Days of Wine and Roses (film)
Days of Wine and Roses is a 1962 American romantic drama film directed by Blake Edwards with a screenplay by JP Miller adapted from his own 1958 Playhouse 90 teleplay of the same name. The film was produced by Martin Manulis, with music by Henry Mancini, and features Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Charles Bickford and Jack Klugman.[3] The film depicts the downward spiral of two average Americans who succumb to alcohol use disorder and attempt to deal with their problems.
For other uses, see Days of Wine and Roses (disambiguation).Days of Wine and Roses
Days of Wine and Roses
by JP Miller
Patrick McCormack
- December 26, 1962 (United States)
117 minutes
United States
English
$2 million[1]
$8.1 million (US/Canada)[2]
An Academy Award went to the film's theme music, composed by Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The film received four other Oscar nominations, including Best Actor and Best Actress. In 2018, Days of Wine and Roses was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[4][5]
Plot[edit]
San Francisco public relations executive Joe Clay meets secretary Kirsten Arnesen. At first, he considers her to be brash and disrespectful, but he eventually begins dating her. Kirsten is a teetotaler until Joe introduces her to social drinking. She is initially reluctant, but after her first few Brandy Alexanders, she admits that having a drink makes her "feel good." Despite the misgivings of Kirsten's father, who runs a San Mateo plant nursery and landscaping business, they marry and have a daughter, Debbie.
Joe and Kirsten slowly go from the "two-martini lunch" to full-blown alcoholism. Joe is demoted due to poor performance, and is sent out of town to work on a minor account. Kirsten is alone all day and finds drinking the best way to pass the time. While drunk one afternoon, she causes a fire in their apartment that almost kills her and Debbie. Eventually, Joe is fired, and he spends the next several years going from job to job.
One day, Joe sees his reflection in a bar window and realizes in horror that he hardly knows his own face. He tells Kirsten that they must stop drinking, and while not keen on the idea, she agrees. Seeking escape from their addiction, Joe and Kirsten work together in Arnesen's business and stay sober for two months. But the urge is too strong, and during a late-night drinking binge, Joe destroys his father-in-law's greenhouse while looking for a stashed liquor bottle.
Joe is committed to a sanitarium, where he suffers from delirium tremens while confined in a straitjacket. After his release, Joe finally gets sober with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous, a dedicated sponsor named Jim Hungerford, and regular AA meetings. Jim explains to Joe how alcoholics often demonstrate obsessive behavior, pointing out that Kirsten's previous passion for chocolate may have been the first sign of an addictive personality. He advises Joe that most drinkers hate to drink alone or in the company of sober people.
Meanwhile, Kirsten's drinking persists, and she disappears for several days without contacting Joe. She is eventually located at a nearby motel, drunk, but when Joe tries to help her, he ends up drinking again. When their supply runs out, Joe happens upon a liquor store that has closed for the night. He breaks in and steals a bottle but trips and is taunted by the store owner. The result is another trip to the sanitarium, where he is stripped down and tied to a treatment table. Jim appears at his side and warns him that he must keep sober no matter what, even if that means staying away from Kirsten.
Joe finally gets sober, becomes a responsible father to Debbie, and holds down a steady job. He tries to make amends to his father-in-law by offering him payment for past debts and wrongs, but Arnesen accuses him of being indirectly responsible for Kirsten's alcoholism. After calming down, Arnesen says that Kirsten has been disappearing for long periods and is picking up strangers in bars.
One night, Kirsten, shakily sober for two days, comes to Joe's apartment to attempt a reconciliation. Joe tells her she is welcome back anytime if she stops drinking, saying he will not abandon sobriety for her or anything else. Despite acknowledging she can't stop, Kirsten refuses to admit she is an alcoholic and suggests Joe give up on her before leaving.
Joe fights the urge to go after her, calling her name as she turns away from a bar. His cries wake a sleeping Debbie, who asks if Kirsten is coming back. Joe tells her Kirsten is sick and, after deflecting her questions about Kirsten "getting well," stares out at the empty street, the bar's flashing neon sign reflected in the window.
Production[edit]
Background[edit]
JP Miller found his title in the 1896 poem "Vitae Summa Brevis Spem Nos Vetat Incohare Longam" by the English writer Ernest Dowson (1867–1900):[6] It also inspired the title song devised by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer.
Reception[edit]
Critical response[edit]
The film became one of Blake Edwards' better-regarded films, opening to praise from the critics and audiences alike. Bosley Crowther, film critic for The New York Times, wrote "[It] is a commanding picture, and it is extremely well played by Mr. Lemmon and Miss Remick, who spare themselves none of the shameful, painful scenes. But for all their brilliant performing and the taut direction of Blake Edwards, they do not bring two pitiful characters to complete and overpowering life."[11]
"Tube." at Variety liked the film, especially the acting and writing: "Miller's gruelling drama illustrates how the unquenchable lure of alcohol can supersede even love, and how marital communication cannot exist in a house divided by one-sided boozing ... Lemmon gives a dynamic and chilling performance. Scenes of his collapse, particularly in the violent ward, are brutally realistic and terrifying. Miss Remick, too, is effective, and there is solid featured work from Charles Bickford and Jack Klugman and a number of fine supporting performances."[3]
In a review of the DVD, critic Gary W. Tooze lauded Edwards' direction: "Blake Edwards's powerful adaptation of J.P. Miller's Playhouse 90 story, starring Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick in career performances, remains a variation in his body of work largely devoted to comedy... Lemmon is at his best and ditto for Remick in this harrowing tale of people consumed by their mutual addiction. This turns to an honest and heartbreaking portrayal of alcoholism as deftly done as any film I can remember."[12]
Margaret Parsons, film curator at the National Gallery of Art, stated "[The film] remains one of the most gut-wrenching dramas of alcohol-related ruin and recovery ever captured on film...and it's also one of the pioneering films of the genre."[13]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 14 reviews, with an average score of 8.80/10.[14]
Box office[edit]
Jack L. Warner claimed the film needed to earn theatrical rentals of 2.5 times its $2 million budget to become profitable.[1] It earned $4 million in rentals in the United States and Canada,[15] from a gross of $8.1 million, ranking it 14th among high-grossing films of the year.[2]
In popular culture[edit]
Bill Withers was inspired by Days of Wine and Roses. Withers was watching it on television, and the doomed relationship at the film's center brought to mind a phrase: "Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone."[24] This led him to write "Ain't No Sunshine" in 1971.
The 15th episode of season 9 of the American television show "Cheers" is titled "Days of Wine and Neuroses" and features the character Rebecca Howe (Kirstie Alley) going through a tragicomic alcoholic binge while assessing her ambiguous feelings about a romantic relationship.
A sixth season episode titled "Wine and Roses" from the American crime drama series Better Call Saul is named after Days of Wine and Roses and features an instrumental version of the movie's title song.[25]