Heil Darling is probably the first original Wilder story written for a Hollywood picture. The diegesis plays out in Vienna, at the dawn of Anschluss when Nazi Germany would annex Austria. The script is punctuated by Wilder’s stylistic... more
Heil Darling is probably the first original Wilder story written for a Hollywood picture. The diegesis plays out in Vienna, at the dawn of Anschluss when Nazi Germany would annex Austria. The script is punctuated by Wilder’s stylistic motifs and contains autobiographical elements. Anti-Semitism appears in a frank and direct manner. This was rare in Wilder’s other work, and the broader American film industry at the time. This essay aims to present and detail this story to a larger audience. Researching unfilmed screenplays incites emotions and attitudes that have been buried in archives for decades
