What Would Billy Wilder Do?

Between 1942 and 1981, Billy Wilder co-wrote and directed 25 movies that included Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Double Indemnity, The Spirit of St. Louis, Sabrina, Sunset Boulevard, and The Seven Year Itch. All of these are quality films, but what made them that way? Wilder was a storyteller, a collaborator, and as a director, he intimately knew how he wanted the story to be told. Wilder was a master of the double entendre, or verbal irony. His characters always had underlying motives that the audience could understand because of the way he directed the actors. Nothing was what it seemed, but the viewer was always in on the act. Wilder managed to make everyday characters rich with depth no matter what kind of people they are. Tony Zhou of Every Frame a Painting explains what makes each Billy Wilder film the unmistakable treasure it is.