The Lost Weekend

How this film uses it

Don splits himself in two, the writer who fears failure and the drunk who needs rescuing. Helen's job is to make him accept that they are the same man. The idea gives the film its ending.

Where to see it

Don's confession: Don tells Helen he is 2 people, Don the writer and Don the drunk who has to be bailed out by Wick. At the end, Helen persuades him they are the same person.

How this film uses it

The film shows you the horror as Don experiences it, and plays the hallucination straight. You share his fear because the nightmare looks as solid to you as it does to him.

Where to see it

Delirium tremens: Alone in his apartment, Don hallucinates a bat flying in through the window and killing a mouse, spilling its blood. His screams alert the landlady.

How this film uses it

Wilder took a small crew to New York and put cameras behind boxes and in the backs of trucks, filming Ray Milland on Third Avenue among real pedestrians. Back in California, they rebuilt other locations on sets. The mix gives Don's search a rough, true-to-life feel.

Where to see it

Third Avenue walk: Don carries his typewriter down the street, looking for an open pawnshop, but all of them are closed for Yom Kippur.

How this film uses it

Miklos Rozsa's score was among the first to feature the theremin to create the pathos of alcoholism. At an early preview, the film carried a temporary upbeat jazz track, and the audience laughed at Milland's performance. With the real score and a reshot ending, reactions turned favorable.

Where to see it

Hidden bottle: Packing for the weekend, Don dangles a bottle outside the window to sneak it into his suitcase. Wick finds it and pours it down the drain.