Classic Film Club: The Lost Weekend (PG)

Billy Wilder’s still-searing film about the dangers of alcohol stars Ray Milland as a writer struggling with the demon drink. Tricking his brother and partner into believing he’s decamping to the country for a sober break, he returns to his dingy flat for what will turn out to be a dark weekend of the soul.

The first Hollywood film to portray alcoholism in such unflinching detail, Lost Weekend was rewarded with four Academy Awards and remains one of only two films to have won the Best Picture Oscar and the top prize at Cannes Film Festival.

Wilder was inspired to embark on the project following the painful experience of working with recovering alcoholic Raymond Chandler on Double Indemnity, hoping that Chandler would recognise some of himself in the film and act upon it. In his attempts to accentuate the story’s gritty realism, Wilder hoped to release the film with no music score, only for early screenings to fall flat. The film was eventually released with Miklós Rózsa’s highly influential theremin score.

The first Welshman to win an Academy Award, Ray Milland (born Reginald Truscott-Jones) grew up in Neath. He won his Oscar for The Lost Weekend (1945), becoming the first person to receive both an Academy Award and a Cannes Film Festival prize in the same year. Initially committed to a career in the British Army with the Household Cavalry, Milland jumped ship to Hollywood after being discovered on stage in London. With a career spanning more than 40 years, he appeared in 165 films, earned two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and remains best known for his powerful performance in Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend.

This screening marks 40 years since Ray’s death (10 March 1986).

Running Time: 101 minutes