On Sunset Boulevard
Page 86
50 Typing at the Romanisches Café: Lally, p. 23.
50 Pasternak’s and Kohner’s remarks: Zolotow, p. 40.
50–51 Production details of Der Teufelsreporter. Hutter, pp. 290–95.
52 “It was bullshit…”: McBride and McCarthy, pp. 42–43.
52 “Do I have to talk …”: Lally, p. 44.
52 Wilder on the Dietrich film: Wilder, Der Prinz von Wales geht auf Urlaub, pp. 143–44, taken from “Spaziergang durch die Ateliers. Man dreht stumme Film” (“Walk through the Studios—They’re Filming Silent Movies”), Berliner Zeitung am Mittag, June 21, 1929.
52 Wilder on Coca-Cola: Wilder, Der Prinz von Wales geht auf Urlaub, p. 117, taken from “Hallo, Herr Menjou?” (“Hello, Mr. Menjou?”), Tempo, Aug. 5, 1929.
52 Wilder on Klabund: Wilder, Der Prinz von Wales geht auf Urlaub, p. 123, taken from “Vor einem Jahr starb Klabund” (“A Year Ago, Klabund Died”), Tempo, Aug. 12, 1929.
52–53 Wilder on von Stroheim: Wilder, Der Prinz von Wales geht auf Urlaub, p. 134, taken from “Greed—In the Camera,” Berliner Zeitung am Mittag, July 10, 1928; and Wilder, “Stroheim, der Mann den man gern hasst” (“Stroheim—the Man You Love to Hate”), Der Querschnitt, April 1929, pp. 293–95.
53 On Erich von Stroheim and Greed: Koszarski, p. 4; Saunders, pp. 134–36.
54 “It was a shallow time …”: Lally, p. 29.
54 On Ufa in Berlin: Gill, p. 94.
54–55 “As we all know…”: Kreimeier, p. 122: citing Stefan Grossmann, “Erich Pommers Sturz,” Das Tage-Buch, Jan. 30, 1926.
55 On Parufamet: Kreimeier, pp. 127–28.
55 On Metropolis: Bock, p. 145.
55 On Pommer: Saunders, pp. 69, 82, 210, and 248.
55 On Hugenberg: Friedrich, Before the Deluge, p. 276; Kreimeier, p. 172.
56 On Berlin’s parks: Gill, p. 89.
56 On Joe May: Murray, p. 81; Kracauer, p. 56.
58 On Schüfftan: Eisner, p. 31.
58 On the production of Menschen am Sonntag: Hutter, pp. 328–60.
58 On Curt Siodmak: McBride, “Kurt Siodmak …,” p. 15.
58–59 On the making of Menschen am Sonntag: Hutter, pp. 328–60; Lally, pp. 26–30; Brigitte Borchert, Stiftung Deautsche Kinemathek Newsletter no. 4, June 1993; Zinnemann, p. 16; Siodmak and Blumenberg, p. 42.
59 Wilder’s reportage on Menschen am Sonntag: Wilder, Billie, “Wir vom Filmstudio 1929,” Tempo, July 23, 1929; Wilder, Billie, “Wie wir unseren Studio-film drehten,” Montag Morgen, Feb. 10, 1930.
62 On Brodnitz: Kreimeier, pp. 113–14, 196–97.
62 “When the movie begins …”: Wilder, Billie, “Wie wir unseren Studio-film drehten,” Montag Morgen, Feb. 10, 1930.
62 On Menschen am Sonntag’s opening night: Hutter, pp. 328–60; Lally, pp. 33–37; Siodmak and Blumenberg, p. 45; Kreimeier, p. 197.
63 On the sardine can: Zolotow, p. 42.
CHAPTER 5
64 German film statistics and “Ufa started concentrating …”: Lally, pp. 36–37.
65 “One day Billie Wilder was inveighing …”: Hutter, pp. 358–36: citing Pem (Paul Erich Marcus), Heimweh nach dem Kurfürstendamm: Aus Berlins glanzvollsten Tagen und Nächten (Berlin: Blanvalet, 1952), p. 87; variation: Zolotow, pp. 40–41; Liebmann’s eye: McGilligan, Fritz Lang, p. 193.
65 Curt Siodmak on Der Kampf: Lally, pp. 37.
66 “Please invent…”: Kreimeier, p. 104.
66 “Pommer was not a man …”: Lally, p. 40.
66 “Billie was the life …”: Lally, p. 46.
66 “A very quick thinker …”: Zolotow, p. 44.
67 The German economy, Spender quotation, and 1930 election: Friedrich, Before the Deluge, pp. 300–2, 323, and 363.
67 “If there was any influence on me …” and remarks about Brecht: Anon. “Interview: Billy Wilder,” Playboy 10, no. 6, June 1963, p. 57.
68 History of Der Mann, der seinen Mörder sucht: Hutter, pp. 360–65.
68 Quotations about Der Mann, der seinen Mörder sucht: Hutter, pp. 380–83: citing Zwischen Berlin und Hollywood. Erinnerungen eines grossen Filmregisseurs, ed. Hans C. Blumenberg (Munich: Herbig, 1980), pp. 48–49; Rühmann, p. 124.
68–69 Note on the remakes of Der Mann, der seinen Mörder sucht: The extent to which any of these films is a true “remake” is quite debatable, though many film reference books make the claim.
69 “Siodmak and I…”: McDonald, p. 66.
69 On the release of the three films in March: Hutter, p. 384.
70 On Willy Fritsch: Kreimeier, p. 147.
70 “Little does the handsome soldier …”: Zolotow, p. 45.
70 Note: Adorable was released in 1933.
70 Note: screenplay credit for Seitensprunge went to Lajos Biro, Bobby E. Lüthge, and Karl Noti.
70 On Emil: McDonald, pp. 74–75; Hutter, pp. 393–94, citing Rasner and Wulf, “‘Ich nehm’ das alles nicht so ernst…,’” p. 20.
73 “Already in Berlin he was a man …”: Zolotow, p. 48.
73–74 On Hitchcock: Kirkham, p. 19.
74 On Es war einmal ein Walzer: Hutter, pp. 402–3.
74 “Only interfered with the development…”: Lally, p. 45.
74 Marta Eggerth recollections: interview with the author, Sept. 2, 1997, and letter to the author, Sept. 9, 1997.
74 Note: According to Hans Feld, with whom Wilder worked at Aafa, Billie also wrote a script called Aus dem Tagebuch einer schönen Frau (From the Diary of a Beautiful Woman). It was eventually released as Das Abenteuer der Thea Roland (The Adventure of Thea Roland) and was directed by Hermann Kosterlitz (later Henry Koster), but Wilder’s name is nowhere to be found in the credits.
74–75 On the writing of Ein blonder Traum and the Austrians in Berlin: Hutter, pp. 405–6: citing Rasner and Wulf, “‘Ich nehm’ das alles nicht so ernst…,’” p. 25.
75 On Peter Lorre: Youngkin, p. 31.
75–76 On Ein blonder Traum, Pommer, and Harvey: Zolotow, pp. 42–45.
76 Kracauer on Ein blonder Traum: Kracauer, p. 212.
77 On Der Sieger: Hutter, pp. 402–8; Kreimeier, p. 188.
77 On Scampolo: Hutter, pp. 414–15.
77–78 Note: It’s what Scampolo represents to these aging men as much as who she is herself that makes her seem so charming, and in this way she prefigures the hoyden-heroines of Sabrina and Love in the Afternoon. Indeed, Dolly Haas rather resembles Audrey Hepburn.
78 On Das Blaue vom Himmel: Hutter, pp. 424–26.
79 “Yes, the story of Das Blaue vom Himmel…”: Marta Eggerth letter to the author, Sept. 9, 1997.
79 On censorship of Das Blaue vom Himmel: Film-Oberprüfstelle file #5865, dated Dec. 14, 1932, on file at the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv, Berlin.
80 On Billie and Wachsmann: Zolotow, p. 47; Lally, p. 44.
80 “Berlin was the city …”: Gay, Freud, Jews, and Other Germans, p. 174.
80 “German workers …”: Kreimeier, p. 198.
80 Note: an adaptation of Clément Vautel’s novel Madame ne veut pas d’enfants, Madame wünscht keine Kinder was another Austrian coproduction by Lothar Stark G.m.b.H. and was probably written during a trip Wilder made with Kolpe to the Baltic Sea.
80 “We were only a few kilometers …”: Hutter, pp. 426–28.
81 On Madame: Hutter, pp. 433–36; Lally, pp. 49–50.
81 “He was a turd …”: Hutter, pp. 428–29; Rasner and Wulf, “‘Ich nem’ das alles nicht so ernst …,’” p. 21
81 On Hitlerjunge Quex: Kracauer, p. 262: citing Gregory Bateson, “Cultural and Thematic Analysis of Fictional Films,” Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences, Feb., 1943, p. 76; Leiser, pp. 35–39.
81 “He’s the biggest asshole …”: Hutter, pp. 428–29: citing Géza von Cziffra, Ungelogen: Erinnerungen an mein Jahrhundert (Berlin: Herbig, 1988), p. 259; Kreimeier, pp. 339–40.
81–82 “Political power in Germany …”: Shirer, p. 163.
82 Note: Levassor turns out to be an internationally wanted jewel thief named John
Constantinescu. Romanian jewel thieves were popular that year—Lubitsch’s Trouble in Paradise features Herbert Marshall as Gaston Monescu.
83 Wilder on Hella: Zolotow, pp. 48–49.
84 Wilder on dominoes and liverwurst: McDonald, p. 83.
84 On Wilder’s wages: Hutter, pp. 440–44: citing Claus Preute, “Playboy Interview: Billy Wilder: Ein offenes Gespräch mit dem Mann, der an Hollywoods Legende mitwirkte und sie schliesslich überlebte.” Playboy (Munich), no. 9, Sept. 1978, p. 51.
84 “At night we went to the El Dorado …”: Hutter, pp. 440–44: citing Preute, p. 51.
84–85 On Wilder, Dietrich, and Waldoff: Zolotow, pp. 31–32; Gill, pp. 85, 104–5; Bach, p. 73.
85 “Ladies who carried a bit…”: Author’s interview with Robert Lantz, July 25, 1995.
85 “They were eating …”: Hutter, pp. 440–44: citing Pem, “Heimweh …,” p. 91.
85 On Der Frack: Zolotow, pp. 45–46.
85 Note: Wilder and Reisch ended up giving the idea for Der Frack to Sam Spiegel for Tales of Manhattan (1942); see Chapter 10.
85 “I think it’s time to leave …”: Zolotow, p. 49.
85 “It wasn’t my idea …”: Kanin, p. 177.
85 “To an Aryan friend …”: Reed and Bacon, p. 157.
85 Wilder’s flight to Paris: Zolotow, p. 49; Hutter, p. 446; Ciment, Positif 269/270, p. 18.
86 “One day I watched them …”: Hutter, p. 446: citing Preute, p. 52.
86 On Kisch: Hutter, p. 446: citing Horowitz, “Fussball…” p. 160.
86 On Brennendes Geheimnis and Siodmak: Hutter, pp. 447–48.
86 On Wilder and the detectives: Lally, p. 54.
86–87 Note: Special thanks go to Andreas Hutter for compiling most of this shocking list of refugees. See Hutter, pp. 447–48; Kreimeier, pp. 212–13; Jelavich, p. 231; McGilligan, Fritz Lang, pp. 190–93; Symonette, p. 60.
87 “What happened to the novelists …”: Author’s interview with Robert Lantz, July 25, 1995.
87–88 “But what happened then was one …”: Lally, pp. 51–52.
88 “That’s finished …”: Fromm, p. 61.
88 The premiere of Was Frauen träumen: Hutter, p. 451.
CHAPTER 6
89 “Hitler took over Berlin …”: Lemon, p. 36.
89 “One suitcase and a bunch …,” posters, and passport information: Gehman, p. 90; Zolotow, pp. 49–50; Murphy, p. D4.
90 “Rather louche hotels …”: Zolotow, p. 51.
90 On apatrides: Heilbut, p. 28.
90 On Wachsmann: Thomas, Tony, Music, pp. 76–77.
90 “It was located on the rue de Saigon …”: Ciment, p. 18.
90–91 Hollânder’s recollections: Holländer, pp. 293–99.
91 On Billie and die Spinne: Holländer, p. 304.
93 “An elusive personality …”: Jeancolas, pp. 30–31.
94 “I directed it with another cinéaste …”: Ciment, Positif July/Aug. 1983, p. 17.
94 “For lack of money …”: Ciment, p. 17.
95 On the cheapness of the production: Lally, p. 56.
97 On Pam-Pam and Wilder’s emigration: Zolotow, p. 52; Gehman, p. 60.
98 On Genia’s remarriage: Karasek, p. 39.
98 On the Nazis’ increasing power: Heilbut, p. 23.
98 On Wilder’s voyage: Lally, p. 60.
CHAPTER 7
101 Quotation from Hold Back the Dawn: AMPAS, Paramount Collection, Hold Back the Dawn screenplay file. The scene was cut during shooting.
101 “It is a fantastic commentary …”: Wyman, Paper Walls, unpaginated epigram.
101 “We had no first impressions …”: Heilbut, p. 17.
102 On the Chief: Marshall, p. 301; Beebe, p. 57.
102 On Cohn: Gabler, p. 152.
102 On the Screen Writers Guild and Zanuck: Hamilton, pp. 94–96.
102–3 On Wilder’s first day at Columbia: Lally, pp. 61–62.
103 Note: Max Kolpe, who moved from Paris to Vienna, made a musical of Pam-Pam along with two composers, Fritz Spielmann and Weiss. It premiered on Nov. 3, 1937, in Vienna. In 1940, Jan Lustig wrote the script for Dancing on a Dime, a Paramount film that appears to have been based on Pam-Pam, though Wilder received no credit. Hutter, pp. 453–54
104 “Never got beyond a draft …”: Lally, pp. 62–63.
105 On American immigration in the 1930s: Thatcher, pp. 63–64; Divine, pp. 78, 92; Wyman, Abandonment of the Jews, pp. 3–15, and Paper Walls, pp. 4–8.
105 On Wilder and the official: Wiley and Bona, p. 720; Playboy, Dec. 1960, p. 145.
105 On Wilder, the Chateau Marmont, and his art collection: Gehman, p. 145; Lemon, p. 36; Columbus, p. 24; Alleman, p. 167; Barnett, p. 104; Hitchens, p. 216; Friedrich, pp. 44–45.
106 “When I could not sleep …”: Freidrich, pp. 44–45.
106 “I doubt if he dated …”: Balasz, p. 43.
106 On Pommer and the pool: Lemon, p. 33; Friedrich, pp. 44–45.
106–7 “You know, when you are a writer …”: Michel Ciment and Annie Tresgot, Portrait d’un homme parfait à 60%.
107 “I learned by not associating …”: Playboy, June 1963, p. 60.
107 “An imported exporter …”: Heilbut, p. 29.
107 “But he had a wonderful ear …”: Playboy, June 1963, p. 60.
107 On the differences between English and German: Heilbut, pp. 57–58.
107 “When you start a sentence in German …”: Friedrich, Before the Deluge, p. 344.
108 “Gee but I’d give the world …”: McDonald, p. 121.
108 On Music in the Air: Hanson, 1931–1940, pp. 1449–450 and 2553; Music in the Air final cutting script (undated), UCLA Arts Library—Special Collections, Twentieth Century–Fox script collection, file folder 3.
109 Lottery Lover’s credits: UCLA Arts Library—Special Collections, Twentieth Century–Fox legal files collection, 095 MC 4834861.
110 Wilder’s wages for Lottery Lover: Hamilton, p. 260.
110 Description of Under Pressure: Hanson, 1931–1940, p. 2301.
110–11 On the censors and Mauvaise Graine: AMPAS, Paramount Collection, Mauvaise Graine MPAA file.
112 On the approaching Anschluss: Shirer, pp. 279, 284.
112 Wilder’s lodging in Vienna: hotel registration for Samuel “Billie” Wilder, Nov. 17, 1935, Austrian National Archives, Vienna.
112 “I remember how embarrassing …”: Karasek, p. 33.
113 Wilder returns to the Chateau: Balasz, p. 43.
113 “I was so impressed …”: Hitchens, p. 217.
113 Parrish and Brecht: Robert Parrish interview with the author, July 25, 1995.
113 “She was one of the few …”: Reinhardt, pp. 303–4.
114 “Knowing so much already …”: Heilbut, p. viii.
114 On Judith Coppicus: Zolotow, pp. 97–98.
115 Note: Originally, Champagne Waltz was the title of a treatment—by two other writers—that had to do with bookies and an orphanage in New York City; Paramount lifted the title and left the rest of the treatment well enough alone.
115 On Wilder’s contract at Paramount: Zolotow, pp. 60–61; Hanson, 1931–1940, p. 315.
115 On Manny Wolfe’s idea: Zolotow, p. 62.
CHAPTER 8
117 Note: Ghost Music is the original title Wilder and Jacques Théry gave to what would become Rhythm on the River. The quotation describes the character of Prescott, the composer, and is found in Wilder and Théry’s first (undated) treatment. AMPAS, Paramount Collection, Rhythm on the River screenplay file.
117 On Brackett’s biography: AMPAS, Paramount Pictures press sheet dated 1948 and various other clippings in the “Brackett, Charles” biographical file; Variety, March 12, 1969; Barnett, pp. 102–3; Zolotow, p. 63.
118 Brackett at RKO: Barnett, pp. 104–5.
119 Brackett’s salary at Paramount: AMPAS, Paramount Collection, Charles Brackett legal briefs file.
119 Note in regard to Angel: Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife was ultimately not a h
it either. Eyman, p. 256.
119 “We fought a lot…”: Freeman, p. 74.
120 “Lubitsch was one of the great ones …” and “The Smiling Lieutenant deals with …”: Domarchi and Douchet, pp. 2–4.
120 “Lubitsch could do more …”: Freeman, p. 74.
120 “Didn’t notice, for months, that he was a short man …”: Raphaelson, p. 25.
120 Lubitsch’s background: Kreimeier, p. 56.
120 “If the truth were known …”: Eyman, p. 259.
121 “Lubitsch was not what a writer …”: Raphaelson, pp. 22–25.
121 “Mental slapstick”: Paul, p. 128.
122 “What if when Gary Cooper …”: Linville, pp. 51–52.
122 “The emptiest movie [Lubitsch] ever made”: Eyman, p. 260.
123 Living with Judith’s mother: Zolotow, p. 99.
123 Brackett’s credits: AMPAS, Paramount Collection, Charles Brackett legal briefs file.
123 On That Certain Age: Hanson, 1930–1939, p. 2157.
123–24 “Pasternak didn’t do anything memorable …”: Domarchi and Douchet, pp. 5–6.
124 Wilder’s representation: Sammlung Paul Kohner, Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek, h. ss-88/1h-6, file 1.
124 On Kohner’s agency: “Paul Kohner: Hollywood’s Gentleman Agent” (exhibition), Goethe-Institut, Los Angeles, April 10–May 31, 1997.
124 On the European Film Fund: “Paul Kohner: Hollywood’s Gentleman Agent” (exhibition), Goethe-Institut, Los Angeles, April 10–May 31, 1997.
124–25 On the Nazis in Vienna: Gilbert, pp. 58–59.
126 On the National Labor Relations Board and the Guild: Slide, pp. 2, 296.
127 On Wilder, Brackett, Hornblow, and Englund: Barnett, pp. 108–9.
128 Censorship of Midnight: AMPAS, Paramount Collection, Midnight MPPA file.
128 “I’ve never known John …”: Barnett, pp. 108–9
128 On the “idiot cards”: Chierichietti, p. 123.
129 Bridge instructions: Roth and Rubens.
130 “One of the most important things to learn about bridge …”: Sheinwold, p. 295.
CHAPTER 9
131 On Kristallnacht: Shirer, pp. 430–31.
131 “In a political age …”: Heilbut, p. x, pp. 110–11.
132 On the shoeshine stand: Eyman, p. 250; on the parking space: Zolotow, p. 70.
132–33 On What a Life: Hanson, 1930–1939, pp. 2388–389.