The Lost Weekend is Billy Wilder's portrayal of a writer's struggle with his addiction to alcohol. There's a powerhouse performance by Ray Milland at the film's centre as Don Birnam, whose desire (one of several) is to put his harrowing experiences down in the form of a novel: 'The Bottle'. Don's chosen literary title symbolises both extremes: his compulsive desire for poisonous ruin on the one hand and a personal salvation from, and containment of, those same formidable self-loathing actions on the other. (More here including Sunday morning's showtime information throughout the U.S.):
