The Lost Weekend
1945 film by Billy Wilder · Released 1945
The Lost Weekend is a 1945 American drama film noir directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. It was based on Charles R. Jackson's 1944 novel about an alcoholic writer. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won four: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also shared the Grand Prix at the first Cannes Film Festival, making it one of only four films—the other three being Marty (1955), Parasite (2019) and Anora (2024)—to win both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the highest award at Cannes.
Cast ages at release (1945)
- Jane Wyman, as Helen St. James: 27–28
- Ray Milland, as Don Birnam: 37–38
- Howard da Silva, as Nat: 35–36
- Doris Dowling, as Gloria: 21–22
- Frank Faylen, as 'Bim' Nolan: 39–40
- Anita Sharp-Bolster: 49–50
- Lilian Fontaine, as Mrs: 58–59
- Frank Orth, as Opera Cloak Room Attendant: 64–65
- Phillip Terry, as Wick Birnam: 35–36
- Mary Young, as Mrs: 65–66
- Lewis Lord Russell, as Mr. St. James: 55–56