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Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge
The director and cowriter of some of the world's most iconic films―including Double Indemnity , Sunset Blvd. , Some Like It Hot , and The Apartment ―Billy Wilder earned acclaim as American cinema's greatest social satirist. Though an influential fixture in Hollywood, Wilder always saw himself as an outsider. His worldview was shaped by his background in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and work as a journalist in Berlin during Hitler's rise to power, and his perspective as a Jewish refugee from Nazism lent his films a sense of the peril that could engulf any society.
In this critical study, Joseph McBride offers new ways to understand Wilder's work, stretching from his days as a reporter and screenwriter in Europe to his distinguished as well as forgotten films as a Hollywood writer and his celebrated work as a writer-director. In contrast to the widespread view of Wilder as a hardened cynic, McBride reveals him to be a disappointed romantic. Wilder's experiences as an exile led him to mask his sensitivity beneath a veneer of wisecracking that made him a celebrated caustic wit. Amid the satirical barbs and exposure of social hypocrisies, Wilder’s films are marked by intense compassion and a profound understanding of the human condition.
Mixing biographical insight with in-depth analysis of films from throughout Wilder's career as a screenwriter and director of comedy and drama, and drawing on McBride's interviews with the director and his collaborators, this book casts new light on the full range of Wilder's rich, complex, and distinctive vision.
In this critical study, Joseph McBride offers new ways to understand Wilder's work, stretching from his days as a reporter and screenwriter in Europe to his distinguished as well as forgotten films as a Hollywood writer and his celebrated work as a writer-director. In contrast to the widespread view of Wilder as a hardened cynic, McBride reveals him to be a disappointed romantic. Wilder's experiences as an exile led him to mask his sensitivity beneath a veneer of wisecracking that made him a celebrated caustic wit. Amid the satirical barbs and exposure of social hypocrisies, Wilder’s films are marked by intense compassion and a profound understanding of the human condition.
Mixing biographical insight with in-depth analysis of films from throughout Wilder's career as a screenwriter and director of comedy and drama, and drawing on McBride's interviews with the director and his collaborators, this book casts new light on the full range of Wilder's rich, complex, and distinctive vision.
680 pages, Hardcover
First published October 26, 2021
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June 25, 2021
Joseph McBride's "Billy Wilder" is a must-must-must-have for anyone who enjoys classic Hollywood cinema.
Of course the book focuses on Billy Wilder and his life's work, but what I really loved about it was how it painted the backdrop to Wilder's career and fleshed out its context.
McBride goes into Wilder's era, the cultural nuances of his travels growing up, his experience as Jewish man during the rise of fascism, and how the tragic murder of his family during the Holocaust affected him both personally and professionally. Once Wilder makes it to Hollywood, the book discusses Wilder's early influences, how his work as a journalist informed his films, the crossover of his German-language work and later English-language scripts (plus the language barrier issue altogether), his collaborators, his idols and mentors, the projects he loved and those that didn't live up to his expectations--and even the movies he wished he had written and sought to emulate in his own style (which is basically how art works, and McBride takes us right into the heart of the process). This is a master class in Wilder's craft and how it gave us the unforgettable movies we love to this day.
While you don't have to be an aficionado to enjoy this book, there were times when a chapter would focus on one or two movies that I hadn't seen, especially Wilder's early stuff, and I sensed these parts would have been more enjoyable if I HAD seen the films in question. So as you go through this, don't be afraid to browse the TCM catalogue online or rent a movie or two. Wilder is one of the best writers of his time, and you won't regret pairing this book with some audio-visual aid.
Recommended if you're a movie enthusiast or a Wilder fan, or if you want to break into either of these two groups. Anyone interested in the midcentury Hollywood studio system would also love this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and Columbia University Press for giving me a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Of course the book focuses on Billy Wilder and his life's work, but what I really loved about it was how it painted the backdrop to Wilder's career and fleshed out its context.
McBride goes into Wilder's era, the cultural nuances of his travels growing up, his experience as Jewish man during the rise of fascism, and how the tragic murder of his family during the Holocaust affected him both personally and professionally. Once Wilder makes it to Hollywood, the book discusses Wilder's early influences, how his work as a journalist informed his films, the crossover of his German-language work and later English-language scripts (plus the language barrier issue altogether), his collaborators, his idols and mentors, the projects he loved and those that didn't live up to his expectations--and even the movies he wished he had written and sought to emulate in his own style (which is basically how art works, and McBride takes us right into the heart of the process). This is a master class in Wilder's craft and how it gave us the unforgettable movies we love to this day.
While you don't have to be an aficionado to enjoy this book, there were times when a chapter would focus on one or two movies that I hadn't seen, especially Wilder's early stuff, and I sensed these parts would have been more enjoyable if I HAD seen the films in question. So as you go through this, don't be afraid to browse the TCM catalogue online or rent a movie or two. Wilder is one of the best writers of his time, and you won't regret pairing this book with some audio-visual aid.
Recommended if you're a movie enthusiast or a Wilder fan, or if you want to break into either of these two groups. Anyone interested in the midcentury Hollywood studio system would also love this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and Columbia University Press for giving me a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 1, 2021
Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge by Joseph McBride is everything one could hope for in a critical biography of a major figure. While many biographies make for fun rereads they don't often reward them with new insights, yet this is one biography I expect to read again and gain new perspective on both Wilder and human nature in general.
Yes, my opening paragraph might seem a bit hyperbolic at first glance but I think it is justified. I tend to look at biographies of celebrities in a couple of ways, basically what it did do and, sometimes more importantly, what pitfalls (for my tastes) it avoided. This book scored high marks in both broad categories.
I want a biography, especially a critical biography, to encompass the person's whole life and to make connections that might otherwise go unnoticed when just reading a timeline type biography. By timeline type I mean the ones that may well include a lot of detail but does little more than say what happened and then what happened next and then, well, you get it. They are useful biographies for those writing or researching the subject but serve as little more than a chronology. McBride casts a wide net and then proceeds to connect the various elements that are pulled in.
I particularly appreciated the way he kept the chronology of the biography throughout (no, he did not jump around on whims) but brought in connections when they presented themselves. This did mean addressing some future events (though not in detail, more as letting us know that this will be mentioned again later) and sometimes referring back to an event, which was usually covered in detail earlier in the book. But the flow, the basic chronology of Wilder's life, was structurally apparent to any active reader, though some lazy readers may get a little confused and feel lost.
While this can be considered an academic book (just because a university press publishes a book doesn't mean it is always what the general public would think of as an academic book) it is also quite accessible to anyone with an interest in film and media history. Those who simply enjoy good biographies will also be able to appreciate this book as well.
Now for what I was thankful not to see, which is what many books, even good ones, do far too much, and that is spend too much time on the sensationalized topics or events in a person's life. McBride includes things that could, in lesser hands, have devolved into several chapters of gossip and sensationalistic biography. And many readers want that in a biography of a public figure. I happen to just want to know what happened, how it might have been portrayed or understood at the time, and how it affected the subject. McBride gives me that information without making me feel like I'm reading a gossip rag.
I would highly recommend this to readers who like Wilder's work, like classic Hollywood cinema, and those who like to read about 20th century history in general. This is an engaging read that will entertain and inform. I also think that, in understanding how Wilder responded to the events in his life we can better understand other people, celebrities or not, who have lived through personally difficult times.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
Yes, my opening paragraph might seem a bit hyperbolic at first glance but I think it is justified. I tend to look at biographies of celebrities in a couple of ways, basically what it did do and, sometimes more importantly, what pitfalls (for my tastes) it avoided. This book scored high marks in both broad categories.
I want a biography, especially a critical biography, to encompass the person's whole life and to make connections that might otherwise go unnoticed when just reading a timeline type biography. By timeline type I mean the ones that may well include a lot of detail but does little more than say what happened and then what happened next and then, well, you get it. They are useful biographies for those writing or researching the subject but serve as little more than a chronology. McBride casts a wide net and then proceeds to connect the various elements that are pulled in.
I particularly appreciated the way he kept the chronology of the biography throughout (no, he did not jump around on whims) but brought in connections when they presented themselves. This did mean addressing some future events (though not in detail, more as letting us know that this will be mentioned again later) and sometimes referring back to an event, which was usually covered in detail earlier in the book. But the flow, the basic chronology of Wilder's life, was structurally apparent to any active reader, though some lazy readers may get a little confused and feel lost.
While this can be considered an academic book (just because a university press publishes a book doesn't mean it is always what the general public would think of as an academic book) it is also quite accessible to anyone with an interest in film and media history. Those who simply enjoy good biographies will also be able to appreciate this book as well.
Now for what I was thankful not to see, which is what many books, even good ones, do far too much, and that is spend too much time on the sensationalized topics or events in a person's life. McBride includes things that could, in lesser hands, have devolved into several chapters of gossip and sensationalistic biography. And many readers want that in a biography of a public figure. I happen to just want to know what happened, how it might have been portrayed or understood at the time, and how it affected the subject. McBride gives me that information without making me feel like I'm reading a gossip rag.
I would highly recommend this to readers who like Wilder's work, like classic Hollywood cinema, and those who like to read about 20th century history in general. This is an engaging read that will entertain and inform. I also think that, in understanding how Wilder responded to the events in his life we can better understand other people, celebrities or not, who have lived through personally difficult times.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
November 12, 2021
Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge is a simply indispensable critical study of the writer-director’s remarkable life, times and films. As a lifelong Wilder fan, I couldn’t wait to get my mitts on this excellent book. As a classic movie blogger and current host of a six-film Wilder series, I found McBride’s depth of research – particularly his ability to connect insights from Wilder’s personal history to his cinematic output – incredibly satisfying.
Having enjoyed McBride’s two books on another celebrated director (Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success and Frankly: Unmasking Frank Capra), I was well aware that McBride is committed to telling hard truths about his subjects, unafraid to go where the facts take him. He has accomplished the same feat with the Wilder study. I may not always like what I learn about Wilder, but I trust that McBride’s painstaking research comes as close to capturing what Wilder was really like, as a person and legendary filmmaker.
Once I learned that McBride actually knew Wilder and interviewed him several times, it added even greater credibility to his reporting. How often do books about celebrities from Hollywood’s Golden Era rely on the same tired quotes and long-dead sources? I’ve read dozens of such books and bios, and often, there’s just nothing new to discover. They feel like a cut-and-paste rearrangement of what I read before. Not with McBride’s work: He may get into the weeds of details about Wilder at times (which a die-hard fan like me deeply appreciates), but the payoff is a book that enriches my understanding of what drove one of the greatest forces in film history.
Perhaps my favorite takeaway is McBride’s persuasive case that Wilder was far from the hard-boiled cynic many critics and fans “troped” him to be (Wilder’s close pal and three-time leading man William Holden once said that Wilder had “a mind full of razor blades.”) McBride builds a strong argument that Wilder was actually a “disappointed romantic,” who protected himself with an arsenic-tipped wit that makes his films as fresh now as when they were released. No wonder his best movies (Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Ace in the Hole, The Apartment) have a timeless quality that resonates with today’s viewers.
Having enjoyed McBride’s two books on another celebrated director (Frank Capra: The Catastrophe of Success and Frankly: Unmasking Frank Capra), I was well aware that McBride is committed to telling hard truths about his subjects, unafraid to go where the facts take him. He has accomplished the same feat with the Wilder study. I may not always like what I learn about Wilder, but I trust that McBride’s painstaking research comes as close to capturing what Wilder was really like, as a person and legendary filmmaker.
Once I learned that McBride actually knew Wilder and interviewed him several times, it added even greater credibility to his reporting. How often do books about celebrities from Hollywood’s Golden Era rely on the same tired quotes and long-dead sources? I’ve read dozens of such books and bios, and often, there’s just nothing new to discover. They feel like a cut-and-paste rearrangement of what I read before. Not with McBride’s work: He may get into the weeds of details about Wilder at times (which a die-hard fan like me deeply appreciates), but the payoff is a book that enriches my understanding of what drove one of the greatest forces in film history.
Perhaps my favorite takeaway is McBride’s persuasive case that Wilder was far from the hard-boiled cynic many critics and fans “troped” him to be (Wilder’s close pal and three-time leading man William Holden once said that Wilder had “a mind full of razor blades.”) McBride builds a strong argument that Wilder was actually a “disappointed romantic,” who protected himself with an arsenic-tipped wit that makes his films as fresh now as when they were released. No wonder his best movies (Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Ace in the Hole, The Apartment) have a timeless quality that resonates with today’s viewers.
April 18, 2022
First of all, I am a huge Billy Wilder fan and have been left wanting with some of the other books I have read about his life and work. And let me just say -- I love the cover of this book!! Not only does it use the font from Some Like it Hot but also places Wilder with Jack Lemmon's Daphne. It is clear from reading this book that the author is a fan of Billy Wilder's work and has done exhaustive research into his life and work - including his early days in Berlin as a journalist as well as insight into how the critics reacted to Wilder's work (including Cahiers de Cinema!). The beginning sections of the book are in chronological form and I was glad to see he decided to organize the films around themes as opposed to a linear history. So while I was glad he chose to approach this way, the only downside was sometimes there felt like their was repetition because of overlapping themes across films. But he also does do deep dives into the plot of each film which will be helpful as I seek out specifics on a particular film. The academic lens does poke through as well, such as spending time defining "cynicism" etc. but I enjoyed the ride. This is definitely a book to put on your shelf if you are a lover of Hollywood, film-making, and Billy Wilder. This is the best and most comprehensive book I have read on Billy Wilder.
June 21, 2021
This is an exhaustively detailed delve into the life, movies and influences of the highly influential director and screenwriter Billy Wilder, best known for classic movies such as Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard and The Apartment. This is a book for hardcore Wilder fans, fans who have likely read a bunch of other books about the director. While it starts off fairly orthodox with a look at Billy's childhood - a horrific one in which most of his family, including his mother, was killed by Nazis - it then meanders in many different directions, jumps back and forth through time, and goes wherever the author's musings take us. This is an academic book - which I should have realized given that it's published by a university press, so if you're looking mostly for gossip about Marilyn Monroe or Gloria Swanson, or a typical Hollywood biography, this isn't it.
That said, if you ARE a huge Wilder fan, you can't do without this book. Anything and everything you ever need to know not only about the director, but his main influences - Lubitch and Hawks. I personally would have preferred a more linear, more typical Hollywood story, but that's on me. This was a remarkable journey through Wilder's cinematic life and the emotional and mental state that influenced his decisions and vision. It's a fact that we don't see filmmaking like this anymore. It's a fact that any director/screenwriter worth his or her salt has been influenced by Wilder. And many of his movies stand up well today. Can anyone forget the last line in Some Like It Hot? For a director who was constantly being accused of being "too cynical" (ie too "realistic") this last immortal line is anything but - it seems to effortlessly predict progressive social mores. Imagine if the rich old man had looked aghast at Jack Lemmon. We may not be watching this marvelous movie today.
That said, if you ARE a huge Wilder fan, you can't do without this book. Anything and everything you ever need to know not only about the director, but his main influences - Lubitch and Hawks. I personally would have preferred a more linear, more typical Hollywood story, but that's on me. This was a remarkable journey through Wilder's cinematic life and the emotional and mental state that influenced his decisions and vision. It's a fact that we don't see filmmaking like this anymore. It's a fact that any director/screenwriter worth his or her salt has been influenced by Wilder. And many of his movies stand up well today. Can anyone forget the last line in Some Like It Hot? For a director who was constantly being accused of being "too cynical" (ie too "realistic") this last immortal line is anything but - it seems to effortlessly predict progressive social mores. Imagine if the rich old man had looked aghast at Jack Lemmon. We may not be watching this marvelous movie today.
October 31, 2021
This is an excellent study cum biography of Billy Wilder that delves deeply into the origins behind his films. As Jews, Billy’s family roamed from country to country trying to find a place where they could live in peace. This life without roots would increase when Billy became first a reporter and then a writer and finally a filmmaker. His experience as the outsider trying to survive in a hostile world would permeate his work and colour so many of his scripts and films.
He had no delusion when Hitler came to power. He knew to stay was to die. He tried but failed to convince his family to come with him to the US and their fates haunted him throughout his life. Often known for his comedy movies, even those had an element of pathos. He was a genius but his quest for perfection made him a hard taskmaster on himself and those who worked with him. But no one can deny the importance of the body of work he left behind.
The book is a combination of biography with deep analysis of his movies. It is fascinating and enlightening. It will be appreciated by film historians and students of the art form. Long and in depth, this is not a book to read piecemeal. Four stars and two paws up.
He had no delusion when Hitler came to power. He knew to stay was to die. He tried but failed to convince his family to come with him to the US and their fates haunted him throughout his life. Often known for his comedy movies, even those had an element of pathos. He was a genius but his quest for perfection made him a hard taskmaster on himself and those who worked with him. But no one can deny the importance of the body of work he left behind.
The book is a combination of biography with deep analysis of his movies. It is fascinating and enlightening. It will be appreciated by film historians and students of the art form. Long and in depth, this is not a book to read piecemeal. Four stars and two paws up.
October 31, 2021
Well, this is certainly a hefty tome (more than 500 pages) and only for people who are familiar with Wilder´s movies. It´s not a biography (although you get to know a lot about Wilder´s life) but McBride tries to point out how much Wilder´s life influenced his movies.
McBride refers a lot to other books or studies about Wilder and takes a closer look at Wilder´s early movies in Germany as well as the movies he only wrote the scripts for. McBride takes a stand for most of Wilder´s later works like ´Fedora´ or ´The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes´ but can not find anything redeemable about his last movie ´Buddy Buddy´.
Some of McBride´s conclusions might not hold water - Wilder had a bad experience with a swimming pool once which is reflected in the opening scene of "Sunset Boulevard" - but overall he makes well thought-out cases.
Of course McBride finds a lot of parallels between Wilder and his idol Ernst Lubitsch but also some cases where he went wrong trying to copy his style. But he is firmly of the opinion that Wilder is as much as a romantic as a cynic, a term which is often asscociated with him.
Despite its length, it was a breezy read but is only recommended for serious Wilder fans.
Netgalley provided me with a copy of this book for which I am very grateful.
McBride refers a lot to other books or studies about Wilder and takes a closer look at Wilder´s early movies in Germany as well as the movies he only wrote the scripts for. McBride takes a stand for most of Wilder´s later works like ´Fedora´ or ´The Private Life Of Sherlock Holmes´ but can not find anything redeemable about his last movie ´Buddy Buddy´.
Some of McBride´s conclusions might not hold water - Wilder had a bad experience with a swimming pool once which is reflected in the opening scene of "Sunset Boulevard" - but overall he makes well thought-out cases.
Of course McBride finds a lot of parallels between Wilder and his idol Ernst Lubitsch but also some cases where he went wrong trying to copy his style. But he is firmly of the opinion that Wilder is as much as a romantic as a cynic, a term which is often asscociated with him.
Despite its length, it was a breezy read but is only recommended for serious Wilder fans.
Netgalley provided me with a copy of this book for which I am very grateful.
September 15, 2023
I'd give this four-and-a-half if possible.
I liked this much better than McBride's book on Lubitsch. This isn't a biography of Wilder but more of a career overview, and it does not march along in a chronological progression. Instead, in the second half of the book, McBride takes a thematic approach.
I don't agree with everything McBride says. I like "Bluebeard's Eighth Wife" much more than he does, and I like "The Fortune Cookie." (McBride admits to not liking screwball comedy, which gives me a sense of where he's coming from.) I find the idea that "Ace in the Hole" is an allegory about the Holocaust a bit far fetched. Ditto the idea that "Stalag 17" is about "naming names."
However, McBride's discussion of "The Apartment," "Avanti," and "Fedora" are first rate. McBride knew and talked to Wilder at several times in Wilder's life, and that adds layers of interest to his opinions.
Probably Ed Sikov's biography of Wilder is the best conventional biography of Wilder, but even if you have read that, McBride's book is interesting and well worth reading.
I liked this much better than McBride's book on Lubitsch. This isn't a biography of Wilder but more of a career overview, and it does not march along in a chronological progression. Instead, in the second half of the book, McBride takes a thematic approach.
I don't agree with everything McBride says. I like "Bluebeard's Eighth Wife" much more than he does, and I like "The Fortune Cookie." (McBride admits to not liking screwball comedy, which gives me a sense of where he's coming from.) I find the idea that "Ace in the Hole" is an allegory about the Holocaust a bit far fetched. Ditto the idea that "Stalag 17" is about "naming names."
However, McBride's discussion of "The Apartment," "Avanti," and "Fedora" are first rate. McBride knew and talked to Wilder at several times in Wilder's life, and that adds layers of interest to his opinions.
Probably Ed Sikov's biography of Wilder is the best conventional biography of Wilder, but even if you have read that, McBride's book is interesting and well worth reading.
January 30, 2023
Joseph McBride's critical study of Billy Wilder is easily one of the best books I've ever read. It's not a biography, but a critical study of Wilder's work. You might not expect it to work, especially when it's more than 600 pages long (including the index). But McBride is such a great writer and such a thoughtful critic that you're spellbound by his brilliant prose. His passion for the material is so enormous that it has empowered and inspired me to go back and look more expansively at Wilder's work. And he does such a beautiful job of humanizing Wilder too. He paints a portrait of a "60% perfect man" that gives the reader a real sense that they know exactly who Wilder was as a person, despite McBride's protests that this is difficult if not impossible. This critical study is one of my favorite books ever, and I have no doubt that you'll love it too.
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December 28, 2025It’s clear from “Billy Wilder: Dancing on the Edge” that Joseph McBride has been studying that fine filmmaker’s life and work for decades, and this thorough critical study has a great deal to offer on his early European pictures as well as the Hollywood classics and minor works. I don’t agree with all of McBride’s judgments (the late “Fedora” isn’t as terrific as he suggests, for instance, and both he and Wilder undervalue “The Emperor Waltz,” which isn’t a bad little confection). But while there’s some needless repetition – e.g., Goldwyn’s remark about taking “the bitter with the sour” appears no fewer than five times – the book is very well written and packed with information. Recommended.
June 5, 2021
This was an insight into an interesting time within an even more interesting industry. Perhaps one more for the enthusiast, there is so much information here based on what has clearly been a labour of love in research terms. But you don’t have to be an aficionado to enjoy it.
July 30, 2022
The best encapsulation of Billy Wilder's remarkable career. While it sometimes meanders into distracting first-person anecdotes, the book nevertheless is the top tome to analyze Wilder's full filmography, including his early work in German-language films. A must-read for all fans of Wilder.
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August 15, 2022I read about the first third of the book and then stopped. I found parts to be interesting but I wasn't getting much out of it because I haven't most of the movies being discussed. I think a more straight forward biography would have kept my attention better.
July 9, 2024
This is my 2nd book of Joseph McBride’s that I’ve read and it’s a great read.
Billy Wilder is one of my favourite film directors and he covers everything from his time as a journalist in both Austria and Germany to his last film
Billy Wilder is one of my favourite film directors and he covers everything from his time as a journalist in both Austria and Germany to his last film
December 10, 2025
What an incredible portrait of one of my favorite artists. Jospeh McBride gives such an incredibly in depth picture of Wilder the man and Wilder the artist that makes me appreciate his work so much more. A must read for any lover of Classic Hollywood!
June 21, 2023
Perfect
July 19, 2026
Among all the incisive analysis - sometimes so deep that McBride can't help but repeat himself (are you saying that his experiences as a Jewish kid on the streets and without a real place to call home for very long... influenced him, gosh didnt know that) - and all of the really intelligent writing on all of the films, even the ones you wouldnt think of him covering, the thing that I will remember discovering about Wilder I didnt know was that he did dancing of the Magic Mike variety for women in late 1920s Germany. Just... perfection.
December 24, 2021
Billy Wilder was one of the best directors of his time. Sunset Boulevard, Some Like it Hot, Sunset Boulevard, Ball of Fire, Sabrina, and many more.
This is a fascinating critical biography of a great director. We get not only the man but the pictures. It'a must read.
This is a fascinating critical biography of a great director. We get not only the man but the pictures. It'a must read.
March 12, 2024
600 page critical biography splinters off from in-depth discussion of Wilder's cosmopolitan multi-nationality and his formative experiences as a journalist in Vienna and Berlin, and how these impacted his thematic concerns and choice of subject matter as screenwriter in Berlin, and later as collaborating screenwriter and eventually director in Hollywood. (He had earlier wrote and directed a film in France, after first leaving Germany, before coming to Hollywood.) Central to McBride's analysis is an ambitious piece of journalism Wilder wrote before becoming a screenwriter in Berlin: a first-person account of working as an "eintänzer", or "taxi-/tea-dancer", in hotel lobbies for money. McBride argues that Wilder's central preoccupations in both his co-written screenplays and directed films with masquerades, prostitution, and personal morality stems from this experience, along with a characteristic "jaded romanticism". McBride is also concerned throughout with dispelling the critical notion of terming Wilder a "cynic", instead demonstrating the "curdled" optimism that by and large dominates his work.
January 7, 2022
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