War bonds (sometimes referred to as victory bonds , particularly in propaganda ) are debt securities issued by a government to finance military operations and other expenditure in times of war without raising taxes to an unpopular level. They are also a means to control inflation by removing money from circulation in a stimulated wartime economy . War bonds are either retail bonds marketed directly to the public or wholesale bonds traded on a stock market. Exhortations to buy war bonds have often been accompanied by appeals to patriotism and conscience. Retail war bonds, like other retail bonds, tend to have a yield which is below that offered by the market and are often made available in a wide range of denominations to make them affordable for all citizens.
141-683: Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film leading man began in 1935, but his most renowned role was in Billy Wilder 's film noir Double Indemnity . From 1959 to 1973, MacMurray appeared in numerous Disney films, including The Shaggy Dog , The Absent-Minded Professor , Follow Me, Boys! , and The Happiest Millionaire . He starred as Steve Douglas in
282-508: A tragic heroine in film melodramas ), and was popularly and critically acclaimed. With the byline "Garbo Laughs!", it also took Garbo's career in a new direction. The film marked Wilder's first Academy Award nomination, which he shared with co-writer Charles Brackett (although their collaboration on Bluebeard's Eighth Wife and Midnight had been well received). Wilder co-wrote many of his films with Brackett from 1938 to 1950. Brackett described their collaboration process: "The thing to do
423-541: A "rambunctious kid"; inspired by Buffalo Bill's Wild West Shows , which she saw while living briefly in New York, she nicknamed him "Billie", which he changed to "Billy" upon moving to America. Wilder's elder brother, W. Lee Wilder , was also a filmmaker. His parents had a successful cake shop in Sucha's train station that flourished into a chain of railroad cafes. Eugenia and Max Wilder did not persuade their son to join
564-400: A 1954 interview that "June had a serious operation after she fell at Fox Studios a couple of years ago...and she's not sure if she will be able to have children". As a result of Haver's inability to conceive, in 1956 they adopted fraternal twins, Laurie Ann and Katie Marie, "right out of the incubator". Haver curtailed her Hollywood career after marrying MacMurray, with one final appearance on
705-878: A Crowd (1930–31) with Fred Allen , Clifton Webb and Libby Holman , resulting in a move to New York City from California. MacMurray was offered a role in the production, leading to a further casting in the musical Roberta alongside Sydney Greenstreet and Bob Hope (1933–34). MacMurray signed with Paramount Pictures in 1934. In the 1930s, MacMurray worked with film directors Billy Wilder and Preston Sturges , and actors Barbara Stanwyck , Henry Fonda , Humphrey Bogart , Marlene Dietrich , and in seven films, Claudette Colbert , beginning with The Gilded Lily . He co-starred with Katharine Hepburn in Alice Adams , with Joan Crawford in Above Suspicion , and with Carole Lombard in four productions: Hands Across
846-606: A bond purchase. The name of the bonds was eventually changed to War Bonds after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, which resulted in the United States entering the war. The War Finance Committee was placed in charge of supervising the sale of all bonds, and the War Advertising Council promoted voluntary compliance with bond buying. Popular contemporary art was used to help promote
987-406: A central cross-dressing theme. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis played musicians disguised as women to escape pursuit by a Chicago gang. Curtis's character courts a singer (Monroe), while Lemmon is wooed by Joe E. Brown – setting up the film's final joke in which Lemmon reveals that his character is a man and Brown blandly replies "Well, nobody's perfect". A box office success, the film
1128-426: A conflict at the beginning of warfare can obtain cheap financing. As the conflict develops, bond yields increase but only to a certain level. Once a certain threshold is exceeded, there is no increase in the yield. The phenomenon was explained by the clientele effect, i.e., the differentiation of groups that purchase financial instruments. The first issuances of war bonds are mainly covered by investors seeking profit and
1269-654: A family man and that's about it". He joined a long list of other Hollywood stars as a member of the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League , which was organized by the Communist Party of the USA in 1936. MacMurray appeared on stage along with other conservative luminaries stumping for Thomas Dewey in the 1944 Presidential election , and he supported Ronald Reagan for Governor of California in 1966. A lifelong heavy smoker, MacMurray had throat cancer in
1410-444: A five-year term. The smallest bond denomination available was 100 kronen . Hungary issued loans separately from Austria in 1919, after the war and after it had separated from Austria, in the form of stocks that permitted the subscriber to demand repayment after a year's notice. Interest was fixed at 6%, and the smallest denomination was 50 korona . Subscriptions to the first Austrian bond issue amounted to $ 440 million; those of
1551-617: A greedy wife to kill her husband in the film noir classic Double Indemnity . MacMurray stated in 1956 that this was his favorite role, and that it "...proved I could do serious acting". In another turn in the "not so nice" category, MacMurray played the cynical, duplicitous Lieutenant Thomas Keefer in Dmytryk's film The Caine Mutiny . Six years later, MacMurray played Jeff Sheldrake, a two-timing corporate executive in Wilder's Oscar -winning film The Apartment . In 1958, he guest-starred in
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#17327809300031692-738: A long-running, highly rated TV series. Concurrently with it, MacMurray starred in other films, playing Professor Ned Brainard in The Absent-Minded Professor and its sequel Son of Flubber . Using his star-power clout, MacMurray had a provision in his My Three Sons contract that all of his scenes on that series were to be shot in two separate month-long production blocks and filmed first. That condensed performance schedule provided him more free time to pursue his work in films, maintain his ranch in Northern California , and enjoy his favorite leisure activity, golf. Over
1833-405: A party invitation from William Randolph Hearst (via Parsons), as the publisher had already identified another female as MacMurray's date for the event. Parsons refers in a 1947 column that she and MacMurray made amends, "...we let our hair down about a lot of things...principally a misunderstanding that marred a long friendship, and then and there cleaned up all our grievances", possibly alluding to
1974-434: A percentage of gross of the films in which he starred. In 1945, along with former actor Leslie Fenton , MacMurray formed a production company, entitled "Mutual Pictures". With this production company the pair made one film Pardon My Past , a moderate success. A 1977 profile dispelled the myth of MacMurray's wealth, reporting that if he "...sold everything I'd be worth maybe $ 3 million to $ 4 million. Maybe". He states that
2115-538: A reclusive silent film actress ( Gloria Swanson ), who dreams of a comeback with delusions of her greatness from a bygone era. She accompanies an aspiring screenwriter ( William Holden ), who becomes her gigolo partner. This critically acclaimed film was the final film Wilder collaborated with Brackett. The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards; together Wilder and Brackett won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay . In 1951, Wilder directed Ace in
2256-678: A record until 1997 when Woody Allen received a 13th nomination for Deconstructing Harry . In 2017, Vulture.com named Wilder the greatest screenwriter of all time. He directed fourteen actors in Oscar-nominated performances. Wilder's epitaph, a paraphrase of the last line of Some Like It Hot , is "I'm a writer but then nobody's perfect." Wilder received twenty-one nominations at the Academy Awards , winning six. In total, he received twelve nominations for his screenwriting, eight for his direction, and one for producing. He won both
2397-599: A screenwriter while living in Berlin. The rise of the Nazi Party and antisemitism in Germany saw him move to Paris. He then moved to Hollywood in 1934, and had a major hit when he, Charles Brackett and Walter Reisch wrote the screenplay for the Academy Award -nominated film Ninotchka (1939). Wilder established his directorial reputation and received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director with
2538-555: A trip to a drugstore. They publicly announced their wedding date for the first week of August 1954; however, they actually wed over a month early on June 28 to the surprise of friends and the press. With the help of friend Ray Cardillo, a travel agency owner, the ceremony was held at the Ojai Valley Inn . They honeymooned in Jackson Hole, Wyoming while MacMurray finished working on The Far Horizons . MacMurray stated in
2679-474: A vote by show of hands. Only John Huston and Wilder opposed. Huston said, "I am sure it was one of the bravest things that Billy, as a naturalized German, had ever done. There were 150 to 200 directors at this meeting, and here Billy and I sat alone with our hands raised in protest against the loyalty oath." Wilder was not affected by the Hollywood blacklist. Of the blacklisted ' Hollywood Ten ' he said, "Of
2820-529: Is Wilder's casting of Fred MacMurray in Double Indemnity and The Apartment . MacMurray had become Hollywood's highest-paid actor portraying a decent, thoughtful character in light comedies, melodramas, and musicals; Wilder cast him as a womanizing schemer. Humphrey Bogart shed his tough-guy image to give one of his warmest performances in Sabrina . James Cagney , not usually known for comedy,
2961-490: Is a fast-paced, high-pitched, hard-hitting, lighthearted farce crammed with topical gags and spiced with satirical overtones. Story is so furiously quick-witted that some of its wit gets snarled and smothered in overlap." It was followed by the romantic comedy Irma la Douce (1963) starring Lemmon and MacLaine. The film was the fifth highest-grossing film of the year. Wilder received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for his screenplay. Wilder then wrote and directed
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#17327809300033102-544: Is reportedly why MacMurray and Lamont adopted two children. In 1940, their daughter Susan joined the family, with formal adoption completed in 1942. Four years later they adopted one-and-a-half year-old Robert. Later in his son's life, the father and son would drift apart, with MacMurray lamenting that Robert went "the hippie route via the South Seas to 'find himself'". After struggling with physical health issues for most of her life, her condition deteriorated even further in
3243-648: The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the Ukrainian government announced it would issue war bonds to pay its armed forces. Between March and May 2022, around $ 270 million equivalent of bonds were sold, maturing in one year and yielding 11 percent. The bonds were sold in small units of 1,000 hryvnias , with over 70,000 buyers. On 28 October 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Canada announced that they would sell government-backed, 5-year bonds to raise money for Ukraine. Canada completed issuing C$ 500 million of
3384-1005: The AFI Life Achievement Award in 1986, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1990, the National Medal of Arts in 1993 and the BAFTA Fellowship Award in 1995. He also received the Directors Guild of America 's Lifetime Achievement Award, the Laurel Award for Screenwriting Achievement and the Producers Guild of America 's Lifetime Achievement Award. Seven of his films are preserved in the United States National Film Registry of
3525-665: The Academy Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for both The Lost Weekend (1945) and The Apartment (1960). The former was awarded the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film at the Cannes Film Festival , and the latter also won him the BAFTA Award for Best Film . Wilder garnered eight Directors Guild of America Award nominations, with the sole win for his work on The Apartment . He received seven nominations at
3666-575: The Bryson Apartment Hotel in the Westlake, Los Angeles neighborhood for $ 600,000, using profits from Double Indemnity , and was a co-owner of three other apartment buildings. The actor was cautious with his finances, which went hand-in-hand with his sedate lifestyle. The majority of his earnings were used for investments, (including a knitting mill, co-owner of a golf-and-tennis club and a cold-storage business). MacMurray insisted upon
3807-737: The Golden Globe Awards , winning Best Director for The Lost Weekend and Sunset Boulevard (1950). He won seven Writers Guild of America Awards including two Laurel Awards for Screenwriting Achievement . He garnered a number of lifetime achievement awards including the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award , the BAFTA Fellowship , the David O. Selznick Achievement Award in Theatrical Motion Pictures , and
3948-517: The Holocaust . He praised Steven Spielberg's adaptation, Schindler's List . To those who denied the Holocaust , Wilder wrote in a German newspaper, "If the concentration camps and the gas chambers were all imaginary, then please tell me—where is my mother?" Wilder's directorial choices reflected his belief in the primacy of writing. He avoided, especially in the second half of his career,
4089-434: The Holocaust . For decades it was assumed that it happened at Auschwitz Concentration Camp , but while researching Polish and Israeli archives, his Austrian biographer Andreas Hutter discovered in 2011 that they were murdered in different locations: his mother, Eugenia "Gitla" Siedlisker, in 1943 at Plaszow ; his stepfather, Bernard "Berl" Siedlisker, in 1942 at Belzec ; and his grandmother, Balbina Baldinger, died in 1943 in
4230-704: The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). He co-created the Committee for the First Amendment , of 500 Hollywood personalities and stars to "support those professionals called upon to testify before the HUAC who had classified themselves as hostile with regard to the interrogations and the interrogators". Some anti-Communists wanted those in the cinema industry to take oaths of allegiance. The Screen Directors Guild had
4371-872: The Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". Samuel Wilder ( Yiddish : שמואל װילדער Shmuel Vilder ) was born on June 22, 1906, to a Jewish family in Sucha , a small town in Galicia, present-day Poland, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire . Years later in Hollywood, he would describe it as being "Half an hour from Vienna. By telegraph." His parents were Eugenia ( née Dittler), from Zakopane , and Max Wilder, from Stanislawczyk ; they met in Kraków where Billy spent his early years. His mother described him as
Fred MacMurray - Misplaced Pages Continue
4512-480: The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour in 1958 as herself. She stated that she had no desire to act further, "I lost it all [desire]. I'm remaining a private citizen and will stay at home and work...it has been supplanted by something better. Now that I have four children in the family I have a lot to keep me busy". MacMurray did not believe that it was his place to keep Haver from acting, stating "...I'd hate to be
4653-594: The Marx Brothers , he leads the list of films on the American Film Institute 's AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs and he earned the top spot on it with Some Like It Hot . Also on the list are The Apartment and The Seven Year Itch , which he directed, and Ball of Fire and Ninotchka , which he co-wrote. The AFI listed Double Indemnity , Sunset Boulevard , Some Like It Hot and The Apartment on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies . Wilder
4794-687: The Palme d'Or , and four Academy Awards including for Best Picture . Wilder earned the Oscars for Best Director and Best Screenplay and Milland won Best Actor . The film remained to be one of the three films, winning both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d' Or, alongside Marty and Parasite . In 1950, Wilder co-wrote and directed the cynical noir comedy film Sunset Boulevard . It follows
4935-536: The Red Scare in Hollywood , the actor noted "I suppose there really are some Reds in Hollywood...but don't you think that actually some of the people...get that reputation because they talk too much about things they don't understand? I don't think an actor has any business to discuss politics unless he is an authority..." He is further quoted "...just because I happen to be an actor I shouldn't get up and say 'vote for this man', knowing as little as I know about him...I'm
5076-564: The film noir Double Indemnity (1944), based on the novel by James M. Cain with a screenplay by Wilder and Raymond Chandler . Wilder won the Best Director and Best Screenplay Academy Awards for The Lost Weekend (1945), which also won the Academy Award for Best Picture . In the 1950s, Wilder directed and co-wrote a string of critically acclaimed films, including the Hollywood drama Sunset Boulevard (1950), for which he won his second screenplay Academy Award; Ace in
5217-406: The film noir Double Indemnity , starring Fred MacMurray , Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson , was a major hit. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay and Actress; Wilder co-wrote it with Raymond Chandler . The film not only set conventions for the noir genre (such as "venetian blind" lighting and voice-over narration), but is a landmark in
5358-666: The 1930 film People on Sunday . Eschewing the German Expressionist styles of F. W. Murnau and Fritz Lang , People on Sunday was considered as a groundbreaking example of the Neue Sachlichkeit or New Objectivity movement in German cinema. Furthermore, this genre of Strassenfilm ("street film") paved way to the birth of Italian neorealism and the French New Wave . He wrote the screenplay for
5499-906: The 1931 film adaptation of a novel by Erich Kästner , Emil and the Detectives , also screenplays for the comedy The Man in Search of His Murderer (1931), the operetta Her Grace Commands (1931) and the comedy A Blonde Dream (1932), all of them produced in the Babelsberg Studios in Potsdam near Berlin. In 1932 Wilder collaborated with the writer and journalist Felix Salten on the screenplay for "Scampolo". After Adolf Hitler's rise to power , Wilder went to Paris, where he made his directorial debut film Mauvaise Graine (1934). He relocated to Hollywood prior to its release. Wilder's mother, grandmother and stepfather were all victims of
5640-415: The 43rd best movie ever made, and the second-highest-ranking comedy. In 1960, Wilder directed the comedy romance film The Apartment . It follows an insurance clerk (Lemmon), who allows his coworkers to use his apartment to conduct extramarital affairs until he meets an elevator woman ( Shirley MacLaine ). The film was a critical success with The New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther , who called
5781-487: The 5% War Loan, offering a choice of taking cash or continuing the loan at 3.5%. Although they were obliged to give 90 days' notice of such a change, a 1% tax-free cash bonus was offered to holders who acted by 31 July. This conversion saved the government about £23 million net per year. On 3 December 2014 the UK Government announced it would redeem the outstanding war loans on 9 March 2015. In 1917 and 1918,
Fred MacMurray - Misplaced Pages Continue
5922-507: The Best Actor Academy Award, romantic comedy Sabrina , for which Audrey Hepburn was nominated for Best Actress, and romantic comedy The Seven Year Itch , which features the iconic image of Marilyn Monroe standing on a subway grate as her white dress is blown upwards by a passing train. Wilder was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director for the first two films and shared a nomination for Best Screenplay for
6063-729: The Chicago Art Institute in the evenings. In 1928, MacMurray chauffeured his mother to Los Angeles for her health and to visit family. While there he found work as an extra and continued playing the saxophone with the California Collegians, a vaudeville group that was formed out of the pit orchestra at the Warner Brothers Hollywood Theatre . His extra work was earning him $ 10 a day. The band was hired to appear on Broadway in Three's
6204-530: The Collegians in 1934, and they quickly became an item. Despite the budding romance he left New York and returned to Hollywood in efforts to continue his career. It was reported that upon his return he spurned a matchmaking attempt by gossip columnist Louella Parsons . Accounts vary, with some reporting that Parsons was angry over MacMurray's refusal of her efforts, leading Parsons to attempt to derail his career. Other sources indicate that MacMurray turned down
6345-523: The Egyptian queen wrapped à la Christo , or splattered à la Jackson Pollock , or sporting a Campbell's soup can in homage to Andy Warhol . Wilder married Judith Coppicus on December 22, 1936. The couple had twins, Victoria and Vincent (born 1939), but Vincent died shortly after birth. They divorced in 1946. Wilder met Audrey Young while filming The Lost Weekend . They were married on June 30, 1949. Wilder died of pneumonia on March 27, 2002. He
6486-556: The Finance Department in exchange for promissory notes. Through this strategy, 40 million bank and investment accounts were quietly converted into war bonds, providing the Reich government with a continuous supply of money. Likewise, German bank commissioners compelled occupied Czechoslovakia to buy up German war bonds. By the end of the war, German war bonds accounted for 70% of investments held by Czechoslovakian banks. In
6627-956: The Hole (1951), Stalag 17 (1953) and Sabrina (1954). Wilder directed and co-wrote three films in 1957: The Spirit of St. Louis , Love in the Afternoon and Witness for the Prosecution . During this period, Wilder also directed Marilyn Monroe in two films, The Seven Year Itch (1955) and Some Like It Hot (1959). In 1960, Wilder co-wrote, directed and produced the critically acclaimed film The Apartment . It won Wilder Academy Awards for Best Picture , Best Director and Best Original Screenplay . Other notable films Wilder directed include One, Two, Three (1961), Irma la Douce (1963), Kiss Me, Stupid (1964), The Fortune Cookie (1966) and Avanti! (1972). Wilder received various honors for his distinguished career including
6768-494: The Hole (a.k.a. The Big Carnival ) starring Kirk Douglas in a tale of media exploitation of a caving accident. The idea had been pitched over the phone to Wilder's secretary by Victor Desny . Desny sued Wilder for breach of an implied contract in the California copyright case Wilder v Desny , ultimately receiving a settlement of $ 14,350. Although a critical and commercial failure at the time, its reputation has grown over
6909-406: The Hollywood community. They hosted parties, both large and small, for friends. They were close with Clark Gable and Carole Lombard , often having Sunday afternoon BBQs with each other. At the larger gatherings, Lombard proved to be the source of entertainment for the assembled guests with her antics and off-color language. Lamont was often in poor health, including kidney and heart problems. This
7050-591: The Honorary Golden Bear from the Berlin International Film Festival . War bond Governments throughout history have needed to borrow money to fight wars. Traditionally they dealt with a small group of rich financiers such as Jakob Fugger and Nathan Rothschild , but no particular distinction was made between debt incurred in war or peace. An early use of the term "war bond" was for the $ 11 million raised by
7191-747: The Prosecution , Elsa Lanchester in Witness for the Prosecution , Jack Lemmon in Some Like It Hot and The Apartment , Jack Kruschen in The Apartment , Shirley MacLaine in The Apartment and Irma la Douce and Walter Matthau in The Fortune Cookie . Wilder mentored Lemmon, and was the first director to pair him and Matthau in The Fortune Cookie . Wilder and Lemmon worked on seven films. Wilder opposed
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#17327809300037332-495: The Prosecution , featuring Tyrone Power , Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton . Wilder received an Academy Award nomination for Best Director for the last film. In 1959, Wilder reunited with Monroe in the United Artists released Prohibition-era farce film Some Like It Hot . It was released, however, without a Production Code seal of approval, which was withheld due to the film's unabashed sexual comedy, including
7473-523: The Table , The Princess Comes Across , Swing High, Swing Low and True Confession . Usually cast in light comedies as a decent, thoughtful character ( The Trail of the Lonesome Pine ), and in melodramas and musicals, MacMurray became one of the film industry's highest-paid actors of the period. In 1943, his annual salary had reached $ 420,000, making him the highest-paid actor in Hollywood and
7614-440: The Treasury issued £300 million (equivalent to £25.1 billion in 2013) of paper banknotes, without the backing of gold, with which the banks could repay their obligations. Leading banker Walter Leaf described these Treasury notes as "essentially a War Loan free of interest, for an unlimited period, and as such was a highly profitable expedient from the point of view of the Government". The first interest-bearing War Loan
7755-442: The US Congress in an Act of 14 March 1812, to fund the War of 1812 , but this was not aimed at the general public. Until July 2015, perhaps the oldest bonds still outstanding as a result of war were the British Consols , some of which were the result of the refinancing of incurring debts during the Napoleonic Wars, but these were redeemed following the passing of the Finance Act 2015 . The government of Austria-Hungary knew from
7896-421: The United Kingdom, the National Savings Movement was instrumental in raising funds for the war effort during both world wars. During World War II a War Savings Campaign was set up by the War Office to support the war effort. Local savings weeks were held which were promoted with posters with titles such as "Lend to Defend the Right to Be Free", "Save Your Way to Victory" and "War Savings Are Warships". By
8037-460: The United Kingdom. Approximately half of the Canadian war cost was covered by War Savings Certificates and war bonds known as "Victory Bonds" as in World War I. War Savings Certificates began selling in May 1940 and were sold door-to-door by volunteers as well as at banks, post offices, trust companies and other authorised dealers. The certificates matured after seven years, providing a return of $ 5 for every $ 4 invested. Initially, individual ownership
8178-424: The United States during World War II, primarily to members of the historic peace churches as an alternative for those who could not conscientiously buy something meant to support the war. These were U.S. Government Bonds not labelled as defense bonds. In all, 33,006 subscriptions were sold for a total value of $ 6.74 million, mostly to Mennonites , Brethren , and Quakers . Research has shown that parties to
8319-757: The United States government issued Liberty Bonds to raise money for its involvement in World War 1. An aggressive campaign was created by Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo to popularize the bonds, grounded largely as patriotic appeals. The Treasury Department worked closely with the Committee on Public Information in developing Liberty Bond campaigns. The resulting propaganda messages often borrowed heavily from military colloquial speech. The government used famous artists to make posters and used movie and stage stars to host bond rallies. Al Jolson , Ethel Barrymore , Marie Dressler , Elsie Janis , Theda Bara , Fatty Arbuckle , Mabel Normand , Mary Pickford , Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin were among
8460-431: The United States government paid the bondholder $ 25. Large denominations of between $ 50 and $ 1000 were also made available, all of which, unlike the Liberty Bonds of the First World War, were non-negotiable bonds. For those who found it difficult to purchase an entire bond at once, 10-cent savings stamps could be purchased and collected in Treasury-approved stamp albums until the recipient had accumulated enough stamps for
8601-546: The War Savings Certificates, there was no purchase limit to Victory Bonds. The bonds were issued with maturities of between six and fourteen years with interest rates ranging from 1.5% for short-term bonds and 3% for long-term bonds and were issued in denominations of between $ 50 and $ 100,000. Canadians bought $ 12.5 billion worth of Victory Bonds or some $ 550 per capita with businesses accounting for half of all Victory Bond sales. The first Victory Bond issue in February 1940 met its goal of $ 20 million in less than 48 hours,
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#17327809300038742-481: The aid of Peter Odegard , a political scientist specialised in propaganda, in drawing up the goals for the bond program. On the advice of Odegard the Treasury began marketing the previously successful baby bonds as "defense bonds". Three new series of bond notes, Series E, F and G, would be introduced, of which Series E would be targeted at individuals as "defense bonds". Like the baby bonds, they were sold for as little as $ 18.75 and matured in ten years, at which time
8883-503: The battle against Hollywood censorship. Based on James M. Cain 's novel, it featured two love triangles and a murder plotted for insurance money. While the book was popular with the reading public, it had been considered unfilmable under the Hays Code because adultery was central to the plot. In 1945, the Psychological Warfare Department of the United States Department of War produced an American documentary film directed by Wilder. The film known as Death Mills , or Die Todesmühlen ,
9024-444: The bonds such as Any Bonds Today? , a 1942 Warner Bros. theatrical cartoon. More than a quarter of a billion dollars' worth of advertising was donated during the first three years of the National Defense Savings Program. The government appealed to the public through popular culture. Norman Rockwell 's painting series, the Four Freedoms , toured in a war bond effort that raised $ 132 million. Bond rallies were held throughout
9165-422: The celebrities who made public appearances promoting the patriotic element of purchasing Liberty Bonds. Chaplin also made a short film, The Bond , at his own expense for the drive. Even the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts sold bonds under the slogan "Every Scout to Save a Soldier". The campaign spurred community efforts across the country to sell the bonds and was a great success resulting in over-subscriptions to
9306-439: The characters seriously, or at least as seriously as the material allowed, and got a lot of the laughs by playing scenes straight." For Stalag 17 , Wilder squeezed an Oscar-winning performance out of a reluctant William Holden (Holden had wanted to make his character more likable; Wilder refused). At a casting meeting, Wilder reportedly said, "I'm tired of clichéd typecasting—the same people in every film." An example of this
9447-592: The columnist's attempts at career sabotage. In 1934, the couple announced the news that they were in a "test engagement", stating that they "want to be sure before we make any official announcement" that "...their personalities were the type which could pull in a double harness while they followed their careers". By late spring of 1936, the couple decided to make it official. Late on the night of June 19, 1936, MacMurray, Lamont and MacMurray's mother traveled by plane to Las Vegas to be married. The trip - and marriage - were kept secret from friends and studio officials, who spent
9588-461: The country with famous celebrities, usually Hollywood film stars, to enhance the bond advertising effectiveness. Many motion pictures during the time, especially war dramas (a form of propaganda itself), included a graphic shown during the closing credits advising patrons to "Buy War Bonds and Stamps", which were sometimes sold in the lobby of the theater. The Music Publishers Protective Association encouraged its members to include patriotic messages on
9729-407: The day after and told him: "Fernando, it's God." French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius thanked Billy Wilder in the 2012 Best Picture Oscar acceptance speech for The Artist : "I would like to thank the following three people, I would like to thank Billy Wilder, I would like to thank Billy Wilder, and I would like to thank Billy Wilder." Wilder's 12 Academy Award nominations for screenwriting were
9870-451: The day of the 20th trying to locate the actor. The newlyweds and family returned to Hollywood on a plane that same day. In 1945, they moved into a 10-room, two-story Colonial house in Brentwood. Neighbors (and friends) included Jimmy Stewart and Henry Fonda . Joan Crawford described the couple as having "one of the few happy and well-adjusted marriages". While they were known to be homebodies and family-oriented, they were also social within
10011-444: The early '90s, Wilder had amassed many plastic-artistic constructions, many of which were made in collaboration with artist Bruce Houston. In 1993, art dealer Louis Stern , a longtime friend, helped organize an exhibition of Wilder's work at his Beverly Hills gallery. The exhibition was titled Billy Wilder's Marché aux Puces and the Variations on the Theme of Queen Nefertete segment was notably popular. This series featured busts of
10152-480: The early 1950s, Haver was grieving the sudden death of her fiancé Dr. John Duzik in 1949. In part because of her grief, Haver had considered a life as a nun. A life-long devout Catholic, she met with Pope Pius XII in 1951 and decided to follow her faith and join a convent. She realized after eight months that the convent life was not for her. In 1953, at a " Gay Nineties " party thrown by pal John Wayne , Haver and MacMurray met socially. Both had been reluctant to attend
10293-615: The early 1950s. She eventually succumbed to kidney and heart issues in June 1953, shortly after the couple's 17th wedding anniversary. In a 2006 interview between a MacMurray biographer and Lamont's cousin, the family states that she suffered from bulimia. This may have stemmed from her days as a model and contributed to her other health issues. MacMurray first met actress June Haver when they starred in Where Do We Go From Here in 1945, although they had little interaction. By
10434-654: The early days of the First World War that it could not count on advances from its principal banking institutions to meet the growing costs of the war. Instead, it implemented a war finance policy modeled upon that of Germany: in November 1914, the first funded loan was issued. As in Germany, the Austro-Hungarian loans followed a prearranged plan and were issued at half yearly intervals every November and May. The first Austrian bonds paid 5% interest and had
10575-460: The exuberant cinematography of Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles because, in Wilder's opinion, shots that called attention to themselves would distract the audience from the story. Wilder's films have tight plotting and memorable dialogue. Despite his conservative directorial style, his subject matter often pushed the boundaries of mainstream entertainment. Once a subject was chosen, he would begin to visualize in terms of specific artists. His belief
10716-536: The family business. Max moved to Kraków to manage a hotel before moving to Vienna and dying when Billy was 22 years old. After the family moved to Vienna, Wilder became a journalist instead of attending the University of Vienna . In 1926, jazz band leader Paul Whiteman was on tour in Vienna where he was interviewed by Wilder. Whiteman liked young Wilder enough that he took him with the band to Berlin , where Wilder
10857-481: The film "gleeful, tender, and even sentimental" and Wilder's direction "ingenious". The film received ten Academy Awards nominations and won five awards, including three for Wilder: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Wilder directed the Cold War political farce film One, Two, Three (1961), starring James Cagney , which won critical praise with Variety writing, "Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three
10998-519: The film "pitifully unfunny". Wilder gained his final Academy Award nomination and a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for the screenplay of The Fortune Cookie . It was the first film pairing Jack Lemmon with Walter Matthau . (The film was titled Meet Whiplash Willie in the United Kingdom.) In 1970, he directed The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes , which was intended as a major roadshow theatrical release , but to Wilder's dismay
11139-427: The first Hungarian issue amounted to $ 235 million. The limited financial resources of children were tapped through campaigns in schools. The initial minimum Austrian bond denomination of 100 kronen still exceeded the means of most children, so the third bond issue, in 1915, introduced a scheme whereby children could donate a small amount and take out a bank loan to cover the rest of the 100 kronen. The initiative
11280-538: The form of treasury bills and exchequer bonds during World War I. Treasury bills provided the bulk of British government funds in 1916, and were available for terms of 3, 6, 9 and 12 months at an interest rate of 5%. Although these were not formally designated as war bonds, advertising was explicit about their purpose. This April 1916 advertisement for 5% Exchequer bonds was typical of the time: "Lend Your Money to Your Country. The soldier does not grudge offering his life to his country. He offers it freely, for his life may be
11421-419: The fourth campaign of November 1917 was the term Victory Loan applied. The First Victory Loan was a 5.5% issue of 5, 10 and 20 year gold bonds in denominations as small as $ 50. It was quickly oversubscribed, collecting $ 398 million or about $ 50 per capita. The Second and Third Victory Loans were floated in 1918 and 1919, bringing another $ 1.34 billion. For those who could not afford to buy Victory Bonds,
11562-525: The fourth-highest-paid person in the nation. MacMurray did not serve in the military during the Second World War , instead working to sell war bonds and as an air-raid warden in his Brentwood neighborhood. The movies that he did produce during this period were mostly considered to be "morale-boosters" rather than outright "war pictures" that some of his contemporaries were churning out. In 1944, his earnings increased to $ 439,000, making him again
11703-591: The front of their sheet music like "Buy U.S. Bonds and Stamps". Over the course of the war 85 million Americans purchased bonds totalling approximately $ 185 billion. Named after the 1942 Hollywood Victory Caravan , a 1945 Paramount-produced film promoted bond sales after the end of World War II. The short subject included Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Alan Ladd, William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn , Barbara Stanwyck, Humphrey Bogart, and others. Aside from movies and music, there were countless other programs held throughout
11844-613: The general populace to buy long-term war bonds as had been done during the First World War. The Reich government did not want to present any perceived form of public referendum on the war, which would be the indirect result if a bond drive did poorly. Rather, the regime financed its war efforts by borrowing directly from financial institutions, using short-term war bonds as collateral. German bankers, with no demonstration of resistance, agreed to taking state bonds into their portfolios. Financial institutions transferred their money to
11985-668: The ghetto in Nowy Targ . After arriving in Hollywood in 1934, Wilder continued working as a screenwriter. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1939, having spent time in Mexico waiting for the government after his six-month card expired in 1934, an episode reflected in his 1941 Hold Back the Dawn . Wilder's first significant success was Ninotchka , a collaboration with fellow German immigrant Ernst Lubitsch . The romantic comedy starred Greta Garbo (generally known as
12126-733: The gold reserves of the Bank of England, and effectively of all banking institutions in Great Britain, amounted to £9 million. The banks feared the declaration of war would trigger a run on the banks, so the Chancellor David Lloyd George extended the August bank holiday for three days to allow time for the passing of the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1914 , by which Britain left the gold standard . Under this Act
12267-485: The government also issued War Savings Certificates. The government awarded communities who bought large amounts of bonds Victory Loan Honour Flags. Unlike France and Britain, at the outbreak of the First World War Germany found itself largely excluded from international financial markets. This became most apparent after an attempt to float a major loan on Wall Street failed in 1914. As such, Germany
12408-501: The highest paid actor. During the production of the 1947 film The Egg and I , the hens appearing in the movie laid over 300 eggs. MacMurray and costar Claudette Colbert autographed one egg each in fifty cartons. The eggs were sold at a local farmers market and profits were donated to the Braille Institute of America . Having starred in many episodes of Lux Radio Theatre in the late 1930s and 1940s, MacMurray returned to
12549-644: The late 1970s, and it recurred in 1987. He had a severe stroke in December 1988 that paralyzed his right side and affected his speech. With therapy, he made a 90 percent recovery. After suffering from leukemia for more than a decade, MacMurray died of pneumonia on November 5, 1991, in Santa Monica, California . In 1939, artist C. C. Beck used MacMurray as the initial model for the superhero character who became Fawcett Comics ' Captain Marvel . MacMurray
12690-479: The lexicon of moviegoing" and that Some Like It Hot is a "national treasure." Roger Ebert asked, "Of all the great directors of Hollywood's golden age, has anybody made more films that are as fresh and entertaining to this day as Billy Wilder's?...And who else can field three contenders among the greatest closing lines of all time?", citing the closing lines of Sunset Boulevard , Some Like it Hot , and The Apartment . Ron Shelton recalls encountering Wilder: I
12831-478: The medium in 1952. He featured in Bright Star , along with Irene Dunne , in which he portrayed a reporter for a local newspaper. Despite being typecast as a "nice guy", MacMurray often said his best roles were when he was cast against type, such as under the direction of Billy Wilder and Edward Dmytryk . Perhaps his best known "bad guy" performance was that of Walter Neff, an insurance salesman who plots with
12972-401: The mid-80s, "It's a sickness. I don't know how to stop myself. Call it bulimia if you want – or curiosity or passion. I have some Impressionists , some Picassos from every period, some mobiles by Calder . I also collect tiny Japanese trees, glass paperweights, and Chinese vases. Name an object and I collect it." Wilder's artistic ambitions led him to create a series of works of his own. By
13113-412: The more honed direction the committee developed strategies, propaganda and the wide recruitment of volunteers for bonds drives. Bond drives took place every six months during which no other organization was permitted to solicit the public for money. The government spent over $ 3 million on marketing which employed posters, direct mailing, movie trailers (including some by Walt Disney in cooperation with
13254-530: The myth of his wealth being in league with Doris Duke and the Aga Khan ($ 75 to $ 100 million range) stemmed from his life-long frugality. MacMurray was married twice, first to Lillian "Lily" Lamont (legal name Lilian Wehmhoener MacMurray, born 1908) and after her death, actress June Haver . Lamont and MacMurray met during the production of Roberta while in New York City while he was performing with
13395-513: The name " Franco ". Wilder received the American Film Institute (AFI) Life Achievement Award in 1986. He received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 1988, the Kennedy Center Honors in 1990 and the National Medal of Arts in 1993. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . Wilder became well known for owning one of the finest and most extensive art collections in Hollywood, mainly collecting modern art. As he described it in
13536-465: The new coalition government . The third War Loan was launched in January 1917 at a 5% discount to face value and paying 5% interest (or 4% tax-free for 25 years), a rate Lloyd George described as "penal". Holders of existing War Loans, Treasury Bills and War Expenditure Certificates could convert to the 5% issue. Of the £2.08 billion raised by the 5% War Loan, only £845 million was new money;
13677-503: The new rate. In his memoirs Lloyd George stated his regret that his successor Reginald McKenna increased the interest rate at a time when investors had few alternatives. Not only did it directly increase the nation's annual interest payments by £100 million but it meant interest rates were higher throughout the economy during the post-war depression . Compared to France, the British government relied more on short-term financing in
13818-551: The newly established National Film Board of Canada 's animation department that the former partner helped establish), radio commercials and full page advertisements in most major daily newspapers and weekly magazines. Realistic staged military invasions, such as the If Day scenario in Winnipeg , Manitoba , were even employed to raise awareness and shock citizens into purchasing bonds. The Nazi regime never attempted to convince
13959-481: The one to keep her off the screen...the decision is up to her. I'd rather have her at home, but if she wants to make a picture, it's okay with me". Much like his marriage to Lamont, this union was by all accounts stable and happy. They remained married until MacMurray's death in 1991. Like many Hollywood contemporaries, MacMurray was a Republican politically, although he was not particularly outspoken about his beliefs. When speaking with columnist Parsons in 1947 about
14100-495: The party; however, they left together and quickly became an item. After the socially acceptable amount of time grieving the death of Lamont, the couple decided to make their relationship official, deciding to marry in 1954. This meant the actress had to renounce her Catholicism due to a previous divorce, having wed musician Jimmy Zito in 1947 before divorcing in 1948. MacMurray purchased actor Red Skelton 's good luck pinky ring as an engagement ring, officially proposing to her after
14241-656: The premiere episode of NBC 's Cimarron City Western series, with George Montgomery and John Smith . MacMurray's career continued upward the following year, when he was cast as the father in the Disney film The Shaggy Dog . In an interview with Hedda Hopper in 1956, MacMurray noted that he had been asked to take on the role of Perry Mason on television. He turned it down, saying "I want to do as little TV work as possible - it's lots of work. I guess I am just lazy". From 1960 to 1972, he starred in My Three Sons ,
14382-556: The price of Victory. But Victory cannot be won without money as well as men, and your money is needed. Unlike the soldier, the investor runs no risk. If you invest in Exchequer Bonds your money, capital and interest alike, is secured on the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom, the premier security of the world." Policy changed when Asquith 's government fell in December 1916 and Bonar Law became Chancellor in
14523-463: The prime investors in the war bonds. In part because of intense public pressure and in part due to patriotic commitment the bond drives proved extremely successful, raising approximately 10 billion marks in funds. Although extremely successful the war bond drives only covered two-thirds of war-related expenditures. Meanwhile, the interest payable on the bonds represented a growing expense which required further resources to pay it. In August 1914,
14664-510: The production. MacMurray was also a prolific businessman, frequently earning over $ 400,000 a year in the 1940s. In 1941, he purchased land in the Russian River Valley in Northern California and established MacMurray Ranch. At the 1,750-acre ranch he raised prize-winning Aberdeen Angus cattle , cultivated prunes, apples, alfalfa and other crops, and enjoyed watercolor painting, fly fishing, and skeet shooting . MacMurray wanted
14805-550: The property's agricultural heritage preserved, so five years after his death, in 1996, it was sold to Gallo , which planted vineyards on it for wines that bear the MacMurray Ranch label. One of MacMurray's children now lives on the property (in a cabin built by her father), and is "actively engaged in Sonoma's thriving wine community, carrying on her family's legacy and the heritage of MacMurray Ranch". In 1944, he purchased
14946-545: The rest was conversions of £820 million of 4.5% Loan, £281 million of Exchequer Bonds and £130 million of Treasury Bills. Labour politician Tom Johnston would later write of the 1917 War Loan "No foreign conqueror could have devised a more complete robbery and enslavement of the British Nation". On 30 June 1932 Neville Chamberlain announced that the Government would exercise its right to call in
15087-549: The risk of inflation. However, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr. preferred a voluntary loan system and began planning a national defense bond program in the fall of 1940. The intent was to unite the attractiveness of the baby bonds that had been implemented in the interwar period with the patriotic element of the Liberty Bonds from the First World War. Henry Morgenthau Jr. sought
15228-662: The second issue in September 1940 reaching its goal of $ 30 million almost as quickly. When it became apparent that the war would last a number of years the war bond and certificate programs were organised more formally under the National War Finance Committee in December 1941, directed initially by the president of the Bank of Montreal and subsequently by the Governor of the Bank of Canada . Under
15369-616: The second, third, and fourth bond issues. According to the Massachusetts Historical Society , "Because the first World War cost the federal government more than $ 30 billion (by way of comparison, total federal expenditures in 1913 were only $ 970 million), these programs became vital as a way to raise funds." Canada's involvement in the Second World War began when Canada declared war on Nazi Germany on September 10, 1939, one week after
15510-815: The second. He was interested in doing a film with one of the classic slapstick comedy acts of the Hollywood Golden Age. He first considered, and rejected, a project to star Laurel and Hardy . He held discussions with Groucho Marx concerning a new Marx Brothers comedy, tentatively titled A Day at the U.N . The project was abandoned after Chico Marx died in 1961. In 1957, three films Wilder directed were released: biopic The Spirit of St. Louis , starring James Stewart as Charles Lindbergh , romantic comedy Love In The Afternoon —Wilder's first screenplay with I. A. L. Diamond , who would become his regular partner—featuring Gary Cooper , Maurice Chevalier and Audrey Hepburn, and courtroom drama Witness for
15651-473: The sex comedy film Kiss Me, Stupid starring Dean Martin , Kim Novak , and Ray Walston , who was a last minute replacement for ailing Peter Sellers . The film was criticized by some critics for vulgarity, with Bosley Crowther blaming the film for giving American movies the reputation of "deliberate and degenerate corruptors of public taste and morals". A. H. Weiler of the New York Times called
15792-694: The so-called "patriotic demand". As the conflict develops, the risk increases, and only patriotic demand persists. In the late 1970s and 1980s South Africa issued Defence Bonus Bonds in order to fund the border wars in Angola and Namibia and to fund the Defence Industry that was necessary due to sanctions. During the Iran-Iraq War , the Iraqi government issued war bonds to finance the war. Each war bond cost 100 dinars. On 1 March 2022, following
15933-575: The state to Beaver Dam , his mother's birthplace. MacMurray attended school in Quincy, Illinois , where he played football and baseball, ran on the track team and worked in a local pea cannery. After graduation, he received a full scholarship to Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin . He played the saxophone in numerous local bands, having picked up the instrument when he was looking to fill his spare time. He continued to play saxophone while attending
16074-654: The states to encourage the purchasing of war bonds. One such promotion that was held, at the least, in Nebraska and Montana, allowed for citizens to "get Hitler's goat," a play on the phrase "to get someone's goat" meaning to make someone angry or annoyed. The goat would be held up for "auction" with the money going directly towards war bonds. According to one source, the auctioning of "Hitler's goat" in Nebraska in 1942 raised $ 90,000 in War Bond sales. The National Service Board for Religious Objectors offered civilian bonds in
16215-690: The summer of 1940, the victories of Nazi Germany against Poland , Denmark , Norway , Belgium , the Netherlands , France , and Luxembourg brought urgency to the government, which was discreetly preparing for possible United States involvement in World War II . Of principal concern were issues surrounding war financing. Many of President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's advisers favored a system of tax increases and enforced savings program as advocated by British economist John Maynard Keynes . In theory, this would permit increased spending while decreasing
16356-485: The television series My Three Sons . Frederick Martin MacMurray was born on August 30, 1908, in Kankakee, Illinois , the son of Maleta ( née Martin) and concert violinist Frederick Talmadge MacMurray, both natives of Wisconsin . His aunt, Fay Holderness , was a vaudeville performer and actress. When MacMurray was an infant, his family moved to Madison, Wisconsin , where his father taught music. They relocated within
16497-459: The ten, two had talent, and the rest were just unfriendly." In general, Wilder disliked formula and genre films. Wilder reveled in poking fun at those who took politics too seriously. In Ball of Fire , his burlesque queen 'Sugarpuss' points at her sore throat and complains "Pink? It's as red as the Daily Worker and just as sore." Later, she gives the overbearing and unsmiling housemaid
16638-626: The years, MacMurray became one of the wealthiest actors in the entertainment industry, primarily from wise real estate investments and from his "notorious frugality". In the early 1970s, MacMurray appeared in commercials for the Greyhound Lines bus company. In 1979, he appeared in a series of commercials for the Korean chisenbop math calculation program. MacMurray's final film was The Swarm , costarring Michael Caine, Olivia de Havilland and Henry Fonda. The actor, semi-retired at this point,
16779-578: The years. The following year, Wilder announced plans to direct and produce a film version of the Sophocles tragedy Oedipus Rex , adapted for the screen by Walter Reisch . They planned to shoot the film on location in Greece in Technicolor , but it never went into production. Subsequently, Wilder directed three adaptations of Broadway plays, war drama Stalag 17 , for which William Holden won
16920-435: Was a significant financial success with low budget. His final films, Fedora and Buddy Buddy , failed to impress critics or the public, although Fedora has since been re-evaluated and is now considered favorably. Wilder had hoped to make Thomas Keneally 's Schindler's Ark as his final film, saying "I wanted to do it as a kind of memorial to my mother and my grandmother and my stepfather," who had all been murdered in
17061-474: Was able to make more connections in entertainment. Before achieving success as a writer, he was a taxi dancer in Berlin. After writing crime and sports stories as a stringer for local newspapers, he was eventually offered a regular job at a Berlin tabloid . Developing an interest in film, he began working as a screenwriter. From 1929 to 1933 he produced twelve German films. He collaborated with several other novices ( Fred Zinnemann and Robert Siodmak ) on
17202-640: Was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. He was born in Sucha Beskidzka , Poland, a town in Austria-Hungary at the time of his birth. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Hollywood cinema . He received seven Academy Awards (among 21 nominations), a BAFTA Award , the Cannes Film Festival 's Palme d'Or and two Golden Globe Awards . Wilder became
17343-530: Was buried at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary . A French newspaper, Le Monde , titled the front-page obituary: "Billy Wilder is dead. Nobody is perfect", a reference to the last line of Some Like It Hot . "Don't be boring". — Billy Wilder Wilder holds a significant place in the history of Hollywood censorship for expanding the range of acceptable subject matter. He directed two of film noir 's definitive films, Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard . Along with Woody Allen and
17484-558: Was called back for one last film by director Irwin Allen entitled Fire! ; however, his diagnosis of cancer of the throat caused him to pull out. Irwin then offered him the small role (for a total of 2 days on set) of a pharmacist in The Swarm . MacMurray told reporters that he didn't "...really miss it. A lot of actors go crazy if they aren't working, but I guess I'm a little lazy." He successfully underwent treatment for his cancer during
17625-558: Was extensive use of propaganda via all possible media. Most bonds had a rate of return of 5% and were redeemable over a ten-year period, in semi-annual payments. Like war bonds in other countries, the German war bonds drives were designed to be extravagant displays of patriotism and the bonds were sold through banks, post offices and other financial institutions. As in other countries, the majority investors were not individuals but institutions and large corporations. Industries, university endowments, local banks and even city governments were
17766-422: Was followed by £901 million of a second War Loan in June 1915, at 4.5%. £17.6 million of this was accounted for by conversion of the 3.5% issue, and a further £138 million by holders of 2.5% and 2.75% Consols , who were also allowed to transfer to the higher interest rate. The government also pledged that if they issued War Loans at even higher interest, holders of the 4.5% bonds might also convert to
17907-466: Was heavily cut by the studio. He directed the comedy film Avanti! , which follows a businessman (Lemmon) attempting to retrieve the body of his deceased father from Italy. Wilder received two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Director and Best Screenplay , and a Writers Guild of America Award nomination. Wilder directed The Front Page based on the Broadway play of the same name. It
18048-401: Was immensely successful, eliciting funds and encouraging loyalty to the state and its future among Austro-Hungarian youth. Over 13 million kronen was collected in the first three "child bond" issues. Canada's involvement in the First World War began in 1914, with Canadian war bonds called "Victory Bonds" after 1917. The first domestic war loan was raised in November 1915, but not until
18189-714: Was in a restaurant about six months after Bull Durham came out. And a man came over and said "Somebody would like to see you." And I looked over and it was Billy Wilder. And I went over and he said, "Great fuckin' picture, kid!" And I thought that was as good a review as you could have." When Belle Époque won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, Spanish filmmaker Fernando Trueba said in his acceptance speech: "I would like to believe in God in order to thank him. But I just believe in Billy Wilder... so thank you, Mr. Wilder." According to Trueba, Wilder called him
18330-531: Was intended for German audiences to educate them about the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. For the German version, Die Todesmühlen , Hanuš Burger is credited as the writer and director, while Wilder supervised the editing. Wilder is credited with the English-language version. Two years later, Wilder adapted from Charles R. Jackson 's novel The Lost Weekend into a film of the same name . It
18471-417: Was issued in November 1914 at an interest rate of 3.5%, to be redeemed at par value in 1925–28. It raised £333 million; £350 million at face value as it was issued at a 5% discount. It was revealed in 2017 that public subscriptions amounted to £91m, and the balance had been subscribed by the Bank of England, under the names of then governor, John Gordon Nairne , and his deputy Ernest Harvey . It
18612-497: Was largely limited to domestic borrowing, which was induced by a series of war credit bills passing the Reichstag . This took place in many forms; however, the most publicised were the public war bond ( Kriegsanleihe ) drives. Nine bond drives were conducted over the length of the war and, as in Austria-Hungary, the loans were issued at six-month intervals. The drives themselves would often last several weeks, during which there
18753-494: Was lightly regarded by film critics during its original release, although it did receive six Academy Award nominations, including for Best Director and Best Screenplay. But its critical reputation grew prodigiously; in 2000, the American Film Institute selected it as the best American comedy ever made. In 2012, the British Film Institute decennial Sight and Sound poll of the world's film critics rated it as
18894-439: Was limited to $ 500 in maturities per year, though this cap was later raised to $ 600. Although the effort raised $ 318 million in funds and was successful in financially involving millions of Canadians in the war effort, it only provided the Government of Canada with a fraction of what was needed. The sale of Victory Bonds proved far more successful financially. There were ten wartime and one postwar Victory Bond drives. Unlike
19035-972: Was memorable in a high-octane comic role for Wilder's One, Two, Three . Wilder coaxed a very effective performance out of Monroe in Some Like It Hot . In total, he directed fourteen different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity , Ray Milland in The Lost Weekend , William Holden in Sunset Boulevard and Stalag 17 , Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim and Nancy Olson in Sunset Boulevard , Robert Strauss in Stalag 17 , Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina , Charles Laughton in Witness for
19176-658: Was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for The Absent-Minded Professor . He was the first person honored as a Disney Legend in 1987. The Academy Film Archive houses the Fred MacMurray-June Haver Collection. The film materials are complemented by papers at the Academy's Margaret Herrick Library. Billy Wilder Billy Wilder ( / ˈ w aɪ l d ər / ; German: [ˈvɪldɐ] ; born Samuel Wilder ; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002)
19317-419: Was ranked 6th in director's poll on Sight & Sound 's 2002 list of The Greatest Directors of All Time . In 1996, Entertainment Weekly ranked Wilder at No. 24 in its "50 Greatest Directors" list. Wilder was ranked at No. 19 on Empire 's "Top 40 Greatest Directors of All-Time" list in 2005. In 2007, Total Film magazine ranked Wilder at No. 13 on its "100 Greatest Film Directors Ever" list. Wilder
19458-466: Was suggest an idea, have it torn apart and despised. In a few days it would be apt to turn up, slightly changed, as Wilder's idea. Once I got adjusted to that way of working, our lives were simpler." "Wilder followed Ninotchka with a series of box office hits in 1942, including Hold Back the Dawn , Ball of Fire , and his directorial debut film The Major and the Minor . His third film as director,
19599-507: Was that no matter how talented the actor, none were without limitations and the result would be better if you bent the script to their personality rather than force a performance beyond their limitations. Wilder was skilled at working with actors, coaxing silent era legends Gloria Swanson and Erich von Stroheim out of retirement for roles in Sunset Boulevard . Regarding Wilder's more comedic films, Roger Ebert wrote: "he took
19740-520: Was the first major American film with a serious examination of alcoholism, another difficult theme under the Production Code . It follows an alcoholic writer ( Ray Milland ) opposing the protestations of his girlfriend ( Jane Wyman ). The film earned critical acclaim after it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and competed in the main competition, where it received the Festival's top prize,
19881-420: Was voted at No. 4 on the "Greatest Directors of 20th Century" poll conducted by Japanese film magazine Kinema Junpo . Seven of his films are preserved in the United States National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". Anthony Lane writes that Double Indemnity , The Seven Year Itch , Sunset Boulevard and The Apartment are "part of
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