A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year, chosen by Tom
Stoppard
"A revelation."--Marc Weingarten, Washington Post
Acclaimed film director Billy Wilder's early writings--brilliantly
translated into English for the first time
Before Billy Wilder became the screenwriter and director of iconic films
like Sunset Boulevard and Some Like It Hot, he worked as a freelance
reporter, first in Vienna and then in Weimar Berlin. Billy Wilder on
Assignment brings together more than fifty articles, translated into
English for the first time, that Wilder (then known as "Billie")
published in magazines and newspapers between September 1925 and
November 1930. From a humorous account of Wilder's stint as a hired
dancing companion in a posh Berlin hotel and his dispatches from the
international film scene, to his astute profiles of writers, performers,
and political figures, the collection offers fresh insights into the
creative mind of one of Hollywood's most revered writer-directors.
Wilder's early writings--a heady mix of cultural essays, interviews, and
reviews--contain the same sparkling wit and intelligence as his later
Hollywood screenplays, while also casting light into the dark corners of
Vienna and Berlin between the wars. Wilder covered everything: big-city
sensations, jazz performances, film and theater openings, dance,
photography, and all manner of mass entertainment. And he wrote about
the most colorful figures of the day, including Charlie Chaplin,
Cornelius Vanderbilt, the Prince of Wales, actor Adolphe Menjou,
director Erich von Stroheim, and the Tiller Girls dance troupe. Film
historian Noah Isenberg's introduction and commentary place Wilder's
pieces--brilliantly translated by Shelley Frisch--in historical and
biographical context, and rare photos capture Wilder and his circle
during these formative years.
Filled with rich reportage and personal musings, Billy Wilder on
Assignment showcases the burgeoning voice of a young journalist who
would go on to become a great auteur.
