Book Review: “Dashing to the End: The Ray Milland Story:”

Title: Dashing to the End: The Ray Milland Story

By Eric Monder

Publisher: University Press of Mississippi

ISBN: 9781496831491 (hardback)

Dashing to the End: The Ray Milland Story offers a carefully researched and engaging look into the life and career of one of Hollywood's most enduring, yet often underrated, leading men. Author Eric Monder navigates Milland's journey with a biographer's eye for detail and a fan's genuine affection. From his early days as a dashing heartthrob to his unexpected second act as a versatile character actor, the book paints a comprehensive picture of a man who was more complex and resilient than his on-screen persona often suggested.

The book spends a good deal of time during Milland's golden age, particularly his definitive role in Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend. Monder vividly recounts his preparation for the part of an alcoholic writer, a performance that earned him a Best Actor Academy Award. This section of the book is an interesting trip through film history, providing context on the production and reception of this groundbreaking film. It highlights how Milland’s commitment to the role cemented his status as a serious dramatic actor, changing his public image from a charming romantic lead to a performer with more dramatic range than he was given credit for up to that time.

Milland's post-Oscar life didn’t turn out the way the actor expected. As his star waned in the studio system, he made a conscious and strategic pivot to television and B-movies, a move many of his peers would have scorned. The book treats this period not as a decline, but as a testament to his adaptability and sheer love for acting. Monder reveals anecdotes from Milland’s time directing and starring in sci-fi and horror films like The Man with the X-Ray Eyes. This perspective gives credit to his late-career work, revealing that he tackled these roles with the same professionalism and dedication that he brought to his Oscar-winning performance.

In conclusion, Dashing to the End: The Ray Milland Story is a definitive biography that is a must-read for classic film enthusiasts and anyone interested in the inner workings of Hollywood's studio era. The biography will leave the reader with an appreciation for Milland not just as a gifted actor, but as a shrewd and enduring professional who was "dashing to the end."

Ray Milland and Charles Laughton head the cast in “The Big Clock”

The Big Clock (1948) is an American film noir directed by John Farrow and starring Ray Milland and Charles Laughton. The supporting cast included Maureen O’Sullivan (Mrs. John Farrow), George Macready, Rita Johnson, Harry Morgan, and Elsa Lancaster (Mrs. Charles Laughton).

When George Stroud, editor-in-chief of Crimeways magazine, refuses to follow up on a missing person story because he wants to go on a long-postponed honeymoon with his wife, Georgette (O’Sullivan), and young son, he is fired by his boss, Earl Janoth (Laughton).

George drowns his sorrows at a bar where he meets Janoth’s mistress Pauline York (Johnson). George loses track of time and misses his train for his honeymoon. Disgusted, Georgette leaves without him. George spends more time with Pauline and he buys a painting and a sundial.

George eventually goes to Pauline’s apartment. He has no idea how this one action will change his life forever.

 

John Farrow (1904 – 1963) was an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He did most of his film work in the United States. He won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Around the World in Eighty Days and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for Wake Island (1942). Farrow’s best success came as a contract director at Paramount Pictures. At Paramount he directed China (1943) starring Alan Ladd and Loretta Young, Two Years Before the Mast made in 1944, but released in 1946, Calcutta (1947), California (1947), and The Big Clock (1948). After he left Paramount, his directorial career was diminished and he never again had a major film success.

Ray Milland (1907 – 1986) was a Welsh-American movie star and film director. He won a Best Actor Oscar for portraying an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend (1945). Milland played bit parts at M-G-M and Paramount. While at Paramount, he was loaned to Universal to for a lead in the Deanna Durbin movie Three Smart Girls (1936). The success of the film led to him being cast in leading roles. He became one of Paramount’s biggest stars, remaining there for almost 20 years. Other films starring Milland include The Major and the Minor (1942), Reap the Wild Wind (1942), where he had top billing over John Wayne, the horror classic The Uninvited (1944), The Big Clock (1948), and Dial M for Murder (1954). Later in his career, he starred as Ryan O’Neal’s father in Love Story (1970).

Charles Laughton (1899 – 1962) had a long career on the stage and in Hollywood. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Henry VIII in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) and was nominated for two other Best Actor Oscars for his performances in Mutiny on the Bounty (1933) and Witness for the Prosecution (1957). His performance in The Suspect is considered one of Laughton’s most natural screen performances, which is credited to director Siodmak, a close personal friend of the actor.

 

Ray Milland and Charles Laughton in a publicity still

The Big Clock trivia

• Earl Janoth (Charles Laughton) is based on Henry Luce, the author of the novel on which the movie is based, who worked for.
• Paramount insisted that Maureen O’Sullivan audition for the role of Georgette Stroud.
• George Stroud’s $30,000 a-year salary is equivalent to over $388,000 a year today.
• Noel Neill, played the uncredited elevator operator before she played Lois Lane on the Superman television show.
• Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, and Maureen O’Sullivan previously co-starred in Payment Deferred in 1932.

Click HERE to watch the movie on the Internet Archive.

Click HERE to join the online discussion on July 14, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email invitation with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

Rita Johnson and Ray Milland

Discussion questions

1. The Big Clock has a reputation as one of the top films noir from the 1940s. What do you think?
2. Some critics don’t consider The Big Clock a film noir. What do you think? If not a film noir, what genre would you classify it as?
3. Does the screwball humor with Elsa Lancaster add to the movie’s plot? Do you think it’s overdone or appropriate?
4. What did you think of Ray Milland’s performance? How does it compare to his performance in The Lost Weekend?
5. Were Milland and Maureen O’Sullivan believable as a married couple?
6. What about Charles Laughton's performance? Was he believable as the boss from hell? Did Meryl Streep’s character seem human compared to Earl Janoth?
7. Did John Seitz’s (Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard) cinematography add to the suspense of the film?
8. Was there a piece of dialogue or a particular scene that stuck out to you?

Ray Milland and Jane Wyman star in Billy Wilder’s “The Lost Weekend”

The Lost Weekend is a 1945 American drama directed by Billy Wilder and starring Ray Milland and Jane Wyman. The screenplay was written by Wilder and Charles Brackett based on the novel by Charles R. Jackson. The cinematography is by John F. Seitz, and the music is by Miklos Rozsa.

New York writer Don Birnam (Milland) is packing for a weekend vacation with his brother Wick (Philip Terry). Don, who is an alcoholic, is desperately trying to get out of traveling out of town. When his girlfriend Helen St. James (Wyman) arrives with gifts and two tickets to an afternoon concert, Don suggests that Wick go to the concert instead of him. Don’s goal is to get drunk and forget about the weekend trip.

So begins a downward spiral into severe alcoholism, where Don will do anything for a drink.

Will Don be able to claw his way back to sobriety and a stable life with Helen?

 

Ray Milland and Jane Wyman

Billy Wilder (1906 - 2002) was an Austrian-born American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He won six Academy Awards for his writing and direction and was nominated twenty-one times over a career that spanned five decades. Wilder started his career as a writer, penning the screenplays for Ninotchka (1939), Ball of Fire (1942), Double Indemnity (1945), The Lost Weekend (1946), Sunset Boulevard (1951)  Boulevard (1951), Sabrina (1955), Some Like it Hot (1960), and The Apartment (1961). As a director, he won Academy Awards for directing The Lost Weekend (1946) and The Apartment (1961). Wilder directed fourteen different actors in Oscar-nominated roles. He is considered one of the most versatile directors from Hollywood’s Classical period.

Ray Milland (1907 – 1986) was a Welsh-American movie star and film director. He won a Best Actor Oscar for portraying an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend (1945). Milland played bit parts at M-G-M and Paramount. While at Paramount, he was loaned to Universal to for a lead in the Deanna Durbin movie Three Smart Girls (1936). The success of the film led to him being cast in leading roles. He became one of Paramount’s biggest stars, remaining there for almost 20 years. Other films starring Milland include The Major and the Minor (1942), Reap the Wild Wind (1942), where he had top billing over John Wayne, the horror classic The Uninvited (1944), The Big Clock (1948), and Dial M for Murder (1954). Later in his career, he starred as Ryan O’Neal’s father in Love Story (1970).

Jane Wyman (1917 – 2007) was an American actress. Wyman starred in movies and television and won a Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in Johnny Belinda (1948). She received four nominations for Best Actress between 1946 and 1954. She had a huge success with the primetime soap opera Falcon Crest (1981 – 1990), where she played the conniving family matriarch Angela Channing. Other Wyman films include The Lost Weekend (1945), The Yearling (1946), Magnificent Obsession (1954), All That Heaven Allows (1955), and  Pollyanna (1960).

 

Ray Milland

The Lost Weekend trivia

• Billy Wilder claimed that the liquor industry offered Paramount $5 million not to release the film.
• Ray Milland checked himself into Bellevue Hospital with the medical staff’s approval so he could experience what a drunk ward was like.
• Ray Milland didn’t give an acceptance speech when he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. He acknowledged the applause and left the stage.
• Billy Wilder read The Lost Weekend on a train ride from New York to Los Angeles. He thought it would be the perfect material for his next film.
• Ray Milland was advised not to take the role, fearing it would damage his career. Many leading men of the day turned the role down.
• Jane Wyman was loaned to Paramount for her role as Helen St. James. Wyman called it a “miracle.” Her performance received good notices, and she went from supporting player to major movie star.

 

Click HERE to join the online discussion on Monday, May 19, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email and a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

Click HERE to watch the movie on the Internet Archive.

 

Discussion questions

1. How do you think audiences in 1945 reacted to this film?
2. Does the impact of this film hold up in 2025?
3. Was Ray Milland believable as an alcoholic?
4. Did he and Jane Wyman have good on-screen chemistry?
5. Was the film’s portrayal of alcoholism realistic?
6. Did anything about the film surprise you?
7. Did the film score add to the dramatic narrative?

Edward Arnold shows Jean Arthur some “Easy Living”

Easy Living (1937) is an American screwball comedy film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Jean Arthur, Edward Arnold, and Ray Milland. The screenplay was written by Preston Sturges from a story by Vera Caspary (Laura). The supporting cast includes William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, Luis Alberni, and Robert Greig.

On her way to work, Mary Smith (Arthur) is hit with a sable coat while riding in a double-decker bus. The coat was thrown off of the New York City penthouse by J.B. Ball (Arnold) during an argument with his wife. Little does Mary know how that sable coat will change her life, especially after she meets J.B. Ball Jr. (Milland), not knowing who he is.

Edward Arnold, Jean Arthur, and Ray Milland

Mitchell Leisen (1898 – 1972) was an American director who was one of Paramount Pictures most successful directors during the 1930s and 1940s. He directed Olivia de Havilland to her first Best Actress Oscar in To Each His Own (1946). He also directed Ginger Rogers in Lady in the Dark (1944), as wekk as the Christmas classic Remember the Night  (1940) starring Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. Leisen’s last big movie success was the comedy The Mating Season (1951) starring Gene Tierney, John Lund, and Thelma Ritter in an Oscar-nominated performance.

Jean Arthur (1900 – 1991) was an American stage and film actress whose career spanned three decades. Arthur got her start in silent films but became a major star with the advent of sound. Her unique speaking voice made her a natural for comedy. She came to prominence with major roles in a series of films directed by Frank Capra: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can’t Take it With You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). Other popular films Arthur starred in included Only Angels Have Wings (1939), The Talk of the Town (1942), The More the Merrier (1943). For her work in The More the Merrier, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, her only Academy Award nomination. Arthur’s last film role was in the western classic Shane (1953). After retiring from acting, she taught drama at Vassar College where one of her students was Meryl Streep.

Edward Arnold (1890 – 1956) was an American film and stage actor. Arnold started acting on the legitimate stage before finding work in film in 1916. He returned to the stage in 1919 and didn’t appear in film again until Okay America! (1932). In the early years of his film career, he played leading man roles but as he got older, he appeared in character roles and was never without work. He often worked on more than one picture at once. Some popular films that Arnold starred in include The Toast of New York (1937), You Can’t Take it With You (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and Meet John Doe (1941).

Ray Milland (1907 – 1986) was a Welsh-American movie star and film director. He won a Best Actor Oscar for portraying an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend (1945). Milland played bit parts at M-G-M and Paramount. While at Paramount, he was loaned to Universal to for a lead in the Deanna Durbin movie Three Smart Girls (1936). The success of the film led to him being cast in leading roles. He became one of Paramount’s biggest stars, remaining there for almost 20 years. Other films starring Milland include The Major and the Minor (1942), Reap the Wild Wind (1942) where he had top billing over John Wayne, the horror classic The Uninvited (1944), The Big Clock (1948), and Dial M for Murder (1954). Later in his career, he starred as Ryan O’Neal’s father in Love Story (1970).

 

Jean Arthur at the automat.

Easy Living trivia

• The furs and jewelry used in the film were real. Guards were posted during the shooting to ensure that none of the valuables were stolen.
• The $58,000 sable coat in 1937, would cost more than $1.18M today.
• This was the first film that Preston Sturges worked on at Paramount.
• Jean Arthur was almost seven years older than Ray Milland.

 

Click here to watch this film on YouTube.

 

Click here to join the online discussion on January 15, 2024, at 6:30 p.m.  Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation and a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

Discussion questions

1. What did you think of the character of J. B. Ball played by Edward Arnold?
2. Was Jean Arthur believable as a working-class young woman caught up in a scandal?
3. Were Ray Milland and Jean Arthur believable as a couple?
4. What did you think of the automat scene?
5. Did you have a favorite scene, piece of dialogue, or character actor?
6. How would you rank this screwball comedy? Is it in your top ten?

Preston Sturges series: Screening of “Easy Living” February 23 at Daystar Center

Preston Sturges series: Easy Living
Where: The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street, Chicago, IL
When: February 23, 2016
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald

Easy Living (1937) is a classic screwball comedy with a screenplay by Preston Sturges and direction
by Mitchell Leisen. Jean Arthur stars as a poor working girl whose life is turned upside down when a sable coat, thrown from the penthouse apartment of financier J.B. Bull (Edward Arnold), lands on her head, ruining her hat. Bull lets Mary keep the coat, leading gossipers to assume that she is his mistress.

The plot begins when J.B. Bull finds out that his wife (Mary Nash) has purchased a $58,000 (almost a million dollars today!) sable coat without letting him know about it. In frustration, Bull throws the coat off of his terrace. The coat floats down and lands on the head of Mary Smith (Arthur) while she is riding to work on a double-decker bus with an open roof. Startled and confused, Mary goes door to door looking for the coat’s owner. While she is doing this she runs into Bull who lets her keep the coat (she has no idea it’s sable)) and offers to buy her a new hat on his way to the office. The hat shop proprietor, Van Buren (Franklin Pangborn) starts the rumor that Mary is Bull’s mistress. The rumor is passed along to Mr. Louis (Luis Alberni) the owner of the Luis Hotel, which is about to be foreclosed on by Bull.

Before you know it, Mr. Louis is offering Mary a suite in his hotel as a way to promote it. Meanwhile, Mary is completely oblivious to the ramifications of her new circumstances. She’s even ignorant of the fact that she’s been dating Bull’s son, John Ball Jr. (Ray Milland). Things get more complicated and hilarious with each passing moment.

Easy Living is the second screenplay written by Sturges that starred Arnold and Arthur. Diamond Jim featuring both stars was penned by Sturges two years earlier.

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!
Before the movie, grab a cup of coffee from Overflow Coffee Bar, located within the Daystar Center. You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion
Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.


Daystar Center located at 1550 S. State St. works through a grassroots network of collaborations and partnerships with individuals and other nonprofit organizations. Through this web, they’re able to provide educational, cultural, and civic activities that enrich and empower their clients, guests, and community members. To learn more about classes and events offered at the Daystar Center, please visit their Web site.

Silence is Golden: Jane Wyman's Oscar-Winning Performance in "Johnny Belinda"

Jane Wyman paid her dues. When she arrived in Hollywood in the early 1930s, Wyman worked steadily, but no one knew her name. During this early period in her career, she appeared in dozens of films, some classics, including an uncredited part in My Man Godfrey (1936).

A Hollywood glamor shot early in Jane Wyman's career

In 1937, as a contract player at Warner Brothers, Wyman had her first credited part as “Dixie the hatcheck girl” in Smart Blonde starring Glenda Farrell as journalist Torchy Blane. From 1932 to 1936, Wyman appeared in 19 films. In 1939, she stepped into the role of Torchy Blane in Torchy Blane…Playing With Dynamite. But it would be six long years before Wyman would get a role she could sink her teeth into.

Ray Milland and Wyman in Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend (1945)

In 1945 Wyman got what would prove to be her breakout performance. On loan to Paramount, she played Helen St. James, Ray Milland’s sympathetic girlfriend in The Lost Weekend. The film was a huge critical and commercial hit, winning Oscars for Milland and director Billy Wilder. It also won the award for Best Picture. Tough New York Times critic Bosley Crowther took notice of Wyman’s performance in Weekend. He said, “Jane Wyman assumes with quiet authority the difficult role of the loyal girl who loves and assists the central character—and finally helps regenerate him.” From a critic like Crowther, this was a rave.

Claude Jarman Jr., Gregory Peck, and Wyman in a publicity still from The Yearling (1946)

After her success in Weekend, Wyman’s home studio, Warner Bros. didn’t give her better scripts. Loaned out again in 1946, this time to M-G-M, Wyman costarred with Gregory Peck and Claude Jarman Jr. in the Clarence Brown production of The Yearling. The 10-month shoot was tough on Wyman and the rest of the cast. In spite of the production difficulties, Wyman received the first of her four Best Actress Academy Award nominations for her portrayal of Orry Baxter. She didn’t win, but Wyman was now a certified movie star.

Wyman as Belinda McDonald in Johnny Belinda (1948)

In 1948, Warner Bros. adapted the stage play Johnny Belinda and cast Wyman in the lead. Since the play was a modest success, the expectations for the film version weren’t too high. Under the steady direction of Jean Negulesco, Wyman gave the performance of a lifetime. As deaf mute Belinda, she never uttered a line of dialogue. Wyman managed to convey the frustration and longing of a young woman considered less than human by the local villagers in her Cape Brenton [Canada] home. She did this through her expressive eyes and physical gestures. Although by today’s standards, the movie is somewhat dated, Wyman’s performance is not. This is what Crowther said of Wyman's performance in his review of the film in The New York Times on October 2, 1948: “Miss Wyman brings superior insight and tenderness to the role. Not once does she speak throughout the picture. Her face is the mirror of her thoughts.”

Johnny Belinda lobby card

Johnny Belinda was nominated for a total of 11 Oscars. It lost in every category except Wyman’s surprise win for Best Actress of 1949 (Wyman expected Irene Dunne to win for I Remember Mama).

Jane Wyman would go on to further film successes, working with legendary directors like Frank Capra and Alfred Hitchcock, but her performance in Johnny Belinda is a master class in film acting technique, making Wyman a legend in her own right.  

A special midnight screening of Johnny Belinda will be held at Facets Film School on Saturday, February 26, 2011. Admission is $5.