Billy Wilder dead.

CNN

[lowbridge]

Damn. Today I watched one of his best on video: The Apartment (one of my all time favorite films) just before I learned that he passed away.

[Rastus]

Has anyone seen Wilder's "One, Two, Three?" It's described as a satire of the Cold War in general and capitalism specifically. If that is true, is it a "gentle" satire, or a savaging? Haven't been able to find an ideologically-based review.

It starred Jimmy Cagney, and I believe he had long-since given up his socialist beliefs by then. So, maybe there's hope.

If it is a commie-fest, it won't stop me from enjoying Wilder's other movies. Well, not too much.

[js1138]

I know my claim sounds silly, but I didn't make it up. I paayed with search engines for a while, but it seems the major repositories of statistics don't care about causes of death unless there's a potential pot of money in sight.

[Xenalyte]

Double Indemnity is a great introduction to the non-TV Fred MacMurray. He's so wonderfully evil - it's like watching Mr. Rogers playing Jack the Ripper.

[aristeides]

MacMurray played two marvelous bad-guy roles for Wilder. The other was Mr. Sheldrake in The Apartment.

[CounterCounterCulture]

Anybody for a dead pool? Who will be next to follow Dudley Moore, Milton Berle and Billy Wilder..

How about Bob Hope..that's my choice

Hope's been on many lists for the last few years, even surviving a premature obituary put out by Associated Press (or maybe it was Reuters). He's outliving dead-pool predictions to spite 'em. ;)

[oldvike]

It will be a very sad day when Bob Hope dies. Truly one of the greatest entertainers of all time.

[tictoc]

"One, Two, Three" is a laugh riot.

Jimmy Cagney plays an American who heads the Coca Cola subsidiary in Germany. One of the many hilarious running gags is every time he comes into the office, all the German employees jump to attention. Exasperated, he barks "SITZEN MACHEN" (pidgin German for 'Sit down, already').

It's a clever dig at the post-war Germans, who magically "lost" their Nazi party membership cards after 8 May 1945 and became 110% "how high do I jump" democrats overnight.

Great satirical portrayals of fat, bloated Russian generals in East Berlin. There is a love interest, too: Cagney's lovely daughter meets a handsome young German communist spouting clichéd class-war phrases. He succumbs to her charms and defects to the class enemy.

Rest in peace and thanks for the many laughs, Billy. You were as old as my Jewish grandmother, who died last week.

[Clemenza]

'Hullo, this is Bob "Going to my imminent death" Hope'

I heard from someone who saw him in a supermarket in Palm Springs that Bob was in very bad shape. That was four years ago!

Go Bob! To 100!

[Clemenza]

Billy looks a little like Rod Steiger in that photo.

Which begs the question, can "Charlie Malloy" be next!

[andysandmikesmom]

I agree with you about Stalag 17...I always found the 'Animal' to be such a funny character....I especially liked the Christmas Party scene, where the 'Animal' is dancing with one of his fellow POWs who is wearing something on his head, maybe a mop or something, and the poor 'Animal' lovesick for his favorite pinup gal, either Betty Grable, or Lana Turner, believes he is really dancing with her

Also the scene where mail comes, and they are reading their mail, and one POW gets a letter form his wife, explaining how she found this baby on the front porch, and keeps telling her husband, 'You wont believe it' several times in the letter...The poor POW reads on, and says 'I believe it, I believe it'....Just so understated and priceless...

AT EASE

I also especially like the film noir, 'Double Indemnity'...Fred McMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson...what a great movie...and it so well relayed the hot sexual attraction and tension between McMurray and Stanwyck, with nary an 'obligatory' nudie or sex scene...Great film making...

[Rightwing Canuck]

I've never seen the film, but from reviews around the Net it's hard to figure out. Check out IMDB's User comments for an example.

[Rightwing Canuck]

and it so well relayed the hot sexual attraction and tension between McMurray and Stanwyck, with nary an 'obligatory' nudie or sex scene...Great film making...

I'll second that. I myself am entering the film industry and have always looked to pre-1960s filmmaking for inspiration (not that post-1960s films weren't great), as they could show an actress as being sexy or relay to the audience that sort of attraction without having to resort to cheap nude scenes or softcore romps.

[mountaineer]

I love that dancing with the mop scene in Stalag 17, too. Oh Betty, Betty! Casting the boyish Peter Graves as the evil Nazi snitch was brilliant. So many of Wilder's movies are among my favorites.

[DugwayDuke]

Why do things happen in "threes"? Very simple. After the third thing happens, it starts a "new three". You see, people think things happen in threes so they count each thing until they get to three and then they start the count over again. The next time an actor dies. People won't say deaths happen in fours, they'll say this fourth death starts a new three. Simple. BTW, this applies to plane crashes, dead actors, etc.

[breakem]

I will defer to your memory since I have a touch of old-timers, but I thought it was Pepsi. And wasn't Pamela Tiffin the female lead?

[aristeides]

It was Coca Cola. But you're right about Pamela Tiffin. One Two Three.

[RightWhale]

That the one that played for Ozzie for several years?