Days of Wine and Roses is a 1962 American drama film directed by Blake Edwards with a screenplay by JP Miller adapted from his own 1958 Playhouse 90 teleplay of the same name. The film was produced by Martin Manulis, with music by Henry Mancini, and features Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Charles Bickford and Jack Klugman. The film depicts the downward spiral of two average Americans who succumb to alcohol use disorder and attempt to deal with their problems.
An Academy Award went to the film's theme music, composed by Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. The film received four other Oscar nominations, including Best Actor and Best Actress. In 2018, Days of Wine and Roses was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Plot
San Francisco public relations executive Joe Clay meets secretary Kirsten Arnesen. At first, he considers her to be brash and disrespectful, but he eventually begins dating her. Kirsten is a teetotaler until Joe introduces her to social drinking. She is initially reluctant, but after her first few Brandy Alexanders, she admits that having a drink makes her “feel good". Despite the misgivings of Kirsten's father, who runs a San Mateo landscaping business, they marry and have a daughter, Debbie.
Joe and Kirsten slowly go from the "two-martini lunch" to full-blown alcoholism. Joe is demoted due to poor performance, and is sent out of town to work on a minor account. Kirsten is alone all day, and finds drinking the best way to pass the time. While drunk one afternoon, she causes a fire in their apartment that almost kills her and Debbie. Eventually, Joe is fired, and he spends the next several years going from job to job.
One day, Joe sees his reflection in a bar window, and realizes in horror that he hardly knows his own face. He tells Kirsten that they must stop drinking and, while not keen on the idea, she agrees. Seeking escape from their addiction, Joe and Kirsten work together in Arnesen's business and stay sober for two months. But the urge is too strong, and during a late-night drinking binge, Joe destroys his father-in-law's greenhouse while looking for a stashed liquor bottle.
Joe is committed to a sanitarium, where he suffers from delirium tremens while confined in a straitjacket. After his release, Joe finally gets sober for a while with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous, a dedicated sponsor named Jim Hungerford, and regular AA meetings. Jim explains to Joe how alcoholics often demonstrate obsessive behaviour, pointing out that Kirsten's previous passion for chocolate may have been the first sign of an addictive personality. He advises Joe that most drinkers hate to drink alone or in the company of sober people.
Meanwhile, Kirsten's drinking persists, and she disappears for several days without contacting Joe. She is eventually located at a nearby motel, drunk, but when Joe tries to help her, he ends up drinking again. When their supply runs out, Joe happens upon a liquor store that has closed for the night. He breaks in and steals a bottle, but trips, falls, and is taunted by the store owner. The result is another trip to the sanitarium, where he is stripped down and tied to a treatment table. Jim appears at his side and warns him that he must keep sober no matter what, even if that means staying away from Kirsten.
Joe finally gets sober, becomes a responsible father to Debbie, and holds down a steady job. He tries to make amends to his father-in-law by offering him payment for past debts and wrongs, but Arnesen accuses him of being indirectly responsible for Kirsten's alcoholism. After calming down, Arnesen says that Kirsten has been disappearing for long stretches of time and is picking up strangers in bars.
One night, after Debbie is asleep, Kirsten, shakily sober for two days, comes to Joe's apartment to attempt a reconciliation. Joe replies that she is welcome back anytime, but only if she stops drinking. Kirsten refuses to admit she is an alcoholic and acknowledges why she can't stop: "The world looks so dirty to me when I'm not drinking". She tries to persuade Joe to forget the past and reunite with her. He tells her he won't abandon sobriety for anything, not even her. If she wants to grab on, grab on, but there is no room for booze. Kirsten sadly suggests Joe give up on her. “Not yet,” he says.