Billy Wilder's Complete Filmography Ranked

[@philiphalpenny9761]

'Sunset Boulevard', 'The Apartment' & 'Double Indemnity' are as close to perfection as we film buffs could hope for. I have deep affection for 'One, Two, Three' & 'The Lost Weekend' also...

[@SMacCuUladh]

Witness For the Prosecution is really excellent.

[@philiphalpenny9761]

@@SMacCuUladh Agreed...

[@surfingthroughcinema6561]

That's really cool that all of his movies are still around! I personally have seen The Apartment, Double Indemnity, and Sunset Boulevard, and my favorite is Sunset Boulevard. The fact that Billy Wilder was able to make a movie, almost criticizing his profession, and not get shot down, is incredible. But what's even crazier is Gloria Swanson, and Erich Von Stroheim, are basically playing as themselves, Swanson actually worked with Cecil B DeMille back in the silent era, and Stroheim was a very famous director, even worked with Swanson, and had a mediocre life after studio disputes with MGM. I'm sure I'll see more of his work in the future, but for now that one is my favorite of his.

[@maplestreetmovies]

Yes I find it crazy how accurate Sunset is! Thanks for watching!

[@faisal.al-harbi]

1- the apartment 2- some like it hot 3- sunset Boulevard 4- witness for the prosecution 5- double indemnity This is my top5 of one of the best writers I’ve ever seen

[@maplestreetmovies]

Awesome ranking! Yeah his writing is amazing!

[@johnpresnell]

Thank you for this excellent video! I just finished watching The Apartment and was blown away. I will use your list here to fill in the gaps in my Wilder viewing.

[@maplestreetmovies]

So glad you loved The Apartment! Have a great time continuing your Wilder watch!

[@Bonkatsu12]

I think the reason you feel The Apartment should be shorter is because the story was written without really knowing what the plot would eventually be. The film just kind of evolves into what it is. It could be seen as weakness that the film lacks a conventional narrative focus, but you could also see it as a strength.

[@arnesahlen2704]

8:37 The Lost Weekend - So you know: "Ray mil-LAND" 14:20 Indemnity: "Noir" has just ONE syllable! Not "no-arr".

[@maplestreetmovies]

@@arnesahlen2704 if you search the American pronunciation it’s two syllables: nuh-waar

[@TimLeeSongs]

Loved this, thank you!

[@jacobmartin7481]

Great ranking! Right now, my two favorite Wilder films are currently Sunset Boulevard and Some Like It Hot, but Witness for the Prosecution is a brilliant film as well.

[@maplestreetmovies]

Those are great picks and seem to be universally known for his best, so can’t go wrong there!

[@robertplattner1636]

Actually, Bogart was going to the play the Seven Year Itch. The movie came out the year after Sabrina.

[@maplestreetmovies]

That makes more sense! As I was editing, I noticed that seven year itch came out a year later. So he was referring to a game? I was trying to rack with my brain with how he referenced it

[@Bonkatsu12]

I can’t remember the exact line, but I’m guessing Bogart is referring to the original play “Seven year Itch” which came out in 1952.

[@mickey4355]

I saw 20 minutes of Major and the Minor on TCM when I was maybe 10 years old and didn’t know the name of it. I’ve been trying to find it for years but forgot too much of the plot to track it down so THANK YOU

[@maplestreetmovies]

Woohoo! Glad I could be of service!!

[@michaelmcnally1242]

One, Two, Three is a movie I recommend to everybody I meet who I think is not stupid.

[@dillonjohnson5288]

I LOVE HIS FILMS I just recently watched Some Like It Hot and ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. One of the most energetic and fast paced movies ever. I actually had tears in my eyes at the ending. It broke my Top 5

[@maplestreetmovies]

That is AWESOME! Just talking about it makes me want to buy the criterion!

[@makingtimestudios841]

I just watched Witness for the Prosecution yesterday and OH MAN you were right. Definitely my favorite wilder at the moment, watching Sunset, SLIH and The Apartment as well

[@maplestreetmovies]

Glad you liked it!

[@OirichEntertainment]

I love your channel so much. You have so many good points on each film you talk about. You have the perfect mix of classic and modern content. You are my go-to for anything Jimmy Stewart 😂

[@maplestreetmovies]

Thank you so much! I appreciate that so much! :)

[@johnradovich8809]

The wittiest most sophisticated director of all. Had a few dogs, yes. Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity and Five Graves to Cairo are my favorites.

[@wildflowerred6323]

Since there are other wonderful Wilder films, I am content enough that you listed my favorite as #6. My top 12 would be: 1. One, Two, Three (unapologetically my personal favorite for reasons stated below) 2. Double Indemnity 3. The Apartment 4, Sunset Boulevard 5. Some Like It Hot 6. Witness for the Prosecution 7, An Ace in the Hole 8. Stalag 17 9. The Fortune Cookie 10. The Major and the Minor 11. Sabrina 12. A Foreign Affair So glad you ranked "One, Two, Three" as number 6. While I would rank it at Number 1, that is for purely personal reasons. While I love many Wilder films, One, Two, Three holds a special place in my heart. I have loved the film since first seeing it at the movies as a 6-year-old child, where I thoroughly enjoyed the slapstick and comedic elements and was first impressed by Aram Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance" (all my life it has reminded me of this movie) and chuckled at "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" (a teenage family member previously tried to teach me the tongue-twisting lyrics as I was mastering English as a recent immigrant). I continued to love the film as I began to appreciate it on different levels on subsequent viewings on TV, where it exposed me to cold war politics. That movie is how I learned about the Berlin Wall, the USSR, "Coca Cola Colonialism" (I smiled as I actually saw the term listed on a high school Social Studies fact sheet), and other Cold War issues as jokes were explained to me on subsequent viewings in childhood. That movie was a fun way to learn all about the world and global politics. As a 68-year old, I still love "One, Two, Three" as an all-time favorite and witty film. An underappreciated masterpiece, the film can be enjoyed by audiences of all ages (as I have loved it in every stage of my life), initially for its slapstick (not overdone or belabored) and rapid-fire comedy, for its more subtle character-driven humor, for its sharp political satire of the Cold War Era, as political intrigue with suspense, and even as a romantic comedy (Scarlett and Otto are an attractive couple). Honorable Mentions: The Spirit of St Louis (story is good but 49-year-old James Stewart was way too old to play 25-year-old Charles Lindbergh regardless of his WWII aviation record) Avanti (while flawed, it has its charm), Five Graves to Cairo (major character's death ruins if for me). Overrated: The Seven Year Itch (Lame plot goes nowhere) Just Ok: The Front Page (His Girl Friday was better with female role) Dislike: Irma La Duce (bad), Love in the Afternoon (Audrey Hepburn and Gary Cooper are a mismatch), Fedora (only saw it once years ago but it was bad), Kiss Me Stupid (didn't make it through the whole thing. @wildflowerred6323

[@maplestreetmovies]

Loved seeing your ranking and reading your review for One, Two, Three. Thank you for sharing! Funny that our #1s and #6s are the same, just reversed!

[@alexalex13131]

Kiss Me Stupid has respectable defenders (not me, but it did have its moments). Love In The Afternoon's casting of Cooper and Audrey totally ruined it for me.

[@esteeb67]

Nice list. Billy is my favorite director of his era. I loved seeing One, Two, Three high on your list. It's not widely known, but it should be. I would say my top 5 are: 5) Double Indemnity 4) One Two Three 3) Sunset Boulevard 2) Ace In The Hole 1) The Apartment

[@maplestreetmovies]

@@esteeb67 thank you for sharing!

[@Tim_Raths]

Double Indemnity is my favorite Wilder film with Sunset Boulevard being a very close second.

[@maplestreetmovies]

Both great choices!!

[@smurfette_blues7922]

The apartment is probably considered a christmas movie as much as die hard is. Personally, i watch it every christmas! Its not necessarily about christmas but theres a certain coziness to it that makes it feel perfect for the season.

[@_filmgeeks]

Dude i havent seen a single billy wilder movie… 🥶🥶 I AM TRASH! But how you edit these videos… chefs kiss! Idek who billy wilder reallly is and i an invested🤣 keep on grinding man!🙏🏻

[@maplestreetmovies]

Dude means a lot! Thank you 😂 we’ll if I were to recommend any, just watch my #5 to 1! 🤣

[@bobm8397]

When Buddy Buddy came out, one of the critics that reviewed it had a 4 word review: "Buddy Buddy Cruddy Cruddy" I don't think that is far off after watching it. Sometimes it is better to quit while you are behind

[@OirichEntertainment]

Omg I literally was gonna watch witness for the prosecution today😂 didn’t know you loved it that much.

[@maplestreetmovies]

Yes! Definitely watch it!

[@thomaskummer9968]

I ❤ Billy and his Films and I agree with your list except the Lemmon/Matthau Films and your opinion about Lemmons performances as an actor. He was one of the best actors of all time! At least in my opinion. My first contact with Wilder and his films was watching ,double indemnity' and I loved it. The best film noir ever! And after watching, the apartment' I was infected with a Kind of Billy-Virus and I completed his filmografy. Not every movie is a masterpiece, but that's ok.

[@ZoeDuneCorp]

+NathanHaleMovies: Ever since I watched Sunset BLVD, I've had a raging heart-on for Gloria Swanson.

[@maplestreetmovies]

can't blame ya

[@babyfishmouth00]

The Major & The Minor is such an underrated gem from Wilder. And probably my favorite Ginger performance!

[@maplestreetmovies]

Crazily enough, it’s the only Ginger Rogers movie I’ve seen! I need to see more!

[@liamaltork2551]

0:51 did you really wear that wig on that day?

[@maplestreetmovies]

Who said anything about a wig

[@contractmed1]

I've only seen four of Billy's movies, though I do plan on seeing "The Fortune Cookie" and "One, Two, Three" at some point, here's my ranking: 1. "Sabrina" (1954) 2. "The Apartment" (1960) 3. "Some Like it Hot" (1959) 4. "The Seven Year Itch" (1955) I like all four of them but "Sabrina" has to be number one for me. My grandfather also likes "Stalag 17".

[@raymeedc]

One of everyone’s top picks I don’t care for much at all, Some Like It Hot, basically a one silly joke slap sticky flick, plus the fact that Monroe is way over rated as an actress, a fact that drove Curtis to annoying distraction during their endless retaken scenes with her due to her inept skills. My all time favorite is The Apartment. Hands Down. Not only the film itself, but also the cast. Love the inimitable Lemmon. MacLaine was my first and strongest long time cinema crush, & MacMurray is also high on my list. Also loved the rarely talked about bit that although one of the great on screen romances in it’s own unique way, they never kiss, embrace, & don’t even ever refer to each other by their first names, driven home by the endearing last lines.

[@maplestreetmovies]

Thanks for sharing! I’ve always found some like it hot to be overrated, but still enjoy it.

[@alexalex13131]

There was one great scene in Fedora and it was the last but not because it was the last but because of Holden's closing narration. It was just a few sentences but it was pure Wilder and powerfully sad.

[@joey.44]

I definitely wouldn’t put Some Like it Hot at 11, ( I think it is one of the funniest movies of all time), but I do definitely agree that One, Two, Three should be toward the top of the list.

[@maplestreetmovies]

I knew that ranking would have heads turning!

[@lemon4758]

Cool to see a video on this. Here’s my ranking of what I’ve seen: 7. Sabrina 6. Witness For the Prosecution 5. Double Indemnity 4. Some Like It Hot 3. Sunset Boulevard 2. The Apartment 1. Ace In the Hole What should I watch next?

[@willrose9678]

i completely agree with the first pick i loved it soooo much 😩

[@maplestreetmovies]

Awesome! It really is amazing!

[@mikedbigame3398]

Thumbs up, just because you ranked the obscenely overrated "Some like it Hot" outside your top 10.... 1. The Apartment 2. Stalag 17 3. Sunset Boulevard 4. Double Indemnity 5. Witness for the Prosecution

[@robertplattner1636]

Witness for the Prosecution and Dial M for Murder were both plays so that’s why they are so dialogue heavy. 12 Angry Men has no excuse.

[@francoisevassy6614]

Thank you. Quite a good appreciation of Billy Wilder’s movies. You forgot his very first movie, Mauvaise Graine, for which he shared the direction with Alexandre Esway … I like Avanti ! very much but I understand why you didn’t : it’s his must European film. You may not have picked up some winks (about Mussolini and Kissinger) and about Italian way … Thank you for the comment of Irma la Douce, I did appreciate your : « That’s another story » 😂 Greetings from France 🇫🇷

[@maplestreetmovies]

So glad you enjoyed :) I chose to only include films directed solely by him for this ranking. I’ve always wanted to visit France!

[@francoisevassy6614]

@@maplestreetmovies Please come, but try not to stick to Paris : Mont Saint-Michel, Périgord, châteaux de la Loire, Provence …

[@tfe1788]

I've only watched 8 of his but plan to watch more because he is my 2nd favourite director at the moment! 1. Some Like it Hot 10/10 2. The Apartment 10/10 3. Witness For the Prosecution 10/10 4. Sunset Boulevard 10/10 5. Double Indemnity and 10/10 6. The Lost Weekend 8/10 7. Sabrina 8/10 8. Seven Year Itch 7/10 Could you do your top 10 directors?😊

[@maplestreetmovies]

That’s a good idea! I’ll look more into this for a video.

[@TheListenerCanon]

Who's your first?

[@tfe1788]

@@TheListenerCanon 1. Hitchcock 2. Wilder 3. Capra 4. Hughes 5. Bird 6. Scorsese 7. Spielberg 8. Kubrick 9. Keaton 10. Welles 11. Nolan 12. Brooks 13. Chaplin 14. Kurosawa 15. Scott 16. Curtiz 17. Docter 18. Lee 19. Wyler 20. Cukor 21. Deren My top 20

[@TheListenerCanon]

@tfe1788 Cool! My top 20... 1. Andrei Tarkovsky 2. Akira Kurosawa 3. Stanley Kubrick 4. Alfred Hitchcock 5. Martin Scorsese 6. Billy Wilder 7. Ingmar Bergman 8. Charlie Chaplin 9. Federico Fellini 10. Orson Welles 11. Steven Spielberg 12. FW Murnau 13. Fritz Lang 14. Yasujiro Ozu 15. Jean Renoir 16. Carl Theodor Dreyer 17. Quentin Tarantino 18. Sergio Leone 19. Roberto Rossellini 20. Francis Ford Coppola

[@tfe1788]

@@TheListenerCanon amazing list!

[@jackbergman4724]

Here's my personal top 10: 10. The Fortune Cookie 9. Double Indemnity 8. One, Two, Three 7. Stalag 17 6. The Lost Weekend 5. Some Like It Hot 4. Ace In The Hole 3. Witness For The Prosecution 2. Sunset Boulevard 1. The Apartment (Side note, Jack Lemmon is one of my favorite actors of all time)

[@alexalex13131]

Your number 1 is my number 1.

[@arnesahlen2704]

Film NOIR (one syllable), not NO-ARR

[@maplestreetmovies]

@@arnesahlen2704 thanks

[@johnkaufman5474]

Is Avanti! missing?

[@maplestreetmovies]

Nope!

[@BaileeWalsh]

Wait, I'm confused... There's the scene in The Seven Year Itch where Marilyn's dress goes up from the air coming up through the subway grates, it's just not the same image as what she did in the promo shots. Plus, I think one of the reasons why it's come to be so well-known and iconic is because of the crowd and buzz during the filming. hmmm, I've only seen Double Indemnity, Some Like It Hot, The Seven Year Itch, Sabrina, Love In The Afternoon, and Sunset Boulevard. It's hard to choose a favorite because I've seen Some Like It Hot so many times- and btw I think it gets funnier every rewatch. I think that one is very well done and really enjoyable, but Sunset Boulevard is a better film. I definitely need to give Double Indemnity another watch because I saw that one really early on in my classic film journey and that's the only time I've seen it.

[@maplestreetmovies]

You are absolutely right! I think what I should've said is there is no shot of the dress flying up like we see in all the posters. The scene we get just felt so anticlimactic to me because I was expecting the one shot, then it never happened haha. And I'm looking forward to rewatching Some Like it Hot someday, hopefully it'll make the top 10 someday, lol! Definitely give Double Indemnity another watch! :)

[@edtallman7264]

"Double Indemnity" is a classic of the American cinema, and so, it's fitting that it comes from a script by Wilder AND Raymond Chandler. (Did Fred MacMurray ever pen a thank you note to Chandler for writing the snappy, noir-ish. late '40s, very LA dialogue that Chandler wrote?)

[@drizzle8482]

For me personally, "Fedora" is a film that I need to see now and again. During the 80s I was going to university in Bucharest. One day, after an exam, together with a friend, we went to see "Fedora" and I loved it. I realize is not a chef d'oeuvre but I love it, maybe because of the story. I had the desire to become a great actress, kind of a Greta Garbo and this film is about kind of a Greta Garbo character, a bit cheesy, it's true, but Billy Wilder could make even a cheesy story enjoyable !!!

[@maplestreetmovies]

I love hearing this! It shows that movies are subjective to everyone, and hearing your experience was great.

[@Pangyao78]

Agreed to this list....I will have Witness for the Prosecution in number 1

[@arnesahlen2704]

Some Like It Hot's backstory: the men needed varying female personas (Curtis patterned on Grace Kelly.) Also it's slapstick comedy in large part, in a culture not long out of Vaudeville days.

[@johnkiunke4508]

I really liked Some Like it Hot on my first watch but after a rewatch I actually liked it less. It's too long for how silly it is and I found Tony Curtis' character disturbing.

[@ronleight9341]

SLIH has always annoyed me why its so universally loved and revered. I didnt mind it, but to be the one that most people mention as best classic comedy of all time? Not even close!!

[@philiphalpenny9761]

Yes...men dressed as women who look like men dressed as women & this is supposed to be rolling in the aisles hilarious! Thin gag over two hours. I loved 'One, Two, Three' enormously...although, it hastened my favourite star's decision , Cagney to retire!

[@raystaar]

Way are you spending so much time talking about his turkeys? It's like telling the story of Jesus and leaving out the miracles.

[@bookiester]

Probably should pronounce the names correctly.

[@maplestreetmovies]

I’m always learning ♥️

[@judypratt2868]

cheesey & noir should never be in the breath.

[@gerryjenner7375]

Sorry dude. Some like it hot is the all time…

[@OirichEntertainment]

I’ve only seen some like it hot and…I didn’t like it that much. There were some funny moments but it just felt off the entire time.

[@maplestreetmovies]

I kind of agree, I find it to be a bit overrated, hence my ranking, but hey it's still a solid one.

[@sensitivedogs]

This was a boring presentation. And you're going a mile a minute! You really enjoy the sound of your voice. Hey but nobody's perfect!

[@maplestreetmovies]

Thanks for the feedback on speaking too fast! What made it a boring presentation? And yes, I’m far from it!! 🤣