|
|
Article: Billy Wilder, in perfect focus
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- August 6, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1996 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
WILDER TIMES
The Life of Billy Wilder
By Kevin Lally
Henry Holt, 496 pp., illustrated, $30
Writer-director Billy Wilder, the Polish-born Jewish exile from
Nazi Germany, came to Hollywood in 1934 armed with very little money,
a resume containing a few German films and a couple of connections.
The former journalist, whose bulldog approach to interviewing
celebrities back in Vienna would serve him well in his new
profession, was uncomfortable speaking English. Yet, within five
years, he and screenwriting partner Charles Brackett formed one of
the hottest writing teams in the movies. And that was just the
beginning.
Wilder made dozens of movies -- any one of which would cap a
career for most ...