Up until The Lost Weekend, alcoholism was seldom seriously addressed by Hollywood. So, in that sense, it is an important groundbreaking film. Also, unlike past portrayals of drinking (such as W. C. Fields) in films, this is much more realistic and gritty--particularly when they show people in the hospital going through the agonies of withdrawal. This is the BEST aspect of the movie, along with all the broken promises and games Milland plays with those around him.

Unfortunately, the movie HAD to slap a pat ending on the film, as movies seldom were allowed to end on a sour or indefinite note in the 1940s. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE cinema of the 1940s (far more than recent movies),but this was one serious shortcoming films of that era had--the Hollywood ending even when it was not realistic or sometimes compromised the integrity of the film (as in this case). Milland, after a long weekend bender, announces he's now "got it licked" and everything is peachy! Give me a break--this sure sounds like the phony self-serving thinking I so often encountered when I worked with addicts in a substance abuse program!! This is only the first step in a long, difficult road to recovery.

For an even better film about alcoholism, try Days of Wine and Roses.

As great as Days of Wine and Roses is, to me The Lost Weekend is the more powerful film on the subject of alcohol addiction.

What is so striking is how much truth there is in how it deals with a sensitive subject and how ahead of its time it is (at a time where it would be so easy to skim over what is so cruel about alcohol addiction, which The Lost Weekend did not),while also being wholly relevant today at the same time seeing as alcohol addiction is very much a big problem now. It is a simple story told harrowingly (the nightmare sequence is still horrifyingly freaky by today's standards) and incredibly movingly, with nothing incoherent about it, with every aspect of the addiction explored realistically and plausibly (doing a better job than Days of Wine and Roses of showing the desperation and guilt). All in a way that is never sugar-coated or heavy-handed, difficult to do for subjects like alcohol addiction and films with a message.

The Lost Weekend is both grittily and sumptuously filmed, with first rate location work, it's a very visually pleasing film while also matching the film's tone perfectly. Billy Wilder's direction is also superb, he is sympathetic rather than patronising but is also uncompromising, it was also surprising that he managed to still bring his characteristic mordant wit to a story so grim, something that almost certainly would have jarred in lesser hands. Miklos Rosza provides one of his most haunting scores, it fits perfectly but is never obvious and repetitive, and the use of the theremin was effectively nightmarish but was equally effective showing the pathos of alcoholism (the main reason apparently for its use.

It's very thoughtfully scripted too, making the viewer think long and hard about the subject and motivations from the very first scene, and it also develops the characters compellingly. Nothing is black-and-white or stock, in fact it's straightforward but the characters are the kind that are flawed but with enough room for empathising towards them. The acting is very good. Ray Milland wasn't always the most compelling of leading men at times, however in a piece of casting that was courageous and pretty ingenious he gives a career-best turn, rarely did he show this much range or emotional depth than here. Jane Wyman contrasts beautifully in one of her better and more sympathetic performances, while Phillip Terry brings good realism as the brother. Contrastingly their scenes are more soft-centred, but they do still work.

The Lost Weekend's only real pitfall, from personal opinion, was the too pat and too-easily-resolved ending in a film that cried out for the complete opposite considering everything that happened before, it just felt tacked on.

Otherwise, The Lost Weekend is a wonderful film that came so close to a masterpiece. Maybe not one of Billy Wilder's best films, but this is only because so many of his films are so outstanding (even his lesser films are worth seeing) which is testament to how great a director Wilder was. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox

The Lost Weekend for 1945 was a pretty grim and realistic look at the problem of alcoholism. We've seen some pretty good films since like I'll Cry Tomorrow right up to Barfly, but The Lost Weekend still has the power to hold the audiences attention 61 years after it came out.

It was a breakthrough film for its star Ray Milland. Previously someone who had done light leading man roles, Milland plumbed some real hidden demons in the role of Don Birnam. A guy much like the characters Ray Milland played on screen, Birnam is a charming fellow and would be writer who can't leave the alcohol alone.

Billy Wilder was going to originally cast an unknown character actor in the lead role. However Paramount producer Buddy DeSylva said that in this part you wanted a likable leading man so the audiences had a rooting interest. Wilder who usually did not suffer interference from the front office with any grace, took DeSylva's advice and got Ray Milland with whom he'd worked with in The Major and the Minor.

Milland prepared for this part by spending a couple of nights in an alcoholic ward. Certainly showed in his performance. You will not forget Milland and his reaction to seeing the bat and the mouse while in delirium tremors.

Jane Wyman was Wilder's third choice after not getting Katharine Hepburn or Jean Arthur. She came over to Paramount from Warner Brothers on a loan out and got her first really good notices for a serious acting role as Milland's long suffering girl friend.

A recent biography of Billy Wilder said that The Lost Weekend was timed perfectly for an audience that swelled up with returning servicemen some of whom developed alcoholic problems after being through the horror of a World War. After being panned in previews with a little editing it opened to rave reviews on release.

It did good at the box office too and it won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor for Milland, Best Screenplay for Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett and Best Director for Wilder. After this triumph Wilder and Brackett both had their pick of good film properties.

I'm surprised that someone like Robert DeNiro, Dustin Hoffman or Al Pacino has never tried to remake this one. Seems like just the kind of film for them.

Milland's character is a writer and a key sequence is when he attempts to pawn his typewriter for a bottle of booze. Can you imagine doing that today with a laptop computer which is not only the tool he uses, but also has a memory of all the attempts the protagonist has made to write.

Might even be more powerful today.