Billy Wilder's classic drama starring Ray Milland as a writer and inveterate alcoholic who evades his brother to embark on a binge around New York. Don Birnam (Milland)'s struggles with alcohol have become clear to those close to him. However, having satisfied himself that Don hasn't had a drink for ten days, his brother, Wick (Philip Terry), agrees to escort Don's girlfriend, Helen (Jane Wynam), to a show while the writer prepares himself for their planned trip to the country. Instead, Don uses the absence of the pair to search his apartment for the booze Wick has hidden and sets off for the city's watering holes when he can't find any. Over the days that follow, Helen and the increasingly exasperated Wick attempt to track down the absent Don, but can anyone help the wayward writer get back on the wagon?

Billy Wilder directs this Oscar-winning classic exposé of the Hollywood studio system. Struggling Hollywood writer Joe Gillis (William Holden) is attempting to avoid his creditors when he pulls his car into the garage of an apparently deserted mansion. He soon discovers that it is in fact the home of Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), an ageing actress who was once a star of silent films. Desperate for money, Gillis agrees to work on a screenplay adaptation of 'Salome' which Norma has written for her intended comeback. Gillis then gradually becomes trapped in Norma's bizarre fantasy world, and when he tries to leave her, she makes an attempt at suicide. The film also features silent screen legends Cecil B. DeMille, Buster Keaton and Erich von Stroheim in supporting roles.