Days of Wine and Roses (1962)

An alcoholic falls in love with and gets married to a young woman, whom he systematically addicts to booze so they can share his "passion" together.

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writer:

J.P. Miller

Stars:

Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Charles Bickford

Won 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jack Lemmon	...	Joe Clay
Lee Remick	...	Kirsten Arnesen Clay
Charles Bickford	...	Ellis Arnesen
Jack Klugman	...	Jim Hungerford
Alan Hewitt	...	Rad Leland
Tom Palmer	...	Ballefoy
Debbie Megowan	...	Debbie Clay
Maxine Stuart	...	Dottie
Jack Albertson	...	Trayner

Storyline

Joe Clay is a top-notch public relations man. Anything a client wants Joe can arrange for them, whether it be dancing girls or an article in a prominent magazine. Part of the job however is drinking and Joe's ability to consume alcohol seems boundless. When he meets the very pretty Kirsten Arnasen, she prefers chocolate to alcohol but Joe has a solution to that in the form of a Brandy Alexander (made up of brandy and creme de cocoa). They eventually marry but their love is insufficient to prevent them from the downward spiral that alcohol brings to them. They try desperately to break the habit but continually relapse until only one of them manages to break free.

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Plot Keywords:

drinking | public relations | alcoholic | secretary | share | 

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Taglines:

From the days of wine and roses, finally comes a night like this.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 December 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Días de vino y rosas

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jalem Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The story was first performed live on an episode of Playhouse 90 in 1958. Writer J.P. Miller conceived the original play as a love story between two drunks. The concept of alcoholic domesticity had never been executed commercially before. The recorded play, not in public domain, currently exists on videotape at CBS Television City in Hollywood.

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Goofs

When Lemmon enters the sleazy motel room where his wife is having a bender he presses the lower button on the old fashioned button type light switch to turn the light on. In fact, the electrical code called for the upper button to always be the ON button.

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Quotes

[Joe offers to reconcile with Kirsten - but only if she quits drinking]
Joe Clay: You remember how it really was? You and me and booze - a threesome. You and I were a couple of drunks on the sea of booze, and the boat sank. I got hold of something that kept me from going under, and I'm not going to let go of it. Not for you. Not for anyone. If you want to grab on, grab on. But there's just room for you and me - no threesome.

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Connections

Referenced in The New Adventures of Old Christine: Rage Against the Christine (2008)

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Soundtracks

"Rock-a-Bye Baby"
(uncredited)
Music by Effie I. Canning

User Reviews

Essential!!

Let me tell you something: to watch such an intense and heart-rending performance like Jack Lemmon's in "Days of wine and roses" is one of those exceptional things we bump into our lives. OK, Lee Remick does an outstanding job, but Lemmon's performance is simply supernatural. We got Picasso's "Gernika", Bowie's "Ziggy stardust", Wilde's "Dorian Gray"... and characters such as Joe Clat. Pieces of art, my friends.

Most of the people link the name of Blake Edwards to the high class comedy ("Breakfast at Tiffany's", "Pink Panther", "The Party"), but I'd dare to state that "Days of.." is his best movie by far. Step by step, Edwars shows us each and every stages an alcoholic gets through: from the party days to the "delirium tremens".

Ageless, universal, perfect... ESSENTIAL

*My rate: 10/10