and Berthomé, p. 4 (from the introduction by Billy Wilder).
395 Love’s release: Harris, p. 146.
395 Censorship problems: Variety, July 10, 1957.
395 “There isn’t a sweatshirt…”: Anon., “Why Not Be in Paris?” Newsweek, Nov. 26, 1956, pp. 106–8.
396 “Lecherous old chansonnier …”: Eisenschitz, p. 106.
397 Foreign rights sale: Balio, p. 165.
397 “It was a flop …”: Roderick Mann, “The Man Who Hated Marilyn Cools Down,” London Sunday Express, July 31, 1960.
397 Hawks in Paris: McCarthy, Hawks, p. 545.
397 Sturges in Paris: Jacobs, p. 435.
397 Stroheim’s headstone: Sammlung Paul Kohner, Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, h. ss-88/1h-6, file 1.
397 Apartment purchase: Schumach, p. 38.
397 Eames design: Anon., Time, Jan. 5, 1970.
398 Redl project: Sammlung Paul Kohner, Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, h. ss-88/1h-6, file 2.
398 Note on Amok: See Stephen Spender’s essay on Zweig, “Guilty Pleasures,” in New York Review of Books, March 18, 1982, pp. 7–8, 10.
398 Note on unproduced projects: This project was based on the play by Louis Verneuil. The Catbird Seat may have been Wilder’s working title for the Colonel Redl story, or it may have been based on the short story of the same name by James Thurber, which served as the basis for the 1960 Peter Sellers comedy The Battle of the Sexes. State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Center for Film and Theatre Research, United Artists Collection, Box 5, folder 3.
398 “Wilder is planning to stage …”: Los Angeles Examiner, July 16, 1957.
398 Deal on Sherlock: Variety, Aug. 18, 1957.
398 On the Mirisch brothers: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Center for Film and Theatre Research, United Artists Collection, Box 5, folder 3.
399 Fanfaren das Liebe: State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Center for Film and Theatre Research, United Artists Collection, Box 5, folder 3.
399 “I wish I knew”: New York Times, Dec. 8, 1957.
399 Christie’s opinion: Listener, Dec. 19, 1974.
399 Sale of rights: Hollywood Reporter, June 23 and Aug. 17, 1955; Variety, January 30, 1956; USC, Jack L. Warner Collection, Witness for the Prosecution file 1.
399 Wilder’s deal: USC, Jack L. Warner Collection, Witness for the Prosecution file 2.
400 Kirk Douglas idea: USC, Jack L. Warner Collection, Witness for the Prosecution file 2.
400 On Power: Guiles, Power, p. 281.
400 Channel hopping: USC, Jack L. Warner Collection, Witness for the Prosecution, misc. correspondence file.
400 Gardner, Lemmon, Kelly, and Moore: USC, Jack L. Warner Collection, Witness for the Prosecution file 2.
401 Power’s salary: USC, Jack L. Warner Collection, Witness for the Prosecution, misc. correspondence file.
401 The monocle: Scheuer, “Outcome,” July 14, 1957; Callow, p. 182.
401 Shooting begins: USC, Jack L. Warner Collection, Witness for the Prosecution file 1.
402 The Old Bailey set: London Herald Express, July 6, 1957; Pryor, “Hollywood Canvass,” July 7, 1957.
403 “He took the dark load …”: From an unpublished interview Joshua Harrison conducted with Billy Wilder for a documentary on Alexander Trauner.
403 Laughton as Cockney coach: Dietrich, p. 127.
403 “Not easy to teach Cockney …”: Spoto, Blue Angel, p. 264.
403 Shooting ends: USC, Jack L. Warner Collection, Witness for the Prosecution file 1.
403 “As if she thought her career …”: Spoto, Blue Angel, p. 263.
403 “You’ll never win …”: Dietrich, p. 127; Spoto, Blue Angel, p. 264.
404 �
��To give an Academy Award …”: Wiley and Bona, p. 285.
404 Dietrich’s lovers: Spoto, Blue Angel, pp. 264–65.
404 Dietrich’s cooking: Los Angeles Times, Aug. 27, 1957.
404 Withholding the ending: London Herald Express, July 6, 1957.
404 On the surprise ending: Variety, July 11, 1957. Note: Readers accustomed to the thundering avalanche of publicity that accompanies nearly every film released in the 1990s may wonder how a hit West End and Broadway play could keep its secret ending when adapted into a Hollywood movie. But the fact that many theatergoers in London and New York knew how Witness for the Prosecution ended did not mean that the rest of the population did. Moreover, it appears that in those days entertainment reporters felt less of a need to give away the plot.
404 Royal family’s pledge: Wiley and Bona, p. 281.
405 “Everybody had a crush …”: Arce, Power, p. 270.
405 “For health reasons”: Variety, July 11, 1957.
405 “I’m fully aware …”: Arce, Power, p. 270.
405 Travel itinerary: Hutter and Kamolz, Profil, May 9, 1994, pp. 90–94.
405 On Badgastein: Wechsberg, pp. 116–29.
405 Wilder in Vienna: “Filmregie. So gut, wie das Publikum will,” Die Wochen-Presse 12, no. 47 (Nov. 23, 1957), pp. 1–2; Hutter and Kamolz, Profil, May 9, 1994, pp. 90–94.