Days of Wine and Roses (1962)

An alcoholic marries a young woman and systematically addicts her to booze so that they can share his "passion" together.

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writer:

J.P. Miller (as JP Miller)

Stars:

Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Charles Bickford

Won 1 Oscar. Another 9 wins & 13 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, from dancing girls to an article in a prominent magazine. But part of the job is drinking, and Joe's ability to consume alcohol seems boundless. When he meets the very pretty Kirsten Arnesen, she prefers chocolate to alcohol; Joe's solution is Brandy Alexander, which is made up of brandy and crème de cacao. Joe and Kirsten eventually marry, but their love can't prevent the downward spiral brought on by alcohol. 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 | alcoholic | plant in title | violence | in laws | 

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Taglines:

Nights of Shame and Terror!

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film features two actors who would be associated with The Odd Couple (1968). Jack Lemmon played Felix Ungar in the 1968 motion picture, while Jack Klugman would play Oscar Madison in the T.V. series.

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Goofs

At the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, both Jim and Joe say their full names; last names are usually not used in AA meetings, which is how people remain "anonymous".

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Quotes

Kirsten Arnesen Clay: Thanks for the compliment, but I know how I look. This is the way I look when I'm sober. It's enough to make a person drink, wouldn't you say? You see, the world looks so dirty to me when I'm not drinking. Joe, remember Fisherman's Wharf? The water when you looked too close? That's the way the world looks to me when I'm not drinking.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Overdrawn at the Memory Bank (1997)

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Soundtracks

I Only Have Eyes for You
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Played while Joe's on the telephone at the restaurant

User Reviews

It's as true to life as a vodka martini.

The above quote is from director Blake Edwards, it's taken from the highly recommended commentary track he provides on the DVD for this excellent and compelling piece of work.

Joe is a social drinker but he's social all the time, during one of his arranged parties for a client he meets and falls in love with teetotal Kirsten. They get married and changes start to dominate their marital bliss, he is stressed from work and drinks daily to forget the rigours of the job, she being the loving wife chooses to drink with him to help ease his pain, but soon the joyous days of wine & roses will turn to something dark and terribly turbulent, and this will threaten their own respective sanity.

The film begins with Henry Mancini's academy award winning title theme tune, it's a truly beautiful piece of music that perfectly sets the tone of the film for its first third, it lulls you into this couples love, the bond they share is a truly wonderful thing, it really is all sweetness and light, but then the bottle becomes part of this couples life, they become a threesome from which only dark horrors will form. Containing emotionally shattering scenes that once viewed can not be forgotten (witness Joe's soul destroying search for liquor in a greenhouse), Days Of Wine & Roses still manages not to force feed the viewer a moralistic stance, it lays down the facts of alcoholism and the perils of co-dependency with honest appraisal, we as the viewers are left in no doubt that it is us, and us only, that can make of it as we see fit, the ending especially is a particular poser of which we ourselves seek clarity.

Wonderfully written by the talented hands of J.P. Miller, Days Of Wine And Roses boasts marvellous direction from Blake Edwards and two academy award nominated performances from Jack Lemmon & Lee Remick, it's a testament to all involved that come the finale the viewer feels drained, yet strangely...not at all thirsty for the amber nectar.

Quality drama. 9/10

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 February 1963 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Days of Wine and Roses

Filming Locations:

1800 Pacific Ave, San Francisco, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$8,123,077

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