Sunset Boulevard

(1950) Billy Wilder’s classic acerbic look at 1950s Hollywood was nominated for 11 Oscars (it won three) and is probably the first film to have the opening narration spoken by a corpse. Joe Gillis (William Holden) is a penniless screenwriter who pitches up by accident at the mansion of silent star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), who is still dreaming of a comeback. She inveigles him to stay and work on her script but, with time, he becomes her gigolo, under the watchful eye of butler Max Von Mayerling (Erich Von Stroheim). Premiere., Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard ranks among the most scathing satires of Hollywood and the cruel fickleness of movie fandom. The story begins at the end as the body of Joe Gillis (William Holden) is fished out of a Hollywood swimming pool. From The Great Beyond, Joe details the circumstances of his untimely demise (originally, the film contained a lengthy prologue wherein the late Mr. Gillis told his tale to his fellow corpses in the city morgue, but this elicited such laughter during the preview that Wilder changed it). Hotly pursued by repo men, impoverished, indebted “boy wonder” screenwriter Gillis ducks into the garage of an apparently abandoned Sunset Boulevard mansion. Wandering into the spooky place, Joe encounters its owner, imperious silent star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). Upon learning Joe’s profession, Norma inveigles him into helping her with a comeback script that she’s been working on for years. Joe realizes that the script is hopeless, but the money is good and he has nowhere else to go. Soon the cynical and opportunistic Joe becomes Norma’s kept man. While they continue collaborating, Norma’s loyal and protective chauffeur Max Von Mayerling (played by legendary filmmaker Erich von Stroheim) contemptuously watches from a distance. More melodramatic than funny, the screenplay by Wilder and Charles Brackett began life as a comedy about a has-been silent movie actress and the ambitious screenwriter who leeches off her. (Wilder originally offered the film to Mae West, Mary Pickford and Pola Negri. Montgomery Clift was the first choice for the part of opportunistic screenwriter Joe Gillis, but he refused, citing as “disgusting” the notion of a 25-year-old man being kept by a 50-year-old woman.) Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long-running musical version has served as a tour-de-force for contemporary actresses ranging from Glenn Close to Betty Buckley to Diahann Carroll., Moody and compelling melodrama about a young writer who becomes the gigolo of a fading silent-movie star who dreams of a comeback. A bittersweet classic of the cinema which blurs the line between fact and fiction, with silent-screen idol Gloria Swanson giving a vivid performance as the tragic Norma Desmond., Billy Wilder’s classic acerbic look at 1950s Hollywood was nominated for 11 Oscars (it won three) and is probably the first film to have the opening narration spoken by a corpse. Joe Gillis is a penniless screenwriter who pitches up by accident at the mansion of silent star Norma Desmond, who is still dreaming of a comeback. She inveigles him to stay and work on her script but, with time, he becomes her gigolo, under the watchful eye of butler Max Von Mayerling., Oscar-winning, classic melodrama about a young writer who becomes the plaything of a faded and reclusive silent-movie star. Escaping his creditors, the writer takes refuge in the garage of a Sunset Boulevard mansion owned by the actress who wishes to make a glorious comeback on the big screen. He agrees to help her write a script but soon finds himself a kept man, unable to escape the clutches of the ageing star., A bankrupt screenwriter is drawn into the decaying, unstable world of a forgotten silent movie star. Oscar- winning satire of Hollywood’s move to talking pictures with stand-out performances from Swanson and von Stroheim., Billy Wilder’s classic acerbic look at the Hollywood of the 1950s was nominated for eleven Oscars (it won three) and is probably the first film to have the opening narration spoken by a corpse. William Holden is a penniless screenwriter who pitches up by accident at the mansion of silent star Gloria Swanson, who is still dreaming of a comeback. She inveigles him to stay and work on her script but slowly, he becomes her gigolo, under the watchful eye of butler Erich Von Stroheim., Screen gem about an aging silent-film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity and enlists a down-on-his-luck, opportunistic young screenwriter to aid her comeback, but her maniacal ego turns the challenge into an uphill battle., An ageing silent-film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity enlists a down-on-his-luck, opportunistic young screenwriter to aid her comeback, but her maniacal ego turns the challenge into an uphill battle., Billy Wilder’s sumptuous, breathtaking comedy-drama features Gloria Swanson in her best role as Norma Desmond, the silent screen star on a downward curve who is desperate to hitch her way back up to the top. William Holden is the screenwriter upon whom she rests her hopes and who narrates the tale from beyond the grave: he’s seen dead in the awesome opening scene.