Billy Wilder’s landmark 1945 drama The Lost Weekend is set for a limited theatrical return beginning December 26, screening in a 35mm print for one week. The film, which won four Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Ray Milland, and Best Adapted Screenplay, remains one of cinema’s most influential depictions of alcoholism.

Milland stars as Don Birnam, a writer whose battle with addiction spirals over a destructive four-day binge, anchored by Jane Wyman’s performance as the woman determined to pull him back from the edge. Initially met with hesitation from preview audiences unaccustomed to its stark realism, The Lost Weekend later emerged as one of Wilder’s defining achievements and a milestone in Hollywood’s shift toward more unsparing drama.

Screenings will also include the 1947 Warner Bros. “Merrie Melodies” short Slick Hare, which features animated caricatures of 1940s celebrities — including Ray Milland himself — in a playful nod to the film.

A post-screening discussion with Eric Monder, author of Dashing to the End: The Ray Milland Story, and film critic Molly Haskell will be held on opening night, December 26.