Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Charles Brackett (written by) &
Billy Wilder (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

25 August 1950 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir

Tagline:

A Hollywood Story

Plot:

A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent-film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Hollywood | Mansion | Butler | Comeback

Awards:

Won 3 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 13 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Feb. 22

6:00 PM

TCM

Cast

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
Ray Evans	...	Himself
Jay Livingston	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fred Aldrich	...	Cop Who Drags Joe's Body from Pool (uncredited)
Joel Allen	...	Prop Man #2 (uncredited)
Gertrude Astor	...	Courtier (uncredited)
Ken Christy	...	Homicide Captain (uncredited)
Ruth Clifford	...	Sheldrake's Secretary (uncredited)
John Cortay	...	Mac - Young Gate Guard at Paramount Studios (uncredited)
Archie R. Dalzell	...	Camera Operator (uncredited)
Eddie Dew	...	Assistant Coroner (uncredited)
Peter Drynan	...	Tailor (uncredited)
Julia Faye	...	Hisham (uncredited)
Al Ferguson	...	Phone Standby (uncredited)
Gerry Ganzer	...	Connie - Betty's Roommate (uncredited)
Kenneth Gibson	...	Salesman at Men's Shop (uncredited)
Joe Gray	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Sanford E. Greenwald	...	Newsreel Cameraman (uncredited)
Creighton Hale	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Grip on DeMille Set (uncredited)
James Hawley	...	Camera Assistant (uncredited)
Len Hendry	...	Police Sergeant (uncredited)
E. Mason Hopper	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Stan Johnson	...	First Assistant Director (uncredited)
Tiny Jones	...	Little Woman outside Paramount Gate (uncredited)
Howard Joslin	...	Police Lieutenant (uncredited)
Arthur Lane	...	Camera Operator (uncredited)
Perc Launders	...	Violinist at Norma's New Year's Eve Party (uncredited)
Gertrude Messinger	...	Hairdresser (uncredited)
Harold Miller	...	Man on Golf Course (uncredited)
John 'Skins' Miller	...	Hog-eye - Electrician (uncredited)
Lee Miller	...	Dancing Party Guest / Paramount Studio Employee (uncredited)
Ralph Montgomery	...	Prop Man #1 (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse	...	Gordon Cole (uncredited)
Jay Morley	...	Fat Man (uncredited)
Bernice Mosk	...	Herself (uncredited)
Howard Negley	...	Police Captain (uncredited)
Ottola Nesmith	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Eva Novak	...	Courtier (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Courtier (uncredited)
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Jonesy - Older Paramount Gate Guard (uncredited)
Jack Perrin	...	Detective (uncredited)
Virginia L. Randolph	...	Courtier (uncredited)
Bill Sheehan	...	Second Assistant Director (uncredited)
Sidney Skolsky	...	Himself (uncredited)
Emmett Smith	...	Black Man (uncredited)
Roy Thompson	...	Rudy - Shoeshine Boy (uncredited)
Archie Twitchell	...	Salesman at Men's Shop (uncredited)
Yvette Vickers	...	Giggling Girl on Phone at Party (uncredited)
Edward Wahrman	...	Camera Assistant (uncredited)
Henry Wilcoxon	...	Himself - Actor on DeMille's 'Samson & Delilah' Set (uncredited)

Directed by
Billy Wilder

Writing credits
Charles Brackett		(written by) &
Billy Wilder		(written by) &
D.M. Marshman Jr.		(written by)

Produced by
Charles Brackett	....	producer

Original Music by
Franz Waxman		(music score)

Cinematography by
John F. Seitz		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Arthur P. Schmidt		(as Arthur Schmidt)

Art Direction by
Hans Dreier
John Meehan

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Ray Moyer

Costume Design by
Edith Head		(costumes)

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	makeup supervisor
Nellie Manley	....	hair (uncredited)
Karl Silvera	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Frank Thayer	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Vera Tomei	....	hair (uncredited)

Production Management
Hugh Brown	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles C. Coleman	....	assistant director (as C.C. Coleman Jr.)
Gerd Oswald	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Steve Beers	....	head carpenter (uncredited)
Jack Colconda	....	props assistant (uncredited)
Gene Lauritzen	....	construction coordinator (uncredited)
Tom Plews	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
John Cope	....	sound recordist
Harry Lindgren	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Gordon Jennings	....	special photographic effects

Visual Effects by
Farciot Edouart	....	process photography

Camera and Electrical Department
Otto Pierce	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Glen E. Richardson	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Harlow Stengel	....	camera assistant (uncredited)
Walter Tayler	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Fred True	....	grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ed Fitzharris	....	wardrobe (uncredited)
Hazel Hegarty	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Doane Harrison	....	editorial supervision
Frank Bracht	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Other crew
Lupe Hall	....	script clerk (uncredited)
Ronnie Lubin	....	dialogue coach (uncredited)
Norris Stensland	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1950) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Paramount Filmes do Brasil (2003) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (Spain) (2003) (Spain) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• BFI (Collections)
• CIC-Taft Home Video (????) (Australia) (VHS)
• Facets Multimedia Distribution (????) (USA) (DVD)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (196?) (USA) (TV)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD) (rental)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD) (retail)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Award Winning Collection)
• Paramount Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Sunset Boulevard (UK) (USA) (alternative spelling)
A Can of Beans (USA) (fake working title)

Runtime:

110 min | Argentina:115 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound 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:16

Filming Locations:

Alto-Nido Apartments -1851 N. Ivar Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

"Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on September 17, 1951 with Gloria Swanson and William Holden reprising their film roles.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The tire completely blows out on Joe's convertible, but as he drives it into Norma's garage we see that his tire is low but far from flat.

Quotes:

[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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Chowder: Endive's Dirty Secret/Big Food (#2.19)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Buttons and Bows

Best Performance in Film History: Gloria Swanson

The plot has been discussed at length in other comments.

To me SUNSET BOULEVARD has it all. The comedy is sly, the drama is of epic proportions because it's not JUST a story about Hollywood or an aging actress. It's really about the giving up of dreams.

Norma's dream of return, held to for 20 years, is ironic because Norma so closely parallels Gloria. That Norma cannot make a comeback in 1950 even with connections to DeMille is sad. The sadness is due to Norma's refusal to accept her aging or the politics of Hollywood that worship youth. It's ironic that Norma has no place in Hollywood (the parade has passed by) but DeMille is still working and in the scenes from Samson and Delilah we spot other old-timers like Henry Wilcoxon and Julia Faye--still working but not as STARS. The final irony here is that Gloria did make the comeback that Norma couldn't make.

Norma has a thing about STARS.... she says at one point... "the stars are ageless." Well this is true in a filmic sense. I can still watch Gloria Swanson in THE LOVE OF SUNYA or MANHANDLED and yup, she is ageless. She is still twenty something. That screen image is forever held up like a bad mirror to the reality of being 50. On another occasion Norma says "nobody leaves a STAR, that's what makes one a STAR." True again, but it's not just Gillis who is leaving Norma, her fans have already left. Hence if one is left, one cannot be a STAR.

Gillis also gives up his dream (temporarily) of being a writer, Max gives up his dream of directing, and even Betty gives up her dream of love with Gillis. Scary stuff.

The film is also about LOVE. Look what these people have done for love: love of another person or love of fame or whatever. Max loves Norma. Norma loves Gillis. Gillis loves Norma and Betty. Betty loves Gillis and Artie. Artie loves Betty. And all of them love Hollywood.

Everyone is crushed at the end of this film..... The scene of Max "directing" the scene as Norma descends the staircase is one of the all-time great scenes in a film. Norma's final speech, which sums up everything ("there is nothing else"), is devastating. Can she really be insane and make this lucid speech? If she's NOT insane then she has knowingly killed Gillis to prevent his leaving her (a STAR)....... Also the shots of Max blinking away tears as Norma descends (supposedly into madness) and also of Hedda Hopper crying are equally as devastating as Norma's speech about "being back" and "all those wonderful people out there in the dark" (which of course includes us every time we watch the film).

I cannot think of any other film (possibly CITIZEN KANE) that works on so many different levels. And Gloria Swanson gives the greatest performance in film history!