Billy Wilder

by Bernard F. Dick

Book by Dick, Bernard F

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

Bernard F. Dick is Professor of Communication and English and Co-Director of the School of Art and Media Studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Teaneck, New Jersey, campus. He is the author of a number of books on film including The Star-Spangled Screen: The American World War II Film; Engulfed: The Death of Paramount Pictures and the Birth of Corporate Hollywood; Hal Wallis: Producer to the Stars; Forever Mame: Rosalind Russell; and She Walked in Beauty: Claudette Colbert. He has just completed a biography of Loretta Young, Hollywood Madonna.

Reviews

[Aaron Ambrose · Rating 2 out of 5]

What is this book? It's not a biography, or an analysis of Wilder's work, which is what I thought it would be, based on the blurbs and a quick flip through. Instead, it's more of a mash note from an okay writer to a great writer/director. Dick spends most of the book summarizing Wilder's films, with little added insight. It's not awful, but it strikes me as a waste of time. My recommendation: Just watch the damn movies.