Fedora

Fedora is a drama and mystery film about Barry "Dutch" Detweiler, a Hollywood producer whose career has hit hard times. He travels to Corfu hoping to persuade Fedora, a famous actress who withdrew from filmmaking long ago, to return to the screen. Reaching her proves difficult: she lives in seclusion, surrounded by people who shield her from visitors, among them a countess, a doctor and a devoted companion. Barry's efforts to make contact lead him toward the truth behind her enduring fame. The film was directed by Billy Wilder, who wrote the screenplay and produced it with I. A. L. Diamond. It is the twenty-first of the twenty-two features Wilder directed, coming after The Front Page and before Buddy Buddy. William Holden plays Barry, with Marthe Keller as Fedora, and Hildegard Knef, José Ferrer, Frances Sternhagen and Mario Adorf in supporting roles. The production was a German-French co-production made for about seven million dollars. On TMDB it holds a rating of 6.7 out of 10 from roughly 160 votes, a modest reception that places it well below the standing of Wilder's most celebrated work. The story follows a man trying to revive both his own fortunes and the career of a performer the public remembers, while the people around her guard secrets he only gradually uncovers.