It is embarrassing to watch a former master of the medium (Billy Wilder) create a shallow, bitter little piece like this. His lead character, a filmmaker desperate to work again, chases an aging movie star for his movie. He rails against the new kids taking over the movie industry with their hand-held cameras, dismissing in a stroke a whole new generation of filmmakers. The story is based on the thinnest of ideas, Holden looks like he has a hangover in every scene, and there is the stench of desperation hanging over the whole enterprise. We have all seen played out far too many times the sad tale of the former great this- or-that attempting a comeback and flopping because the juice is gone. That sums this movie up in spades. All in all it's a sad piece of work, and a reminder to bow out gracefully.