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Consummate actor Jack Lemmon had a habit of saying to himself before every take: “It’s magic time.” This may strike some people as mildly eccentric, but I would remind them that magic is precisely what he went on to create.

In the days before films relied on computers to entertain us, Billy Wilder used a movie camera to tell us stories. His stories might be funny or sad, but all held some grain of human insight, with even hard observations tempered by an underlying affection for his fellow man. At the closing titles, this made his many fans feel not only satisfied, but edified.

So today, on the birthday of this Hollywood legend, here are a few photos — some candid, some just forgotten — that give a better glimpse into Norma Jean Baker, Marilyn Monroe, and the actress who still captivates the world. 

When producer Ross Hunter decided to make “Pillow Talk” early in 1959, many industry insiders doubted his judgment. After all, the golden era of romantic comedy was long past. William Powell had already retired, and Cary Grant had only a few films left, most of which were not romantic comedies.

“Citizen Kane” is probably the one film that’s been so glorifed over the years that many people roll their eyes at its very mention.  After all, just who under 40 hasn’t seen it? Even if you haven’t, you’re not likely to admit it.

The making of the classic “Some Like It Hot” (1959) was textbook proof of the latter case. The story of two musicians who witness the St. Valentine’s Day massacre and are forced to cross-dress as women to escape the gangsters in hot pursuit, it is arguably one of the top comedies ever made. However, its production was torturous — largely due to the deteriorating mental state of its female star, Marilyn Monroe.

Over the course of movie history, there have been the great actresses, women who light up the screen with charisma and character, like Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, and Meryl Streep. There have also been women whose special gifts had more to do with the sexual allure they projected. Hey fellas, you must have noticed them, right? Brace yourselves then- here are our picks for the top twenty female cinematic sex symbols of all time. (Drum roll). 

Not surprisingly, people frequently ask me, “What’s your favorite movie?” It sounds like a reasonable question, but actually it’s maddening for the simple reason that there are so many fabulous movies that attain the same superior level of quality, but are wildly different. That said, if someone forced me to compile a “Top Ten” list, Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment” would definitely make the cut. While I’d watch it most anytime, it is for me the ultimate New Year’s Eve film.

I’ve always appreciated how movies set on liners recreate a bygone era when travel could be calm and civilized. Other boat films may take us on-board a luxurious yacht, or show man pitted against the biggest and cruelest natural force on earth: the sea.