Darryl F. Zanuck, Olivia de Havilland, Tyrone Power and Samuel Goldwyn all refused to allow their names to be used in the film, but Billy Wilder decided to use Zanuck's and Power's names anyway. [46] Rumors existed that he was suffering from lung cancer, which Holden had denied at a 1980 press conference. But it wasn't a bullet from the gun of an aging movie queen that tragically ended his life, but rather, a rug, per The New York Times. Fat Man: "You were murdered?" Gloria Swanson worked closely with Edith Head on Norma's clothes to achieve just the right look: grandly expensive but slightly out of date. What is the correct title - "Blvd." For this Lamarr wanted $25,000 (which would be about $250,000 in 2015 dollars). Joe Gillis: You're Norma Desmond. And here is how he obtained his new movie tag. These actors were bigger than life. Fat Man: "A husky fellow like you?" The home was built in 1923 for businessman William O. Jenkins. The car with the massive chrome grill that the repo men drive is a 1948 DeSoto Custom Club Coupe. Strange? was better known as the seat of the film industry in 1950, the Los Angeles film industry actually began on Sunset Blvd. The pool was used in its empty condition in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). In subsequent years, two lawsuits have been filed against Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, claiming that Sunset Blvd. Whether he was the washed up screenwriter of Sunset Boulevard or the reluctant hero of The Bridge on the River Kwai, Holden kept audiences engrossed. Schwab's Pharmacy was filmed only 500 feet (145 meters) from where Robert "D-Fens" Foster shot out the phone booth in Falling Down (1993). Joe could have slept with Norma and loved Betty, and owned the pool that would be his final resting place. (1950) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Billy Wilder Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) verified as complete Produced by Charles Brackett . In real life, when Swanson and DeMille had worked together, that was what they always called each other. When filming began, William Holden was 31 and Gloria Swanson was 50, the same stated age as her character. It always will be! When Joe Gillis says, "They'll love it in Pomona," most people assume (correctly) that Pomona is intended to be representative of just about any average American town. Billy Wilder was a friend of the danish silent movie star Asta Nielsen, and based the Norma Desmond caracter on her. Just us and the cameras, and those wonderful people out there in the dark! Norma Desmond didnt need dialogue, she can say whatever she wants with her eyes. producer Music by Franz Waxman Cinematography by John F. Seitz . A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return. Holden did a sports film at Columbia, Boots Malone (1952), then returned to Paramount for The Turning Point (1952). Wilder and his co-writers reversed several elements, and there was no official connection between the movie and Waugh's book. Also in 1969, Holden starred in director Terence Young's family film L'Arbre de Nol, co-starring Italian actress Virna Lisi and French actor Bourvil, based on the novel of the same name by Michel Bataille. Set designer Hans Dreier had in fact been the interior designer for the homes of former silent stars Bebe Daniels, Norma Shearer and Pola Negri. Universal bought it on her death in 1920 and it was used in several movies, most notably in The Phantom of the Opera (1925). Like most old things in L.A., the house has since been replaced by an office building. Yeah. The directions given by the Paramount guard for Norma and Joe to go meet Cecil B. DeMille on "Stage 18" is accurate: this stage, one of the largest on the Paramount lot, was known for years as "The DeMille Stage" and now is called "The Star Trek Stage", as all the "Trek" movies and some scenes from the TV shows have been shot there (the TV series, from Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) onward, had its main sets right across the studio street on Stages 8 and 9, which are right below the second-floor office occupied by Betty Schaefer in this film. on the corner of Crenshaw and Irving. The first of four films in which William Holden and Nancy Olson appeared. It is because of Sunset Blvd., for certain, that my mind could ever go there. This car has been on display at the National Automobile Museum in Turin, Italy since 1972. Sunset Blvd. Gloria Swanson became so identified with the demanding, irascible Norma that later generations of fans were startled to discover her serene, easy-going, naturalist personality in real life. [32] Also in 1974, Holden starred with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in the critically acclaimed disaster film The Towering Inferno,[33] which became a box-office smash and one of the highest-grossing films of Holden's career. Montgomery Clift was originally cast as Joe Gillis but quit the production two weeks before filming began because he had already played the kept man of a wealthy older woman in The Heiress (1949). This parallel narrative--two perspectives from the same character, one omniscient, the other blissfully ignorant--that converge at the moment of Joe's death, are a major reason the film retains such dramatic and emotional power. It was widely known as a top Hollywood hangout for many actors, directors, writers and producers. 4.99. Sunset Boulevard, the 1950 film noir classic directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, did a lot to change that and other myths of old Hollywoodlike the real-life murder at the heart of the story. After living in the home for a year he moved, and the house sat vacant for a little over a decade, earning the moniker "The Phantom House" in the process. Normands career never recovered after word of her addiction leaked out and she died of tuberculosis on Feb. 23, 1930. [2] He had two younger brothers, Robert Westfield Beedle and Richard Porter Beedle. But it's also a love story, and the love keeps it from becoming simply a waxworks or a freak show. This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 22:44. [4] He made a sex comedy with David Niven for Otto Preminger, The Moon Is Blue (1953), which was a huge hit, in part due to controversy over its content. On the last day of shooting, Swanson drove back to the house she, her mother and daughter shared during production, announcing "there were only three of us in it now, meaning that Norma Desmond had taken her leave.". Clift's biographers say it was because he had a strong following among older women, who wrote him letters describing how they'd like to mother him, and he didn't want to encourage such behavior. [27] He played an American Civil War military surgeon in John Ford's The Horse Soldiers (1959) opposite John Wayne, which was a box-office disappointment. In fact,Bob Thomas, Holden's biographer, said that the actor's addiction counselor predicted his demise. He became bitter about the throwaway roles Hollywood kept giving him. David Lynch is an avid fan of the movie, having referenced it in films such as Inland Empire (2006), Mulholland Drive (2001)--which has a similar title and theme about the misfortunes of aspiring artists in Hollywood--and the television show Twin Peaks (1990), where Lynch himself played an FBI Bureau Chief named Gordon Cole. Holden was still an unknown actor when he made Golden Boy, while Stanwyck was already a film star. in 1911 when the Nestor Film Company moved from New. William Holden movies: 15 greatest films, ranked worst to best, include 'Sunset Boulevard,' 'Network,' 'Stalag 17'. A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return. Clift was also wary of appearing in the film because he, like the character of Joe, was having an affair with a wealthy older former actress, Libby Holman. A modern-girl Jiminy Cricket, Betty asks, Dont you sometimes hate yourself? and Joe corrects her, Constantly.. April 17 marks the 100th birthday of William Holden, who is ranked No. Both suits were dismissed. Holden never lost his stride as cinema changed. The two stars had never expressed any hostility towards each other over the failure of Cecil B. DeMille and Stroheim made many recommendations to Wilder during the making of the film, including having his character write all of Norma Desmond's fan mail, and, more importantly, to use footage from "Queen Kelly" as an excerpt from one of Desmond's great silent films. That's a reference to the traditional grey morning suit worn by the groom at a formal wedding. His body was found four days later. In fact, Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett even went to Pickfair to pitch the story to Pickford, but her horrified reaction as the story progressed made them stop halfway through and apologize to her. A classic film review of Sunset Boulevard (1950) starring William Holden, Gloria Swanson and Eric Von StroheimDirected by acclaimed film maker Billy Wilder (. There were no shortage of suspects. Holman was 16 years older than him and was afraid people would think the movie was a parody of their relationship. Now that we are getting closer to Awards Season in here in Hollywood, Im getting more and more interest from nominees and prospective nominees who want to know in advance if they are going home with the gold, Marie Bargas, known for years as the Hollywood Witch, told Den of Geek. Wilder used real names like Darryl Zanuck, Tyrone Power, and Alan Ladd. Holden starred in some of Hollywood's most popular and critically acclaimed films, including Sunset Boulevard (1950), Sabrina (1954), Picnic (1955), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), The Wild Bunch (1969) and Network (1976). It was Erich von Stroheim who suggested the revelation that Max was writing all of Norma's fan mail. An out of work writer in Hollywood (Holden) randomly pulls into the driveway of a silent film star (Swanson) who can use the assistance of his writing talent. Holden had another hit with The World of Suzie Wong (1960) with Nancy Kwan, which was shot in Hong Kong. Sunset Boulevard English audio Gloria Swanson, as Norma Desmond, an aging silent-film queen, and William Holden, as the struggling young screenwriter who is held in thrall by her madness,. The last name of the studio executive played by Fred Clark is Sheldrake. He did another Western at Columbia, Texas (1941) with Glenn Ford, and a musical comedy at Paramount, The Fleet's In (1942) with Eddie Bracken, Dorothy Lamour, and Betty Hutton.[9]. After graduating from South Pasadena High School, Holden attended Pasadena Junior College, where he became involved in local radio plays. Brackett was a New York-born novelist and screenwriter, head of the Screen Actors Guild in the late 1930s, and president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1949 to 1955 (during which time he won two screenwriting Oscarsgood news for conspiracy theorists). Norma is perceived as the evil force, even if she uses a white phone while Betty is relegated to a poor black phone. Sunset Boulevard turns the tables on film noir by casting Joe in the oldest role on the books. "I left countless messages but received no answer." [22] The golden run at the box office continued with Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), from a best-selling novel, with Jennifer Jones, and Picnic (1955), as a drifter, in an adaptation of the William Inge play with Kim Novak. De Mille, and Max von Mayerling. This is a nod to retired silent-movie star Clara Bow, whose husband Rex Bell, a former star of "B" westerns, was the president of the Nevada Chamber of Commerce, and later Lieutenant Governor of Nevada. Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder and D. M. Marshman Jr. Online Film & Television Association Awards, "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." Cinematographer John Seitz put a mirror on the bottom of the pool and filmed the reflection. Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder retained the term of endearment for the scene in which DeMille greets Norma Desmond at the door of the sound stage. It is also one of the most frequently misquoted movie lines, usually given as, "I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. He worked on dramas like The Key (1958), Westerns like John Fords The Horse Soldiers (1959) opposite John Wayne, and comedies like The Moon is Blue which so famously challenged the Production Code in 1953 that Hawkeye and BJ insisted it get shown at M*A*S*H 4077 to break the monotony of the Korean War. He made two more films with Olson: Force of Arms (1951) at Warner Bros. and Submarine Command (1951) at Paramount. Wilder, ever the merry prankster, told Holden and Olson to keep kissing until he called "cut": he was going to fade out at the end of the scene, and he needed to make sure the kiss didn't end prematurely. He contributed to Altvariety, Chiseler, Smashpipe, and other magazines. Even though it wasn't the last scene filmed, Billy Wilder threw a party for her as soon as the shot was finished. Hack screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) accidentally falls in with faded screen legend Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). But trophies or not, Sunset Boulevard has stayed near the top of the list of great movies about moviemaking. The studio needed an actor who the audience could believe wrote a story about Okies in the Dust Bowl that played on a torpedo boat by the time it hit the screen. . "We didn't need dialogue. Her Stockholm Syndrome is positively infectious. As this film opens, William Holden's character Joe Gillis describes himself as a Hollywood screenwriter "living in an apartment house above Ivar Street." Sometimes its interesting to see just how bad, bad writing can be. A neglected house gets an unhappy look. But when Sondheim pitched the idea to Billy Wilder at a party, Wilder said, "You can't write a musical about Sunset Boulevard. There were actually three mansions used during filming. [5][6], Next he starred with George Raft and Humphrey Bogart in the Warner Bros. gangster epic Invisible Stripes (1939), billed below Raft and above Bogart. "I know how it's going to be," Holden said (per The Huntsville Item). Holden's first film back from the services was Blaze of Noon (1947), an aviator picture at Paramount directed by John Farrow. Cecil B. DeMille: at the studio during Norma's visit. [12] Swanson later said, "Bill Holden was a man I could have fallen in love with. He called it "that goddamned butler role" for the remaining seven years of his life. His characters were always angling for something, whether it was silk stockings in a POW Camp in Stalag 17 from 1953, which won him a Best Actor Oscar, or to clear impersonation charges in in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) with Alec Guinness. The plot element of Norma Desmond's obsession with writing a screenplay based on Salome as a vehicle for her comeback was obviously influenced by eccentric, aging actress Valeska Suratt, who had a brief film career (1915-1917) playing mostly vamp roles. In accordance with his wishes, no funeral or memorial services were conducted. . There were three young directors who showed promise in those early days of silent film, D.W. Griffith, Cecil B. For purposes of authenticity Erich von Stroheim and Nancy Olson wore their own clothes in the film. When Joe tells Betty that next time he will write "The Naked and the Dead", he is referring to the best-seller written by Norman Mailer and published in 1948. De Mille at Paramount, the director is shooting the film Samson and Delilah, which he was actually shooting at the time. [47], President Ronald Reagan released a statement: "I have a great feeling of grief. It's not possible to shoot through water and get a clear image beyond. (1940) followed by the role of George Gibbs in the film adaptation of Our Town (1940), done for Sol Lesser at United Artists.[8]. The two men never worked together again. This is absolutely true, Nancy Reagan continued consulting her astrologer long after she stopped parking at studio lots. Joe Gillis' typewriter is a portable manual Remington Rand Noiseless Model 7. And that young man who was found floating in the pool of her mansion, with two shots in his back and one in his stomach, was nobody important, really. The drugstore where Joe Gillis meets up with his old movie industry friends is Schwab's Pharmacy, then a real pharmacy/soda fountain at the intersection of Sunset Blvd. But that wasnt good enough for Hollywood. but at 641 S. Irving Blvd. )[19], He took third billing for The Country Girl (1954) with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly, directed by George Seaton from a play by Clifford Odets. She offered Peavey 10 dollars to identify Taylors grave in the Hollywood Park Cemetery and had someone wait there in a white sheet to scare it out of him. The only film to be nominated for Best Actor and Actress Oscars that year. This film was originally released in the United States as The Christmas Tree and on home video as When Wolves Cry. This ushered in the peak years of Holden's stardom. Film debut (uncredited) of Yvette Vickers. He rose to prominence with his role in the movie "Sunset Boulevard" (1950), which landed him his first Best Actor Oscar nomination. The one on the Paramount studio soundstage; the one whose driveway William Holden ducks into at 10060 Sunset Blvd; and the one used for the exteriors, which is the one shown here. (1950) in Australia? Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard took the tinsel out of Tinseltown, the gild off the golden boy, and the cover off a forgotten murder. over the spiraling budget. Erich von Stroheim, who directed Swanson in Queen Kelly (1932), plays Max the butler, who serves as the projectionist in the scene. At Cecil B. DeMille's first appearance, his on-set cry of "Wilcoxon!" For scenes in which he drove, the car was towed by another car. Vega subsequently confirmed that this was a reference to Holden.[50]. Suratt was reportedly obsessed with the fact that she was the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary, and after her career ended commissioned the leader of the U.S. Reform Bah' Movement to co-write a script on the life of Mary Magdalene. She burst into tears upon completion of the scene. At one point, Norma decides the time is right to send Gillis script to DeMille because is a Leo. The only Best Picture Oscar nominee of the year to be also nominated for Original Screenplay. [28] Columbia would not meet Holden's asking price of $750,000 and 10% of the gross for The Guns of Navarone (1961); the amount of money Holden asked exceeded the combined salaries of stars Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn.[29]. Those offices later became the home of the "Star Trek" art department. Florabel Muir, the New York Daily News Hollywood correspondent, thought Peavey was the murderer and tried to ambush him into a confession. Brenda Marshall, Holden's wife since 1941, was visiting the set when Holden and Nancy Olson had their kissing scene. The truth of the matter was that Bing Crosby was one of the very few actors to whom Billy Wilder had borne a grudge, mainly because Crosby had done the unthinkable during filming of The Emperor Waltz (1948), and ad-libbed dialog, something he and Bob Hope had done for years as standard operating procedure in their breezy "Road" pictures. Garbo was once rumored to be engaged to the innovative Hollywood and Broadway director Rouben Mamoulian whose film Golden Boy (1939) made William Holden famous. Some, including Holden himself and one of his close confidants, could foresee the death (per The Huntsville Item). That should make the young blond Paramount actress-turned-script reader Betty Schaefer (Nancy Olson) the virgin in the virgin/whore dynamic that film noir so often (and happily) deals in. Holden had his most widely recognized role as "Commander" Shears in David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) with Alec Guinness,[25] a huge commercial success. Gloria Swanson's career was not revitalized by this film. The film and actors was excellent and lived up to our expectations. Schwab's was torn down in 1988 to make way for a movie theater and a shopping center. The mansion was torn down in 1957, and a large office building for Getty Oil built on the site still stands on the spot. On the morning of February 1, 1922, Taylor--who had been romantically involved with her-- was shot and killed in his Hollywood bungalow. In 2007 the American Film Institute ranked this as the #16 Greatest Movie of All Time. Both Keaton and Hopper died the same day, on February 1, 1966, at the ages of 70 and 80 respectively, both in Los Angeles. ", The scene of Max playing Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" at the organ might well have been an inspiration for Lurch at the harpsichord in the TV series "The Addams Family.". Norma, the aging silent-movie star who ensnares down-at-the-heels screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden), is the vamp become vampire (look at those clawlike hands! Normand was the last person known to have seen Taylor alive and she was grilled by the Los Angeles Police Department as a result. In 1989 the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress selected this as one of 25 landmark films of all time. She felt that Wilder used her name in a past-tense context, and she was offended. [14], Holden made a third film with Wilder, Sabrina (1954), billed beneath Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. It's probably just as well, since the darker, more nuanced story that eventually emerged was quite different from West's wheelhouse anyway. We'll hear two of his visits to Suspense, beginning with the New Orleans jazz . [26], He made another war film for a British director, The Key (1958) with Trevor Howard and Sophia Loren for director Carol Reed. Every time I go to L.A., which isn't too often, I look at these palm-bemused, once smart stucco facades, and wonder if a Norma Desmond from a later era might be hiding from the world inside them, buttressed by cable TV (AMC or TCM, no doubt), a poodle named FiFi or Sir Francis, walk-in closets full of leopard-print Capri pants that haven't fit in decades, and a world class liquor cabinet that has seen heads of state under the table on a good night. The movie's line "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up" was voted the #7 movie quote by the American Film Institute. The next decade saw Holden's career flourish. It said so on the chart from her astrologer, who read DeMilles horoscope. His deal was considered one of the best ever for an actor at the time, with him receiving 10% of the gross, which earned him over $2.5 million, however, Holden stipulated that he should only receive a maximum of $50,000 per year from the film. Sunset Boulevard DVD (2007) William Holden, Wilder (DIR) cert PG Amazing Value. Test audiences at the time couldnt let go of the joke, which was why it was re-edited this way. After the. Although a registered Republican, he never involved himself in politics. Fred MacMurray and Gene Kelly both turned down the role of Joe Gillis. He stayed at Paramount for The Remarkable Andrew (1942) with Brian Donlevy, then made Meet the Stewarts (1943) at Columbia. Stanwyck went to bat for Holden when he was going to be replaced in Golden Boy (1939) and Wilder's collaboration with Holden in the 50s starting with Sunset Boulevard revitalized his career (including the Best Actor Oscar for Stalag 17 (1953). It's the pictures that got small" was #91. Holden turned the tables on Lucille Ball when he appeared as a guest star on I Love Lucy at The Brown Derby. Mae West rejected the role of Norma Desmond because she felt she was too young to play a silent-film star. read more: The Big Sleep is Proof That Plot Doesnt Matter. This is an old film which has been made into a musical. One of only 13 films to be nominated for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Director. Kodak would discontinue to manufacture it altogether in 1953. There once was a time in this business when they had the eyes of the whole world. In Billy Wilder's film, Erich von Stroheim plays the butler of Gloria Swanson's forgotten silent-film star. See, Bettys a message gal, not a virgin, and there are no whores in Hollywood. The first-floor set of Norma Desmond's mansion was also used in the western comedy Fancy Pants (1950) starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball, giving fans a chance to see it in full color. "Variety" ran a front-page review, and this led to a belated release of Swanson's version in 1957 (the year of Stroheim's death). (The book is about a failed screenwriter who works for a cemetery and lives with a forgotten silent-film star.) This was the actual set of Samson and Delilah (1949), which de Mille was making at the time. And so tonight, my golden boy, you got your wish". Gloria Swanson and Nancy Olson also appeared in Airport 1975. He loves Norma so much, he even forges thousands of pages of fan mail, just to feed her delusion. Sunset Blvd. "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. The But like so many of the female actors of the era, Holden soon realized it was his physical attributes and not his acting ability that the studio cared about. This still goes on today. White, pink, or maybe bright flaming red. The butler stonewalls Joe from the outside world until hes rolling up twenties tight enough snort through to deal with even the shortest withdrawal from the big empty house. These include Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Rudolph Valentino, Rod La Rocque, Vilma Bnky, Mabel Normand, Marie Prevost, Pearl White, and Douglas Fairbanks. The producer in the film was originally called Kaufman and was to be played by Joseph Calleia. For television roles in 1974, Holden won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for his portrayal of a cynical, tough veteran LAPD street cop in the television film The Blue Knight, based upon the best-selling Joseph Wambaugh novel of the same name.[31][4].
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