Days of Wine and Roses

Year:

1962

Duration:

117 min

Genres:

Drama

IMDB rate:

7.9

Director:

Blake Edwards

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 9 wins & 12 nominations

Details

Country: USA

Release Date: 1962-12-26

Filming Locations: 1800 Pacific Ave, San Francisco, California, USA

Cast

Actor

Character

Lynn Borden

Jack Lemmon

Joe Clay

Lee Remick

Kirsten Arnesen Clay

Charles Bickford

Ellis Arnesen

Jack Klugman

Jim Hungerford

Alan Hewitt

Rad Leland

Tom Palmer

Ballefoy

Debbie Megowan

Debbie Clay

Maxine Stuart

Dottie

Jack Albertson

Trayner

Leon Alton

Party Guest (uncredited)

Don Anderson

Party Guest (uncredited)

Carl Arnold

Loud Man (uncredited)

Roger Barrett

Abe (uncredited)

Russ Bender

(uncredited)

Mary Benoit

Tenant (uncredited)

Mel Blanc

Cartoons (voice) (uncredited)

Gail Bonney

Gladys (uncredited)

Dick Crockett

Boor (uncredited)

Russell Custer

Alcoholics Anonymous Member (uncredited)

George DeNormand

Party Guest (uncredited)

Jennifer Edwards

Debbie Clay at Age 5

Ella Ethridge

Tenant (uncredited)

James Gonzalez

Party Guest (uncredited)

Lisa Guiraut

Belly Dancer (uncredited)

Chuck Hicks

Attendant (uncredited)

Barbara Hines

Guest (uncredited)

Charlene Holt

Guest (uncredited)

Tai Yen Horowitz

(uncredited)

Jerry Jensen

Crewcut Man (uncredited)

Kenner G. Kemp

Party Guest (uncredited)

Rita Kenaston

Tenant (uncredited)

James Lanphier

Prince (uncredited)

Ken Lynch

Proprietor (uncredited)

John Bard Manulis

(uncredited)

Mathew McCue

Alcoholics Anonymous Member (uncredited)

Harold Miller

Party Guest (uncredited)

Edward O'Brien

(uncredited)

Doye O'Dell

Charlie Deans (uncredited)

Pat O'Malley

Tenant (uncredited)

Al Paige

Tenant (uncredited)

Peggy Patten

(uncredited)

Jack Riley

Waiter (uncredited)

Tom Rosqui

Bettor (uncredited)

Myrna Ross

(uncredited)

Doc Scortt

Boor (uncredited)

Robert 'Buddy' Shaw

Tenant (uncredited)

Stanley Sober

(uncredited)

Olan Soule

Elevator Operator (uncredited)

Katherine Squire

Mrs. Nolan (uncredited)

Florence Stark

(uncredited)

Bert Stevens

Party Guest (uncredited)

Lynn Terry

(uncredited)

Arthur Tovey

Party Guest (uncredited)

John Truax

Attendant (uncredited)

Charles Watts

Landry (uncredited)

Charles Wood

Doctor (uncredited)

Did you know?

Trivia

The story was first performed live on an episode of Playhouse 90 (1956) in 1958. Writer J.P. Miller conceived the original play as a love story between two drunks. The concept of alcoholic domesticity had never been executed commercially before. The recorded play, not in public domain, currently exists on videotape at CBS Television City in Hollywood.

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Jack Lemmon disclosed in a TV interview interview that during his straitjacket scene, wherein his character rather violently suffers the DTs, he'd gotten so into it that the crew had to shake him out of his hysterics after the cameras had stopped rolling.

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The cast and crew were very concerned that the bleak ending would be changed. Director Blake Edwards recalled for Entertainment Weekly magazine that studio head Jack L. Warner wanted a lighter ending, but he came into a screening with a very attractive date who blasted the decision. Warner reluctantly gave in. In addition, Jack Lemmon purposely flew to Paris after filming had wrapped so he would be "unavailable" for re-shoots.

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Goofs

When Jo is in the hospital for the first time, a doctor and two orderlies come and check up on him from the fenced window of his cell door. But in the very next shot, the only shadow that is cast on Jo is that of the fenced window, not of the three men looking at him from the window.

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When Joe returns to Ellis Arnesen's greenhouse to pay the first instalment of the five hundred dollars, the first shot of Ellis shows him writing something on a "podium." As he turns around to face Joe, a hand appears below the podium to support it, but there's no one else in the greenhouse.

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At the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, both Jim and Joe say their full names; last names are usually not used in AA meetings, which is how people remain "anonymous".

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Quotes

Joe Clay: It's facing all the people.

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Joe Clay: I walked by Union Square Bar. I was going to go in. Then I saw myself - my reflection in the window - and I thought, "I wonder who that bum is?" And then I saw it was me. Now look at me. I'm a bum. Look at me! Look at you. You're a bum. Look at you. And look at us. Look at us. C'mon look at us! See? A couple of bums.

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Joe Clay: 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. I got hold of something that kept me from going under, and I'm not going to let go of it. Not for you. Not for anyone. If you want to grab on, grab on. But there's just room for you and me - no threesome.

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Faq

Q

Where does the title for the movie come from?

A

The movie's title Days of Wine and Roses comes from an 1896 short poem 'Vitae summa brevis spem nos vetat incohare longam' by English writer Ernest Dowson [1867-1900]: 'They are not long, the weeping and the laughter. Love and desire and hate: I think they have no portion in us after We pass the gate. They are not long, the days of wine and roses: Out of a misty dream Our path emerges for a while, then closes Within a dream.'

Q

A Note Regarding Spoilers

A

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

Q

What's in a Brandy Alexander?

A

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