The Billy Wilder papers span the years 1935 to 1976 (bulk 1943 to 1961) and encompass three linear feet. The collection consists entirely of production files for a dozen films co-written and directed by Wilder and released between 1944 and 1966. The films covered in the collection are THE APARTMENT (1960), THE BIG CARNIVAL (1951), DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944), THE EMPEROR WALTZ (1948), A FOREIGN AFFAIR (1948), THE FORTUNE COOKIE (1966), THE LOST WEEKEND (1945), ONE, TWO, THREE (1963), SABRINA (1954), THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955), SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959), and THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS (1957). The bulk of the material is scripts, clippings, correspondence, and publicity.

Although there are no scripts for THE BIG CARNIVAL (1951), there is legal material and correspondence related to the case of Victor Desny v. Billy Wilder concerning the origin of the film’s story. There is substantial script material for DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944), including notes, scenes, and scene outlines by Raymond Chandler. Of interest is the correspondence regarding casting and the possibility of James M. Cain writing the script with Wilder. Much of the correspondence related to THE LOST WEEKEND is addressed to Charles Brackett, and includes letters from Raymond Chandler, Leland Hayward, Howard Dietz, and Moss Hart, among others, as well as letters of concern from liquor companies regarding the film’s depiction of alcoholism. Additionally, there is correspondence regarding censorship for DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944), A FOREIGN AFFAIR (1948), and THE LONG WEEKEND (1945). The material for THE SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS (1957) includes editing notes, location information, research, and storyboards. Of particular interest is the correspondence, which includes personal recollections of Charles Lindbergh’s flight from various people, discussion of Lindbergh’s anti-Semitism, and a copy of a letter from Lindbergh.

Of the titles represented in the collection, there is minimal material for THE APARTMENT (1960), THE EMPEROR WALTZ (1948), ONE TWO THREE (1963), and SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959). For THE EMPEROR WALTZ and ONE, TWO, THREE there are only foreign clippings, and for THE APARTMENT (1960) there are letters of congratulations following the release of the film. However, the material for SOME LIKE IT HOT is in the form of significant correspondence, including a contentious exchange between Wilder and Arthur Miller concerning Wilder’s public remarks about Marilyn Monroe’s on-set behavior. Several notable films from this period of Wilder’s career, including SUNSET BLVD. (1950), STALAG 17 (1953), WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957), and IRMA LA DOUCE (1963), are not represented in the collection.

Billy Wilder was born Samuel Wilder in 1906 in Sucha Beskidzka, Poland, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. “Billie,” as he was nicknamed by his mother, moved with his family to Vienna just before World War I and attended school there. He briefly studied at the University of Vienna as a pre-law student but dropped out in order to write for “Die Stunde,” a Viennese daily newspaper, where he covered crime, sports, and entertainment. An interview with bandleader Paul Whiteman was so successful that Whiteman offered Wilder a job handling his tour publicity in Berlin, leading Wilder to abandon his job at “Die Stunde” and move to Berlin. He stayed in the city for nearly a decade, first working as a freelance journalist for several publications, then moving into screenwriting. He wrote, co-wrote, or contributed to over a dozen scripts over the next several years, primarily for UFA, most notably PEOPLE ON SUNDAY (1930) and EMIL AND THE DETECTIVE (1931). However, Wilder’s success was cut short by the election of Adolf Hitler to Chancellor of Germany in 1933. The Jewish Wilder saw no future for himself in the German film industry and left for Paris. He struggled to establish himself in the French film industry as he had in Berlin, though he was given his first opportunity to direct with MAUVAISE GRAIN (1934), a film he co-wrote and co-directed. In 1934, Wilder was able to relocate to Hollywood with the help of producer-director Joe May, a former colleague from UFA who was by-then employed at Columbia Pictures.

Wilder’s first couple of years in Hollywood were difficult. He struggled to find work and devoted his free time to studying the English language. He narrowly escaped deportation when his visitor’s visa expired. May managed to secure him screenwriting contracts first at Columbia and later at Twentieth Century-Fox, yet neither led to substantial work. Finally, in 1936, he was hired by Paramount and partnered with writer Charles Brackett. Wilder worked with other screenwriters during his years at Paramount, but he was most consistently paired with Brackett, and the two collaborated successfully, though often contentiously, on over a dozen films. Their early works include such films as BLUEBEARD’S EIGHTH WIFE (1938), MIDNIGHT (1939), NINOTCHKA (1939), HOLD BACK THE DAWN (1941), and BALL OF FIRE (1941).

Wilder’s first solo directorial effort came with THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR (1942), written by Wilder and Brackett. From then on, apart from occasional uncredited work and co-writing A SONG IS BORN (1948), Wilder directed all of his screenplays himself. He temporarily parted with Brackett to make DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944), which he adapted with Raymond Chandler from James M. Cain’s novel of the same name. With Brackett, Wilder made FIVE GRAVES TO CAIRO (1943), THE LOST WEEKEND (1945), THE EMPEROR WALTZ (1948), A FOREIGN AFFAIR (1948), and SUNSET BLVD. (1950), the latter being their final collaboration. Wilder directed several notable films in the following years, including THE BIG CARNIVAL (1951), STALAG 17 (1953), SABRINA (1954), and THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955), all co-written with various writers.

In 1957 he was paired with I.A.L. Diamond for LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON (1957). The two hit it off, and apart from WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957), Wilder’s remaining films would all be co-written with Diamond. Together they had several successes, including SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959), THE APARTMENT (1960), IRMA LA DOUCE (1963), and THE FORTUNE COOKIE (1966), the first of many on-screen pairings of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. Wilder’s later output was intermittent and less successful, with BUDDY BUDDY(1981) being his final produced film, though he continued to write for the remainder of his life. Throughout his career, he was consistently recognized by the Motion Picture Academy. He was nominated for an Academy Award for screenwriting nine times, and he won three times, for THE LOST WEEKEND (1945), SUNSET BLVD. (1950), and THE APARTMENT (1960). He was nominated for an Academy Award for directing six times and he won twice, for THE LOST WEEKEND (1945) and THE APARTMENT (1960). As a producer, he was also awarded the Academy Award for Best Picture for THE APARTMENT (1960), making him the first filmmaker to win for writing, directing, and producing for the same film. In 1988, he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award.