The Lost Weekend

The Lost Weekend is a film from director Billy Wilder, which was released in 1945. This Oscar winning film deals frankly with alcoholism. The film is based on the novel by Charles R. Jackson. A chronic alcoholic (Ray Milland) has been "on the wagon" for ten days and then goes on a four day drinking spree. In 1946 "The Lost Weekend" won four Oscars, including one for Best Actor, awarded to Ray Milland. The film won nine other awards, including a Golden Globe, awards from the Cannes Film Festival and others. IMDB.com users rate this a 8.2 out of 10 possible stars, making it in the top 250 films on the IMDB.com site.

Billy Wilder plays an alcoholic (Don Birnam), who is a writer who is struggling to stop drinking. Alcohol has caused problems in many aspects of Don's life, including his career, relationships and his life. The film opens with Don and his brother, played by Philip Terry, packing things for a weekend in the country. Wick (Don's brother) is keeping an eye on Don because of his drinking problems in order to be sure he doesn't drink. They arrive at Don's apartment and his girlfriend (Helen) arrives with tickets to Carnegie Hall. Don chooses to stay home, and soon realizes all his hidden alcohol has been removed. Before long, a maid arrives and shows Don some hidden money in a sugar bowl, so he goes to the bar. The bartender is reluctant to serve the alcohol, but does. Don ends up spending the whole weekend in a drunken haze and gets put into the drunk tank in the end.

• Ray Milland as Don Birnam

• Jane Wyman as Helen St. James

• Phillip Terry as Wick Birnam

• Howard Da Silva as Nat

• Doris Dowling as Gloria

• Frank Faylen as Bim Nolan

• Mary Young as Mrs. Deveridge

• Anita Sharp-Bolster as Mrs. Foley (as Anita Bolster)

• Lillian Fontaine as Mrs. Charles St. James (as Lilian Fontaine)

• Frank Orth as Opera Cloak Room Attendant

"Bold, sobering, intelligently written and acted with great skill by Ray Milland." — Channel 4 Films at channel4.comhttp://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=105492§ion=review

"Painfully sincere and uncompromising look at alcoholism for a film released in 1945, with a superb central performance." — Kim Newman from empireonline.comhttp://www.empireonline.com/reviews/review.asp?FID=134846

"It still makes one of the strongest statements about alcoholism, though time has taken away some of its edge." — Dennis Schwartz from Ozus' Worldhttp://www.sover.net/~ozus/lostweekend.htm