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Sunset Blvd. (1950)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
25 August 1950 (Australia) moreTagline:
A Hollywood Story morePlot:
A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent-film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity. full summary | full synopsisAwards:
Won 3 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 13 nominations moreNewsDesk:
(18 articles)
Win The Towering Inferno on Blu-ray (From TheHDRoom. 7 July 2009, 9:18 AM, PDT)
Clifton Collins Jr. Discusses His Burgeoning Career
(From MovieWeb. 26 June 2009, 1:56 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
The Hollywood Myth FOREVER Shattered !!! moreCast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| William Holden | ... | Joseph C. 'Joe' Gillis | |
| Gloria Swanson | ... | Norma Desmond | |
| Erich von Stroheim | ... | Max Von Mayerling | |
| Nancy Olson | ... | Betty Schaefer | |
| Fred Clark | ... | Sheldrake | |
| Lloyd Gough | ... | Morino | |
| Jack Webb | ... | Artie Green | |
| Franklyn Farnum | ... | Undertaker - Chimp's Funeral | |
| Larry J. Blake | ... | First Finance Man (as Larry Blake) | |
| Charles Dayton | ... | Second Finance Man | |
| Cecil B. DeMille | ... | Himself | |
| Hedda Hopper | ... | Herself | |
| Buster Keaton | ... | Himself - Bridge Player | |
| Anna Q. Nilsson | ... | Herself - Bridge Player | |
| H.B. Warner | ... | Himself - Bridge Player |
Additional Details
Also Known As:
Sunset Boulevard (UK) (USA) (alternative spelling)A Can of Beans (USA) (fake working title)
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Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parentsRuntime:
110 min | Argentina:115 minCountry:
USALanguage:
EnglishColor:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 moreSound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)Certification:
Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 (DVD rating) | Hungary:14 | Brazil:Livre | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 (re-rating) (1982) | Sweden:15 (original rating) | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #13955) | West Germany:16Filming Locations:
Alto-Nido Apartments -1851 N. Ivar Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA moreFun Stuff
Trivia:
The movie's line "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up" was voted as the #7 movie quote by the American Film Institute. moreGoofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized: At the New Year's Eve party (at Norma's house), we hear someone plucking a violin, but when we look at the orchestra, they are all playing with their bows. moreQuotes:
[first lines]Joe Gillis: Yes, this is Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, California. It's about 5 0'clock in the morning. That's the homicide squad, complete with detectives and newspaper men.
more
Soundtrack:
Auld Lang Syne moreFAQ
Who are Norma's card-playing partners?What is the correct title - "Blvd." or "Boulevard"?
What model is Norma Desmond's car?
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Until 1950, American films were strictly entertainment, some deeper than others. Studio executives were very protective of image and star-making. In essence, everything seemed perfect. Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and D.M. Marshman, Jr. created a stunning work of art that splits the Hollywood sign in two and exposed a dream factory for what it really is: a struggle to both gain and keep notoriety in the limelight. "Norma Desmond" and "Joe Gillis" are at opposite ends of this warped Hollywood mindset, with Gillis, played by that most cynical of actors, William Holden trying to pay the rent and Norma (Gloria Swanson) living a lie as a silent queen whose star burned "10,000 midnights ago". How a picture with such a snide look at the industry could come out in 1950 is simply mind-boggling, considering some of the light fodder that came out of Hollywood at the time. It has inspired many modern day disciples such as Altman's THE PLAYER, and Sonnenfeld's GET SHORTY, both of which took their vicious, hilarious parodies to the jugular of the movie capital of the world. SUNSET BLVD is the father of all socially oriented pictures regarding the movies and is by far the best.
The images of this beautiful black and white powerhouse are fascinating and unforgettable: the dead writer floating in a pool, eyes wide open, looking right at us at the beginning; the eerie pipe organ that plays by the breeze in the middle of one of the most deep and dustiest sets ever; the funeral ceremony of the dead monkey in Norma's courtyard ("That must have been one important chimp. The grandson of King Kong perhaps." says Holden in a delightfully crisp and wise voice-over.) Holden pulls his car into a driveway off of the boulevard that will change his life forever. He is the emblem of the struggle to get notoriety. He has only a few B Movies to his credit. Swanson as Norma Desmond is the symbol of lost fame and has become the talk of legend. What is ironic about her character is that she may be playing herself in an odd way. She WAS an actual silent star whose career went down the tubes after the talkies came about. Her madness combined with Holden's last drop of naiveté combine to give us one of the most electrifying "give and take" between actors I've ever witnessed.
Both lead parts were passed over by several actors. Holden was eventually forced into it as a contract player. How could you pass on such a script? Even "wax figures" (as Holden calls them) Buster Keaton, H.B. Warner, and Anna Q. Nilsson come to Norma's to play bridge, of course being Hollywood outcasts themselves, after the invention of sound in film. Some of the dialogue takes a swing at actual movies and people (GONE WITH THE WIND, Zanuck, Menjou). This must have brought the house down in Hollywood screening rooms throughout the town. Louis B. Mayer even condemned Billy Wilder for "ruining the industry". The film is sad and darkly humorous depicting the antics of Norma, who is quite insane, and Holden who is going along with what Norma is giving him, but has plans of his own. Another wax figure still alive and kicking in 1950 appears as himself in an important role. Cecil B. Demille, who once directed Norma/Gloria back in the silent heyday, tries to set her straight, telling her pictures have "changed". They had indeed, especially after this searing comment on celebrity status. I wonder if they knew what they were creating while making this gem.
Scenes are shot right on the lot of Paramount Studios (even the front gate), and Norma's mansion is an unforgettable piece of history and gloom with a floor that "Valentino once danced on." There is so much to discuss, but little to enlighten you on how great SUNSET BLVD is without you seeing it. Just two years later, films began to crop up with the same tainted view of Hollywood, most with varying degrees of deception. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, one of the all-time entertainments quietly had a nasty taste in its mouth regarding celebrity and the invention of sound movies. Watch these films closely and see the skeletons of the modern Hollywood bash films.
RATING: 10 of 10