{"id":21586,"date":"2011-12-29T22:01:44","date_gmt":"2011-12-30T05:01:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=21586"},"modified":"2022-02-21T15:06:23","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T22:06:23","slug":"days-of-wine-and-roses-1962","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=21586","title":{"rendered":"Days of Wine and Roses (1962)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You and I were a couple of drunks on the sea of booze, and the boat sank.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Poster-213x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"213\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-21591\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Poster-213x300.jpg 213w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Poster-91x128.jpg 91w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Poster.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 213px) 100vw, 213px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA boozing PR man (Jack Lemmon) marries a beautiful secretary (Lee Remick) and turns her on to drinking, much to the chagrin of her hardworking father (Charles Bickford); soon both of them are fighting for their lives against alcoholism.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alcoholism and Drug Addiction<\/li>\n<li>Blake Edwards Films<\/li>\n<li>Charles Bickford Films<\/li>\n<li>Jack Lemmon Films<\/li>\n<li>Lee Remick Films<\/li>\n<li>Marital Problems<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAs Peary suggests in his review of <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19222\"><em>The Lost Weekend<\/em> (1945)<\/a>, there probably aren&#8217;t many who &#8220;really enjoy movies about junkies or alcoholics trying to cure their addictions&#8221; &#8212; which leads me to confess that I wasn&#8217;t particularly looking forward to revisiting this esteemed entry in the genre, despite its status as a highly regarded, Oscar-nominated classic (by director Blake Edwards). I&#8217;m pleased to report, however, that despite its inevitably dreary subject matter (and occasional descents into staginess), it remains overall a powerful, finely crafted film with much to recommend &#8212; from the consistently high quality b&#038;w cinematography by Philip Lathrop, to a hard-hitting script by JP Miller (based upon his 1958 Playhouse 90 teleplay), to fine performances throughout, particularly by Lemmon. <\/p>\n<p>Indeed, it&#8217;s Lemmon&#8217;s performance here which ultimately kept me vitally engaged in the story. While his character starts off like simply a variation on the fun-loving jokesters he so often portrayed, Lemmon quickly invests his &#8220;Joe Clay&#8221; with far more depth and pathos than one might expect. We fully sympathize with the frustrations he feels in his job, and understand how the social drinking he&#8217;s expected to engage in likely accelerated his addictive approach to alcohol. When he&#8217;s first introduced on-screen, he&#8217;s already so immersed in destructive drinking patterns (without realizing it) that we can&#8217;t help wondering why Remick doesn&#8217;t react with a bit more concern &#8212; except for the fact that she appears to love him unconditionally. Indeed, it&#8217;s to Miller&#8217;s credit that so much care is taken to fully establish Lemmon and Remick&#8217;s characters as romantic individuals who fall deeply in love with one another <u>before<\/u> communal drinking enters the scene; they are clearly soulmates, which helps to ground the film as a tragic love story, first and foremost. <\/p>\n<p>Lemmon&#8217;s inevitable next step is turning his beloved teetotalling wife on to boozing, in a much more disturbingly manipulative way than happens, for instance, between Al Pacino and Kitty Winn&#8217;s characters in 1971&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19595\"><em>The Panic in Needle Park<\/em><\/a> (wherein Winn is curious enough to try heroin herself, but is never pushed). Miller&#8217;s point, we learn, is that alcoholics will always try to push or guilt the ones they love into joining them &#8212; and that&#8217;s what perhaps remains most unique about this cinematic presentation of alcoholism: the way we witness its effects on a mutually drinking <em>couple<\/em>, not just an individual. To that end, Remick&#8217;s descent into alcoholism comes across as less authentic than Lemmon&#8217;s, perhaps due to the stage-bound nature of the screenplay, which skips across enormous periods of time. We see Remick tentatively joining her husband in a hard drink for the first time, and then suddenly alcohol has become so second-nature in their household that it&#8217;s causing irreparable damage. From what I&#8217;ve heard (and seen, in brief snippets), Piper Laurie &#8212; star of the original teleplay &#8212; was a bit more effective at portraying this undeniably complex character (though Remick remains sympathetic throughout, and certainly gives an impassioned performance). <\/p>\n<p>Speaking of the teleplay, kudos must be given for the decision to retain the story&#8217;s original bleak yet realistic ending. It&#8217;s a respectful finale to the hard-hitting ride we&#8217;ve engaged in, and one appreciates the honesty it offers in its assessment of the chances for recovery. To that end, along with <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=21899\"><em>I&#8217;ll Cry Tomorrow<\/em> (1955)<\/a>, it provides one of the earliest on-screen depictions of Alcoholics Anonymous as a viable option for alcoholics with nowhere left to turn (and Jack Klugman turns in a fine, subtle, believable performance as Lemmon&#8217;s AA mentor, patiently counseling him through the worst of his challenging decisions). It&#8217;s refreshing to finally hear alcoholism acknowledged as the mysterious addiction it is; what a positive shift from the days when alcoholic characters such as Ray Milland&#8217;s Don Birnam in <em>The Lost Weekend<\/em> (1945), or Susan Hayward&#8217;s Angie Conway in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=19263\"><em>Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman<\/em> (1947)<\/a>, were &#8212; out of sheer ignorance &#8212; implicitly condemned for their behavior. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jack Lemmon as Joe<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Lemmon.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Lemmon.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Lemmon.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Lemmon-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Lemmon-300x165.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Lee Remick as Kirsten<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Remick.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Remick.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21587\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Remick.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Remick-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Remick-300x165.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Jack Klugman as Joe&#8217;s AA mentor, Jim<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Klugman.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Klugman.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21589\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Klugman.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Klugman-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Klugman-300x165.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A powerful portrait of the devastation wreaked by alcoholism on a marriage<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Alcoholism.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Alcoholism.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21592\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Alcoholism.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Alcoholism-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Alcoholism-300x165.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Gorgeous b&#038;w cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-21588\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Cinematography.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Cinematography-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Days-of-Wine-and-Roses-Cinematography-300x165.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for Lemmon&#8217;s powerhouse performance, and as director Blake Edwards&#8217; most heartfelt work.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0055895\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/9045\/days-of-wine-roses\/\">DVD Talk Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.digitallyobsessed.com\/displaylegacy.php?ID=5517\">Digitally Obsessed Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/15971\/days-of-wine-and-roses#articles-reviews?articleId=27622\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/days-of-wine-and-roses\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You and I were a couple of drunks on the sea of booze, and the boat sank.&#8221; Synopsis: A boozing PR man (Jack Lemmon) marries a beautiful secretary (Lee Remick) and turns her on to drinking, much to the chagrin of her hardworking father (Charles Bickford); soon both of them are fighting for their lives against alcoholism. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Blake Edwards Films Charles Bickford Films Jack Lemmon Films Lee Remick Films Marital Problems&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=21586\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21586","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21586"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21586\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81514,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21586\/revisions\/81514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21586"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21586"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21586"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}