Days of Wine and Roses Movie (1962)
Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Jack Klugman Star in Alcoholism Film
J.P. Miller's The Days of Wine and Roses was brought to the silver screen in 1962. Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick star as Joe and Kirsten Clay, a husband and wife who descend into the depths of alcoholism. Blake Edwards directed, with Charles Bickford, Jack Klugman, Alan Hewitt and Tom Palmer in gloomy support. One more for the road?
J.P. Miller's Days of Wine and Roses on Playhouse 90
Days of Wine and Roses was based on the teleplay of the same name by J.P. Miller (1919-2001). Miller had gotten the idea for his boozy drama from an uncle, whom he later described as "a real lush."
The Days of Wine and Roses was first seen on CBS-TV's Playhouse 90 on October 2, 1958. Directed by John Frankenheimer, this live production starred Cliff Robertson, Piper Laurie and Charles Bickford.
"The Days of Wine and Roses was a firstrate production on every score..." reported "Herm" for Variety.
Screenplay, Director, Music
Produced by Martin Manulis for Warner Bros., the big screen version of Days of Wine and Roses was also scripted by J.P. Miller.
Blake Edwards directed, with Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer composing the movie's haunting theme song.
Days of Wine and Roses Cast
Jack Lemmon (1925-2001) played Joe Clay and Lee Remick (1935-1991) was Kirsten Arnesen Clay. Other cast members included Charles Bickford (Ellis "Pop" Arnesen), Jack Klugman (Jim Hungerford), Alan Hewitt (Rad Leland), Tom Palmer (Ballefoy), Debbie Megowan (Debbie Clay), Maxine Stuart (Dottie), Jack Albertson (Trayner) and Ken Lynch (Liquor Store Proprietor).
Filmed in San Francisco, Real-Life Drinking Problems
Days of Wine and Roses was filmed in northern California. Locales included San Francisco, Albany and the Golden Gate Fields Racetrack.
For his role as the alcoholic Joe Clay, Jack Lemmon visited drunk tanks and hospital wards around Los Angeles. Ironically, during filming, both Blake Edwards and Lemmon engaged in heavy drinking.
One year after completing the movie, Edwards quit drinking and went into a recovery program. Years later, in a strange twist of life imitating art, both Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick sought help for their drinking problems from Alcoholics Anonymous.
Days of Wine and Roses Movie
Like the Playhouse 90 drama, Days of Wine and Roses begins at a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, where public relations man Joe Clay relates his woeful tale of substance abuse.
In flashback form, we see Joe as a hard-drinking PR man in San Francisco, who introduces a pretty young secretary, Kirsten Arnesen, to alcohol in the form of a sweet-tasting Brandy Alexander. Joe and Kirsten later marry and have a baby they name Debbie.
The Clays' drinking soon gets out of hand, with Joe fired from a succession of jobs which he blames on "office politics." One day, after seeing his reflection in the window of the Union Square Bar, Joe realizes how far he has degenerated because of the drinking.
Joe and Kirsten go to her father's house in the country, where they vow to stay away from alcohol. But Joe succumbs to temptation one night, trashing Pop Arnesen's greenhouse in a terrifying bender as he searches for a hidden bottle of liquor.
Joe finds help through Jim Hungerford and AA, but Kirsten refuses to follow suit, telling Joe that "the world looks so dirty to me when I'm not drinking."
Release, Reviews
Days of Wine and Roses was released on December 26, 1962.
"A grim, graphic, heart-rending account of the agony of two people in the clutch of booze..." wrote Bosley Crowther of The New York Times (1/25/63).
"Days of Wine and Roses is strong stuff, and Director Blake Edwards does not dilute it," opined Time magazine (2/1/63).
Box Office, Academy Award
Days of Wine and Roses grossed $4.4 million at the box office, good for the #13 slot on the list of Hollywood's top moneymaking films of 1962.
Days of Wine and Roses garnered five Academy Award nominations: Best Actor (Lemmon), Best Actress (Remick), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration/B&W, Best Costume Design/B&W, Best Music, Original Song. Bringing home the lone Oscar were Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer for their beautiful rendition of "Days of Wine and Roses."
Days of Wine and Roses DVD
The big screen version of Days of Wine and Roses is available on DVD from Warner Home Video (2004).
CBS-TV's The Days of Wine and Roses was released on VHS through Rhino Home Video.
"You remember how it really was? You and me and booze - a threesome. You and I were a couple of drunks on the sea of booze, and the boat sank," Joe tells Kirsten.
They are not long, the days of wine and roses...
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