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Days of Wine and Roses

Play trailer Poster for Days of Wine and Roses 1962 1h 57m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 89% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Joe Clay (Jack Lemmon) is a rising young public relations executive when he meets Kirsten Arnesen (Lee Remick), a pretty secretary, at a business party. Joe and Kirsten are both ambitious, and they are on the road to success when they fall in love and marry. Soon after, however, Joe coaxes Kirsten to begin drinking with him on a regular basis. Eventually, they are both dependent on alcohol. Their marriage deteriorates, and their lives spiral into disaster, as a result.

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Days of Wine and Roses

Critics Reviews

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Richard Brody The New Yorker 12/30/2019
The movie plays like an extended ad for Prohibition, three decades after it ended. Go to Full Review Penelope Gilliatt Observer (UK) 03/09/2024
There is a kind of nervy, self-loathing sycophant whom Jack Lemmon can play better than any other actor in America: he did it in The Apartment, and there is a harrowing variant in his new film, Days of Wine and Roses. Go to Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews 02/20/2021
2.5/4
...the meandering (and sporadically repetitious) narrative prevents the viewer from wholeheartedly connecting to the central characters' progressively downbeat plight... Go to Full Review Marlene Matouk Tampa Bay Times 01/13/2021
Lemmon scores a brilliant and consistently superb performance... guaranteed to send chills up and down your spine, and it's Miss Remick's best performance to date. Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 11/10/2019
3.5/4
Lemmon has given a sizable number of terrific performances over his career, and this one qualifies as a Top 10 entry. As for Remick, she's never been better. Go to Full Review Clyde Gilmour Maclean's Magazine 10/07/2019
Jack Lemmon, hitherto chiefly identified with comedy roles, establishes himself as an actor of impressive range in this tough-minded Hollywood drama about alcoholism. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Russ G @RT78760655 Feb 1 If it brought some attention to the problem of alcohol abuse to a public that had gone wildly Off the Wagon in the post Prohibition and Post War era, it served its purpose. It's the only film featuring Jack Lemmon where he had to show more than one dimension; in everything else he got by playing a dumb clown and mugging facial expressions. Lee Remick is a standout in one of her few films. See more Rare T @RT00283363 01/26/2025 This made me want to have a drink. See more Grahame G @RT76286895 09/06/2024 The greenhouse scene shows the insanity in perfect detail, I could identify so much with this film . Must see and long overdue return to to screens. See more Mitch C @RT55212199 01/26/2024 The lead two actors at the top of their game. Perhaps Jack Lemon's finest. Warning: it's not a feel good movie. It's brutally honest and sad. Great film. Period. See more Karl O @GalwayK 10/14/2022 Now comes off as such an insultingly simplistic representation of alcoholism. I've been there. Lemmon was always overrated. The greenhouse scene has to rank as one of the most stupid pieces of cinema I've ever watched. Does anyone still rank this? See more 03/05/2022 For a realistic look at the ravages of alcoholism, watch this film and skip the Oscar-winning but laughable "The Lost Weekend." IMO this is perhaps the only time that Jack Lemmon actually ACTED, and Lee Remick gave the performance of her career. See more Read all reviews
Days of Wine and Roses

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Cast & Crew

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Blake Edwards

Director

Jack Lemmon

Joe Clay

Lee Remick

Kirsten Arnesen Clay

Charles Bickford

Ellis Arnesen

Jack Klugman

Jim Hungerford

Alan Hewitt

Rad Leland

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Days of Wine and Roses

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Movie Info

Synopsis Joe Clay (Jack Lemmon) is a rising young public relations executive when he meets Kirsten Arnesen (Lee Remick), a pretty secretary, at a business party. Joe and Kirsten are both ambitious, and they are on the road to success when they fall in love and marry. Soon after, however, Joe coaxes Kirsten to begin drinking with him on a regular basis. Eventually, they are both dependent on alcohol. Their marriage deteriorates, and their lives spiral into disaster, as a result.
Director
Blake Edwards
Producer
Martin Manulis
Screenwriter
J.P. Miller
Distributor
Warner Bros.
Production Co
Warner Brothers, Jalem Productions
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 26, 1962, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 18, 2010
Runtime
1h 57m