Billy Wilder on Assignment

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Billy Wilder on Assignment Page 18

by Noah Isenberg


  Berliner Börsen Courier: cultural essays in, 49, 52, 54, 56, 58, 59, 62, 65, 68, 69, 71, 73, 75, 78; interviews in, 124, 126, 128, 130, 134, 137–141; Wilder’s early work for, 7, 12, 19

  Berliner Zeitung am Mittag (B. Z.): cultural essays in, 41, 80; essays about selling, 96, 145–148; film and theater reviews in, 169–191; interviews in, 143, 145; Klabund’s introduction of Wilder in, 163–164; Wilder’s writing for, 10, 19, 21, 29, 41, 80

  “Berlin Rendezvous” (Wilder), 21, 74–75

  Bernhard, Georg, 116

  Berthier, Alfons, 169

  Bess, Jane, 172

  Bettauer, Hugo, 6

  Bietzke, Hans, 184

  “Billie”: Billy Wilders Wiener journalistische Arbeiten (Aurich, Jacobsen and Krenn), 18

  Billy and Audrey L. Wilder Foundation, 18

  Binder, Sybille, 5

  Blachnitzky, Curt, 184

  Black Bottom dance, 21, 41, 57

  Blind Husbands (1919), 150

  A Blonde for a Night (1928), 176–177

  Bois, Curt, 169

  book market, Berlin, 21, 87–90

  books. See literature and books

  Borchert, Brigitte, 16, 84

  Boulevard-Zeitung, 11

  Brabin, Charles J., 177

  Braun, Alfred, 172

  Brettel, Colette, 184

  Briese, Gert, 172

  broadcasting and radio, 172

  Broken Barriers (1924), 167–168

  Die Bühne: caricatures in, 10; crosswords puzzles in, 4; cultural essays in, 19, 20, 41; film and theater reviews in, 168; interviews in, 7, 100, 103, 109; Wilder’s writing for, 3–4, 19

  Bush, Mae, 167, 168

  “The Business of Thirst” (Wilder), 78–80

  “but” as word, 54–56

  “The B. Z. Lady and the German Crown Prince” (Wilder), 96, 145–148

  Caligari (1920), 99

  cameos by Wilder, 12, 14

  card sharks, 96, 152–156

  Carr, Mary, 173

  Carver, Kathryn, 160

  casting stories, 103

  Chaliapin, Feodor, 137–139

  Chaney, Lon, 99

  Chaplin, Charlie, 99, 111, 121, 151, 165; discovery of Menjou by, 159, 168; films inspired by, 171; interviews of, 124–126; success of Grock and, 136

  The Chinese Nightingale (Andersen), 183

  Chmara, Gregori, 98–100

  circuses, 124–126, 134–137

  The City Without Jews (Die Stunde ohne Juden, Bettauer), 6

  “Claude Anet in Berlin” (Wilder), 139–140

  clowns, 124, 126, 134–137

  Coca-Cola, 157

  coffeehouses, 4, 42, 63–65

  Colani, Victor, 169

  Columbus, Christopher, 47–49

  comedy. See humor

  Concert (Bahr), 159

  Conversations with Wilder (Crowe), 3

  Crime and Punishment (Raskolnikow, 1925), 99

  crossword puzzles, 3, 4, 6

  Crowe, Cameron, 3, 7

  cultural essays: air travel, 21, 76–78; Berlin book market and literature, 21, 87–90; Berlin rendezvous spots, 21, 74–75; coffeehouses, 4, 42, 63–65; dancing, 10, 20, 23–41, 56–58, 96, 161–164; destiny, concept of, 58–59; economics, 69–71; filmmakers, 157–161; filming people, 72–73; film studio reportage, 80–86; friendship, 90–93; Genoa, 47–49; landladies, 52–54; lying and ruses, 50–52; Monte Carlo, 90–93; New York City, 60–62; optimism, concept of, 60–62; overview of, 19–21, 20; personal objectivity, concept of, 54–56; plants and flowers, 68–69; smells and fragrances, 65–68; thirst vs. hunger, 78–80; Wilder’s writing style and, 10–11, 17–19, 95–96, 163–164

  Dahn, Felix, 88

  Dame Care (Frau Sorge, 1928), 173

  The Dancer (Holländer), 142

  dancing: Black Bottom dance, 21, 41, 57; Klabund (Alfred Henschke), 10, 23, 96, 161–164; Tiller Girls, 7, 12–13, 14, 95, 104, 105–107, 105–109; Wilder’s job as a dancer for hire, 10, 20, 23–41, 96, 161–164

  Danegger, Theodor, 5

  A Day in Film (Ein Tag Film, 1928), 180

  “Day of Destiny” (Wilder), 58–59

  Defu film studio, 173

  Delac, Ch., 187

  DeMille, Cecil B., 152

  Desmond, Norma, 18

  Desni, Xenia, 172

  destiny, concept of, 58–59

  destruction, wishing for, 132–133

  detective films, 170–171, 178–179, 188, 189

  Deutsches Theater, 143, 166, 184

  The Devil’s Pass Key (1920), 150

  Deyers, Lien, 186

  Dieterle, Wilhelm, 173, 186

  Dietrich, Marlene, 165, 185–186

  disguises, 128–130

  Döblin, Alfred, 89

  Docks of Hamburg (1928), 175

  Douglas, Kirk, 12

  Dream and Day (Traum und Tag, Holländer), 142

  drinking, 78–80

  Dwan, Allan, 8

  earth, destruction of, 185

  Eberty, Paula, 144

  economics, 69–71

  Edward VIII (Prince of Wales), 7, 100–103, 121–124, 159

  Ehlers, Christl, 13, 16, 84

  Ehrlich, Max, 191

  Eichberg, Richard, 169–170

  Ekman, Gösta, 178

  Elder, Ruth, 189

  “The Elder Statesman of Berlin Theater Critics” (Wilder), 143–145

  entertainment centers, 124–126

  Erwin, Ralph, 114

  Erwin (chameleon character), 128–130

  experimental films, 12, 187

  Die Fackel (The Torch) newspaper, 6

  Fairbanks, Douglas, 111, 158

  Falk, Norbert, 178

  Falkenstein, Julius, 184, 190

  fashion, 100–103, 159

  Fashions in Love (1929), 159

  femininity vs. masculinity, 63–65

  Ferrer, Miguel, 31–32, 33, 35, 38

  feuilleton, defined, 19. See also cultural essays

  Feyder, Jacques, 173

  filming people, 72–73

  filmmakers, 157–161

  film reviews, overview of, 165–166. See also specific films

  Film Studio 1929, 12, 20, 21, 80–82, 187

  film studio reportage, 80–86

  “Film Terror” (Wilder), 72–73

  flowers and plants, 68–69

  Fontane, Theodor, 144

  Ford, Harrison E., 177

  forests, 177

  Fouché (Zweig), 89

  fragrances and smells, 65–68

  Freud, Sigmund, 7

  friendship, 90–93

  Fritsch, Willy, 175

  The Front Page (1974), 12, 95

  Fryland, Alfons, 175

  Fütterer, Werner, 169

  Gal-Ezer, Josef, 166, 182

  Garden, Viola, 185

  Gärtner, Heinrich, 169

  Gay, Peter, 11

  Gehman, Richard, 7

  Gemünden, Gerd, 9

  Genina, Augusto, 175

  Genoa, Italy, 47–49

  George, Heinrich, 185

  Germany: author’s films (autorenfilms), 179; beer consumption in, 78–80; commercial air travel in, 21, 76–78. See also Berlin

  Gerron, Kurt, 166, 181

  Gershwin, George, 114

  Gerzhofer, Camilla, 5

  “Getting Books to Readers” (Wilder), 87–90

  Gibson, Hoot, 189

  Gibson, Vivian, 186

  Girardi, Toni, 95, 110–111

  “Girardi’s Son Plays Jazz at the Mary Bar” (Wilder), 110–111

  Girl University, 107

  Glass, Max, 185

  Glässner, Erika, 190

  Gliese, Rochus, 82

  The Gold Rush (1925), 171

  Goulding, Edmund, 151

  Graetz, Paul, 180

  Gralla, Dina, 169, 175

  Greed (1924), 150, 165, 176

  Gridgeman (marmalade wholesaler), 60–62

  Griffith, David Wark, 149, 152

 
“Grock, the Man Who Makes the World Laugh” (Wilder), 134–137

  Grosses Schauspielhaus, 115

  Grosz, George, 151

  Gülstorff, Max, 5

  Hagenbruch, Charlotte, 186

  Haifa, Palestine, 166, 181–182

  Halbe, Max, 142

  Hamburg, Germany, 175

  Hameister, Willie, 171

  Hamlet, 99, 100, 107

  Hartleben, Otto Erich, 142

  Harley (Tiller Girls’ governess), 14, 105, 107, 109

  Hauptmann, Gerhart, 141–142

  Hearts of the World (1918), 149

  heat waves, 56–58

  “Hello, Mr. Menjou?” (Wilder), 157–161

  Hell of a Reporter (Der Teufelsreporter, 1928), 12, 13, 14

  Helm, Brigitte, 170

  Hem, Erwin, 112

  Hem, Otto, 112

  Henning, Uno, 170

  Henschke, Alfred (Klabund), 10, 23, 96, 161–164

  “Here We Are at Film Studio 1929” (Wilder), 80–82

  Herrmann, Fritz, 96, 152–156

  “Herr Ober, Bitte Einen Tänzer!” (Wilder), 20

  Herzog, Erich, 169

  Herzog, Rudolf, 90

  hexes, 132

  His Wife’s Lover (Der Geliebte seiner Frau, 1928), 174–175

  Holländer, Felix, 96, 141–143

  Hollywood: silent era films in, 14–15, 165, 185–187; von Stroheim in, 149–150; Wilder as emigrant to, 15, 17, 17; Wilder’s early films in, 12

  Holm, Dary, 189

  Honor Thy Mother (Seine Mutter [Ehre Deine Mutter], 1928), 173

  “How I Pumped Zaharoff for Money” (Wilder), 90–93

  “How We Shot Our Studio Film” (Wilder), 83–86

  human condition: age and lifespans, 140–141; friendship, 90–93; greed, 150, 176; hopes and dreams, 183–184; lying and ruses, 50–52; objectivity, concept of, 54–56; optimism, concept of, 60–62; social criticism, 181; thirst vs. hunger, 78–80; willpower and work, 166, 181–182

  humor: A Blonde for a Night (1928), 176–177; Chaplin, 99, 111, 121, 124–126, 136, 151, 159, 165, 168, 171; comedians and clowns, 124–126, 134–137; His Wife’s Lover (1928), 174–175; Men without Work (1929), 189; The Merry Musicians (1930), 190; The Missing Will (1929), 188; Ole and Axel, 171, 173–174; radio and broadcasting films, 172; Susie Cleans Up (1930), 190–191; The Valley of the Giants (1927), 177; The Winged Horseman (1929), 165, 188–189

  hunger vs. thirst, 78–80

  “I Interview Mr. Vanderbilt” (Wilder), 118–121

  interviews: Charlie Chaplin, 124–126; comedians, 134–137; Erwin, 128–130; Toni Girardi, 110–111; Asta Nielsen, 97–100; older people, 140–141; opera singers, 137–139; overview of, 95–96; poker players, 96, 152–156; Prince of Wales, 7, 100–103, 121–124, 159; Luise Schappel (B. Z. newspaper saleswoman), 96, 145–148; theater critics, 143–145; Theo, 129–130; Tiller Girls, 7, 12–13, 14, 95; Vanderbilt, 7, 118–121; Paul Whiteman, 7–8, 8, 111–117; witches, 131–134; writers and novelists, 96, 139–140, 141–143

  “Interview with a Witch” (Wilder), 131–134

  In the Name of the Law (1922), 178–179

  Intoxication (Rausch, 1919), 99

  Isin (dance instructor), 28–30, 32–36, 37, 40

  Israel, 166, 181–182

  Jacobini, Diomira, 178

  Jacobsen, Wolfgang, 12, 18

  Jacobsohn, Fritz, 109

  Jacoby, Georg, 186

  Jannings, Emil, 99, 106, 116

  jazz age craze, 21, 95, 110–111, 116

  Jehanne, Edith, 170

  Jeremiah (prophet), 68

  Jesus and Judas (Holländer), 142

  Johnson, Emory, 178

  journalism: films about, 12, 13, 14; influence on Wilder’s films, 17; Wilder’s career in Berlin, 7–10, 19; Wilder’s career in Vienna, 3–8, 19

  Jugo, Jenny, 175

  Junge, Alfred, 175

  Junkermann, Hans, 188

  Kamera theater, 176

  Kammerspiele theater, 184, 188

  Kampers, Fritz, 170–171, 172, 190

  Karasek, Hellmuth, 7

  Katscher, Robert, 112, 114, 115, 117

  Keaton, Buster, 121

  Kenyon, Doris, 177

  Kettner, Martin, 191

  kidnapping, 186

  Kirkwood, James, 167, 168

  Kisch, Egon Erwin, 9–10, 88

  Klaar, Alfred, 143–145

  Klabund (Alfred Henschke), 10, 23, 96, 161–164

  “Klabund Died a Year Ago” (Wilder), 161–164

  Kleist, Heinrich von, 145

  Knauer, G. A., 171

  Kollo, Walter, 184

  Körner, Annie, 5

  Körner, Ludwig, 5

  Kortner, Fritz, 178

  Koval-Samborsky, Ivan, 185

  Kranzlerecke, Berlin, 74

  Krauss, Karl, 6

  Krauss, Werner, 99, 172

  Kreisler, Fritz, 93, 116

  Krenn, Günter, 18

  Kuh, Anton, 5

  Kühl, Kate, 181

  Kurt (dancer), 31, 38

  Lach, Walter Robert, 170

  Laemmle, Carl, 12, 150, 160

  Laemmle, Ernst, 12

  Lamberz-Pausen, Harry, 170

  Land, Robert, 173

  landladies, 52–54

  The Last Night (Die Grosse Liebe, 1928), 177–178

  Lauritzen, Lau, 171, 174

  Lazar, Eugen, 5

  Lazar, Gitta, 5

  Lederer, Franz, 52, 191

  Lenglen, Suzanne, 140

  Lévi, Eliphas, 132

  Liebmann, Robert, 178, 189

  Liebstöckl, Hans, 3, 4, 5

  Lilien, Kurt, 191

  Lind, Georgia, 180

  Lindbergh, Charles, 148

  literature and books, 87–90; Berlin book market, 21, 87–90; “naturalist” writers, 141–142; novelist and writer interviews, 96, 139–143; words, power of, 17–18

  “Little Economics Lesson” (Wilder), 69–71

  Löbl, Joseph, 79

  “The Lookalike Man” (Wilder), 128–130

  Loos, Anita, 139

  Lorre, Peter (Laszlo Löwenstein), 5, 17

  Lorring, Lotte, 169

  Lotta, Claire, 175

  Love in the Afternoon (1957), 4, 96

  Love Non-Stop (von Vegesack), 88

  The Love of Jeanne Ney (Die Liebe der Jeanne Ney, 1927), 169–170

  Love’s Masquerade (Karneval der Liebe, 1928), 175

  love stories, 99, 171, 173–175, 190

  Lubitsch, Ernst, 14, 103, 152, 159, 168, 193

  “Lubitsch Discovers” (Wilder), 103

  lumber industry, 177

  lying, 50–52

  Mack, Max, 179, 180

  Magda C., 131–134

  The Major and the Minor (1942), 4

  Manés, Gina, 173

  Maris, Mona, 169

  Marital Conflicts (Ehekonflikte, 1927), 168–169

  Marquise of O. (Kleist), 145

  marriage, 159, 168–169, 173, 174–175

  The Marriage Circle (1924), 159

  masculinity vs. femininity, 63–65

  The Masked Mannequin (Der Fürst von Pappenheim, 1927), 169

  Massolle, Joseph, 180

  matches, smell of, 65–68

  Matthau, Walter, 12

  Mauthner, Fritz, 143

  Max Reinhardt Circle, 4, 5

  Meinhard, Edith, 189

  Menjou, Adolphe, 7, 157–161; appearance and style of, 159; in Broken Barriers (1924), 167, 168; family background of, 158–159; films directed by, 159; Lubitsch’s launch of, 168

  Men of the Night (Menschen der Nacht, 1926), 169

  mentors of Wilder, 9–10, 14, 23, 96, 161–164

  Men without Work (Männer ohne Beruf, 1929), 189

  Merry-Go-Round (1923), 150

  The Merry Musicians (Laubenkolonie [aka Die lustigen Musikanten], 1930), 190

  The Merry Widow (1925), 151

  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), 17, 150

  mili
tary and state power, 177–179

  “A Minister on Foot” (Wilder), 129–130

  misogynists, 167, 176

  The Missing Will (Das verschwundene Testament, 1929), 188

  Miss Julie (Fräulein Julie, 1922), 99

  Miss Midshipman (Fräulein Fähnrich, 1929), 165, 182–183

  Moebis, Hans-Joachim, 184

  Der Montag Morgen newspaper, 86

  Mosheim, Grete, 173

  motherhood, 186

  Murnau, Friedrich Wilhelm, 82, 84, 152

  Mylong-Münz, Jack, 188

  “My Prince of Wales” (Wilder), 7, 100–103

  “Naphthalene” (Wilder), 52–54

  “naturalist” writers, 141–142

  Neher, Carola, 10, 163

  Neufeld, Max, 175

  Neumann, Angelo, 144

  New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit), 10

  newspapers. See journalism

  newspaper sales, 96, 145–148

  New York City, 60–62

  Nielsen, Asta, 7, 95, 97–100

  Night Flight (1933), 185–186

  “Night Ride over Berlin” (Wilder), 21, 76–78

  Normaluhr, Berlin, 12, 74, 75

  The Oath of Stefan Huller (Holländer), 142

  Obal, Max, 190

  objectivity, concept of, 54–56

  Old Heidelberg (1915), 149

  “Ole and Axel at Beba Palace,” 173–174

  Ole and Axel at the North Sea Shore (Pat und Patachon am Nordseestrand, 1927), 171

  On Sunset Boulevard (Sikov), 1

  opera, 137–139, 165–166, 181

  optimism, concept of, 60–62

  Ora, Daisy d’, 188

  ordinary people, stories about. See cultural essays; interviews

  Oswald, Richard, 172

  Ottavi, Rino, 172

  Pabst, G. W., 169–170

  Palestine, 166, 181–182

  Pangborn, Franklin, 177

  Papus, 132

  Paradise America (Paradies Amerika, Kisch), 10, 88

  Paramount, 17, 157, 159

  Parker, Mary, 183

  Parry, Lee, 187

  The Path of Thomas Truck (Holländer), 142

  Pat und Patachon. See Ole and Axel

  Paulig, Albert, 189, 191

  Paulsen, Harald, 181

  “Paul Whiteman, His Mustache, the Cobenzl, and the Taverns” (Wilder), 111–114

  Penkdert, Leo, 172

 

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