Going into Sunset Boulevard cold, unaware of what it is about, is probably the best way to experience this Billy Wilder masterpiece. Seeing it that way in a theater environment may be the only thing that’s even better. I had the opportunity a few years back to do just that. Through the magic of Turner Classic Movies and Fathom Events, I was able to sit down in a Regal theater with my wife and watch this drama unfold for the first time and experience a juxtaposition of noir, comedy, and thriller expertly interwoven into a complex tapestry of emotions, greed, and commentary on Hollywood and what it is like being a star whose career has died. We hear that you’re only as good as your last picture, and that applies to both leads, each facing the realities of a business like Hollywood where people vote with their money, and if you don’t draw in enough, then out you go.
The film opens with a body in a swimming pool. The rest of the film will be a flashback telling us how that body ended up there. It is Joe Gillis (William Holden), a screenwriter who is down on his luck. Six months before he ends up in the pool, he is just another Hollywood writer trying to sell a script to hold off the repo men intent on taking his car and the landlord whom he hasn’t paid in three months. While dodging the repomen, his car gets a flat tire, and he hides it in the garage of a house on Sunset Boulevard only to find out that this house belongs to Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), a silent-era actress whose career was ended by the advent of talking pictures. When Gloria discovers that he is a writer, she tasks him with rewriting a script she wrote herself as a means to make her comeback. She pays off his debts and has him move into her house to work on it full time.
While Joe is fine with becoming a “kept man” at first, his conscience is bothering him about taking advantage of this fragile and desperate older woman. He also is developing feelings for Betty Schaefer (Nancy Olson), a script reader, and fiancée to one of his work friends, who was raised to be an actress but transitioned to behind the camera when that didn’t pan out. The two are retooling one of his old scripts on the side, sneaking away from Norma at night to do so. When Norma finds out, first she is angry at him, then later she attempts to kill herself.
When this film first hit theaters, there were many silent film stars who were in Norma’s situation. Some performers were able to transition into talking stars, but many, for one reason or another, could not. Often, vocals were the factor. An actor with a thick foreign accent had no problems in the silent era but couldn’t cut it in sound features. There were some, like the fictitious Lina Lamont in Singin’ in the Rain, that had voices that just didn’t match their physical appearances. Others were just so tied to silent acting that they couldn’t adapt to the new medium. Charlie Chaplin, for instance, was in complete denial for many years that silent films were a dying art and made his Tramp pictures for years after talking films were out. He insisted that if his character talked, it would be the end of him. When he finally did release a talking picture with the Tramp, The Great Dictator, it was a huge success, but it also put an end to the character.
Those actors and actresses who were famous enough in the silent pictures could afford to retire and live off their acquired wealth. But many, who craved the limelight more than the money, were miserable. Norma Desmond represents that kind of performer. She dreams of being back on the screen, all the while she lives virtually alone in her mansion, accompanied only by her caretaker, Max von Mayerling (Erich von Stroheim). She has a theater room in her mansion where she screens all her old movies, reliving a past that no longer exists. Life is what you make of it. Joe rightfully points this out to her when he says there is nothing wrong with being fifty, unless you’re trying to be twenty-five.
Betty represents a different type of person. She was groomed to be an actress, had lessons, even a nose job to look better before the camera. When she failed to become a star, though, she transitioned to a behind-the-camera position and worked her way up to an even better one. These two different world views are still very much a part of the world to this day. We see actors in shows or movies that just disappeared one day and show up in credits as production assistants, producers, even directors. Some make a decent living, others excel in it, such as Ron Howard. Sadly, some just drift off into obscurity and we only hear from them again when we see an obituary and exclaim “I didn’t even know they were still alive!”
Those of us who watch the Oscars every year may remember in 1998 when, for the 70th anniversary of the Academy, a special presentation was made where the living Best Actor and Actress winners were brought out on stage to celebrate them. Many familiar faces were up there, including a lot who hadn’t been seen in a very long time. “I didn’t know they were still alive,” came to mind that evening. Many of these faces had fallen out of the limelight years ago. Some were never really in it in the first place, such as Harold Russell from The Best Years of Our Lives, who has just a smattering of credits to his name but never really made acting his career. Some of these actors had been big names years ago but were now only really known to cinephiles. That’s the sad reality of time. In Sunset Boulevard, we get a card-playing scene with Norma Desmond. In that scene, she is accompanied by H. B. Warner, Anna Q. Nilsson, and Buster Keaton all playing themselves. I watch a lot of silent films, but I only recognized by sight Buster Keaton. The other two I’d seen before but didn’t recognize nor knew by name. Someone who doesn’t watch older films at all wouldn’t recognize any of them, period.
And that would include Gloria Swanson, too. Gloria was herself a star of the silent era. Unlike Norma Desmond, Gloria didn’t find herself out of work when sound films took over, but her output did dropped significantly, on the big screen at least. She parlayed her talents into television eventually and stayed active in that medium all the way until she retired in 1980. Unlike her counterpart in the film, Gloria navigated the change successfully. Incidentally, Gloria was not the original choice to play the role of Norma. Mae West was approached. So was Clara Bow, the once “It girl” who starred in 1927s Wings. For one reason or another, they turned down the part. Mary Pickford, once the romantic partner to Douglas Fairbanks Sr., was also approached, but Billy Wilder changed his mind before ever offering the role to her, realizing that a role where an older woman has a love affair with a man half her age would be seen as an insult to her.
Thank heavens Gloria Swanson agreed to do the picture, understanding the nuances of what this script was trying to say. She is absolutely phenomenal in a role that is absolutely devastating. This is a woman who can’t get past the fact that her former life is over. She worked with some amazing directors back in the day, including Cecil B. DeMille, who makes an appearance as himself. When she is invited to the Paramount lot, she believes that it is because DeMille wants her in his next picture. Instead, all he wants is to film her vintage car. Once he sees her, all dressed up and believing she is coming back to be in the film, he cannot bear telling her the real reason he sent for her.
This brings up yet another thing this film is addressing that is still a problem to this day. Norma Desmond is in her fifties. So is Gloria Swanson at the time of filming. This is 1950, and actors like Humphrey Bogart are roughly the same age, and no one is batting an eye about their continued relevance on screen. A modern equivalent would be Michael Caine, who was active into his nineties, retiring by choice rather than because roles were no longer being offered. Compare that to many of the actresses from twenty years ago whom we haven’t seen in a while. Look one of them up on IMDb and see when you last saw them in something that wasn’t made-for-television or direct to video/streaming. This isn’t universal, of course, but the percentage is heavily skewed against older women having successful careers in the movies.
Sunset Boulevard begins by showing us William Holden face down in a pool. The film then spends nearly two hours explaining how that happens and why. Norma is not a well woman, having dove deep into the waters of depression long before we first meet her. Joe’s appearance sparks hope in her, something she hasn’t had in years. His decision to leave her again is too much, and she snaps. Her final moment, finally getting media attention again, is just so downright sad, and we feel for her. She has lost her sights on reality, and those around her take pity on her, not shattering the fantasy she is living in as they lead her from her house to the police car to take her away. It’s a harsh ending to a light that once burned so brightly on the screen. Sadly, for many of these stars from years past, the only time they will be in the news again is if they either die or commit a serious crime. Anything less, and the world doesn’t really care enough anymore.
Academy Award Nominations:
Best Motion Picture: Charles Brackett
Best Director: Billy Wilder
Best Actor: William Holden
Best Actress: Gloria Swanson
Best Supporting Actor: Erich von Stroheim
Best Supporting Actress: Nancy Olson
Best Story and Screenplay: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and D. M. Marshman Jr. (won)
Best Art Direction - Black-and-White: Hans Dreier, John Meehan, Samuel M. Comer, and Ray Moyer (won)
Best Cinematography - Black-and-White: John F. Seitz
Best Film Editing: Arthur P. Schmidt and Doane Harrison
Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture: Franz Waxman (won)
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Release Date: August 10, 1950
Running Time: 110 minutes
Not Rated
Starring: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Lloyd Gough, and Jack Webb
Directed By: Billy Wilder
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