The working relationship between Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder is legendary in classic Hollywood. Writer/producer Brackett and writer/director Wilder worked together on multiple projects, including Sunset Boulevard (1950), The Lost Weekend (1945), and more.

Donald Brackett’s Double Solitaire: The Films of Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder offers a fascinating look at this famous duo, particularly from the author’s perspective; Donald’s great-great-grandfather was cousins with Charles Brackett. As a result, the author consulted his own family lore in addition to correspondence, media reports, historical records, etc. to learn more about the Brackett-Wilder collaborations as well as their lives away from the film studios. Brackett also discusses how the duo fought the studio system, helping to pave the way for independent producers.

Double Solitaire: The Films of Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder is available for purchase via Applause.