Erich von Stroheim, who directed Swanson in Queen Kelly (1932), plays Max the butler, who serves as the projectionist in the scene. [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. True to character, Von Stroheim refused to leave Paris to attend the Academy Awards ceremony, and declared that his nomination for best supporting actor should've been for best actor. One of only 13 films to be nominated for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Director. Men bribed her hairdresser to get a lock of her hair. (1950), Cecil B. DeMille, who plays himself in the film, directed H.B. Holden appeared uncredited in Prison Farm (1939) and Million Dollar Legs (1939) at Paramount. Holden was still an unknown actor when he made Golden Boy, while Stanwyck was already a film star. When Norma visits DeMille at Paramount, he's in the midst of shooting Samson and Delilah, which really is what he was up to at the time. She liked Holden and went out of her way to help him succeed, devoting her personal time to coaching and encouraging him, which made them into lifelong friends. A few years later, Stephen Sondheim became interested in writing a musical version of his own, working with writer Burt Shevelove (with whom he ended up writing A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum). 3.48. Hollywood was known for its excesses long before Michael Jackson hit town. and was "a loner," according to Edwards, who wasn't surprised that Holden's body went so long without being discovered. Billy Wilder originally wanted another silent star, Pola Negri, to take the part of Norma Desmond. He stayed true to his word. 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. It opened on Broadway at the Minskoff Theater on November 17, 1994, ran for 977 performances and won the 1995 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Book and Score. Joe Gillis is seen reading the book "The Young Lions" by Irwin Shaw, a best-selling World War Two novel of the time, Montgomery Clift, who was originally offered the part of Joe Gillis, later played one of the leads in the film adaptation of that book The Young Lions (1958), though it was not directed by Billy Wilder. In those days there were no buttons on formal shirts. Talk! 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. Sunset Boulevard's cinematographer, John Seitz, said Wilder "had wanted to do The Loved One, but couldn't obtain the rights." Mae West rejected the role of Norma Desmond because she felt she was too young to play a silent-film star. Since 2006, he has overseen the Bayou City History blog, which covers various aspects of Houston's history. The black studs on Joe's shirt front were probably onyx, black opals, or even black pearls. Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! But Joe wouldnt have fallen so hard if he werent so shackled. Sands had forged Taylors name on checks and wrecked his car the summer before and left footprints on Taylors bed after a burglary. The Tragic 1981 Death Of Sunset Boulevard Star William Holden It gives them an opportunity to write really good acceptances speeches. When Joe and Norma sit down to watch one of her old movies, Joe pulls out a cigarette and places the bottom end in his mouth. The first draft of the film was a straightforward comedy about a has-been actress making a comeback, and Wilder saw Mae West in the role. At the end of her acceptance speech, she paid him a personal tribute: "I loved him very much, and I miss him. This inter-positive was scanned at 2,000 lines of resolution and electronically restored for the 2002 DVD reissue. But it was too difficult to put a camera underwater to get the shot, so Wilder and cinematographer John Seitz came up with an ingenious solution: they put a mirror on the bottom of the pool and filmed the reflection from above. The film is openly referenced in Soapdish (1991), The Player (1992), Gods and Monsters (1998), Mulholland Drive (2001), Inland Empire (2006) and Be Cool (2005) while the closing scene of Cecil B. Demented (2000) is a direct parody of the final scene of the 1950 classic. Sunset Boulevard: The Original Hollywood Expose | Den of Geek The Tragic 1981 Death Of Sunset Boulevard Star William Holden Billy Wilder also used Sheldrake as the last name of Fred MacMurray's character in "The Apartment". The Pharmacy was filmed only 500 feet (150 meters) from a scene in Armed and Dangerous (1986) & Falling Down (1993), The parking lot behind Rudy's Shoeshine where Joe Gillis pulls his car out of is 1751 Vine Street - about a half a block North of Hollywood Blvd (you can tell by the scene's POV of the Taft building that sits on the corner of Hollywood and Vine). The two actors never worked together in another film. Wilder almost hired Broadway star Marlon Brando, who would make his screen debut in The Men in 1950. When Joe and Betty stroll around the studio back lot they pass through the Washington Square set that was used in The Heiress (1949). The statuette on the telephone table at Artie Green's new years party is a model of the Philistine god, Dagon. Seleccionar el departamento en el que deseas buscar. Wilder won the argument and privately told friends that he would not be making any more films with Brackett. #7. [4] The film was made for Columbia, which negotiated a sharing agreement with Paramount for Holden's services. Betty is an idealist, more closely resembling Normas rose-colored outlook, but with darker shades she wants to bring to light. Although Gloria Swanson correctly states he is a Sagittarius, it is actually on the Sagittarius-Capricorn cusp. Yes, this is Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. He always wished that I would get an Oscar. The young actor also got to work with George Raft and Humphrey Bogart in the gangsters on parole movie,Invisible Stripes. They thought the actors made it up as they went along. All of the silent film stars mentioned by Norma, Joe, Betty and Max were either dead or no longer active in films by 1950. It was named after a major street that runs through Hollywood, the center of the American film industry . But it wasn't a mistake. She looks like a mannequin of a . Confess, Peavey, he laughed in the ghosts face. His co-star Barbara Stanwyck, a screen veteran and one of the greatest actors of all time, coached and promoted Holden personally. H.B. producer Music by Franz Waxman Cinematography by John F. Seitz . She worked closely with Gloria Swanson on Norma Desmond's wardrobe, as she figured Swanson would have had a better idea of what women of that time would have worn and what they would be wearing now. 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. The address of Norma Desmond's house is given as 10086 Sunset Boulevard. When Max picks up the discarded headpiece during the tango scene, his expression hints at concern for the mental issues Norma suffers from. The producer in the film was originally called Kaufman and was to be played by Joseph Calleia. Sunset Boulevard (DVD, 2017) UK Region 2 release with extras. The apartments, and the "Alto Nido" sign out front that is glimpsed briefly in the film, are still there. When Artie Green introduces Joe to other guests at his New Year's Eve party, he jokingly refers to him as "the well-known screenwriter, uranium smuggler and Black Dahlia suspect", a reference to the infamous unsolved L.A. murder case in 1947 of an aspiring actress known as The Black Dahlia, who was found murdered and dismembered on a street in Los Angeles. There are several references to Gloria Swanson's actual career in the film. Film debut (uncredited) of Yvette Vickers. This is an old film which has been made into a musical. The character of Joe Gillis was very much in tune with William Holden's standing at the time. The California license plate on Gillis' Plymouth, 4D R 116, appears to be a legal and current registration for 1949. Two years later, he was praised for his Oscar-nominated leading performance in Sidney Lumet's classic Network (1976),[34] an examination of the media written by Paddy Chayefsky, playing an older version of the character type for which he had become iconic in the 1950s, only now more jaded and aware of his own mortality. A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return. A modern-girl Jiminy Cricket, Betty asks, Dont you sometimes hate yourself? and Joe corrects her, Constantly.. Joe insists hes not a Hollywood whore, but he accepts Normas gifts, gold cigarette cases, a platinum watch, suits, shirts, and shoes that would impress Rudy. Wilder asked how much shed charge just to shoot the chair and Lamarr said $10,000. Brackett thought it was too mean while Wilder felt it was necessary. This was the last major Hollywood feature film to be shot on nitrate stock. Sunset Boulevard - General Discussions - TCM Message Boards 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. . Not everyone felt the same way, however. Holden's films continued to struggle at the box office, however: Paris When It Sizzles (1964) with Hepburn was shot in 1962 but given a much delayed release, The 7th Dawn (1964) with Capucine and Susannah York, a romantic adventure set during the Malayan Emergency produced by Charles K. Feldman, Alvarez Kelly (1966), a Western, and The Devil's Brigade (1968). Getty Mansion aka Norma Desmond's home in "Sunset Boulevard" midway Billy Wilder originally approached William Haines to play one of Norma's bridge partners. "Waxwork" Buster Keaton was in reality an excellent bridge player, always in demand at Hollywood bridge parties. This promised to go the limit. Sometimes its interesting to see just how bad, bad writing can be. William Haines turned down an offer to appear in the film but attended the Hollywood premiere with Joan Crawford. Included among the American Film Institute's 1998 list of the Top 100 Greatest American Movies. The photos of the young Norma Desmond that decorate the house are all genuine publicity photos from Gloria Swanson's heyday. But it could just as well have been Joes headquarters, Schwabs Drug Store, a kind of combination office, coffee clutch, and waiting room where actors and writers wait for the gravy train. taste bar and kitchen missouri city. When Peavey heard the moans I am the ghost of William Desmond Taylor. 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. Holman was reportedly worried the film would parody their relationship and told Clift she would commit suicide if he played the role. Gillis smokes unfiltered cigarettes in the film. When Gloria Swanson finished Norma's final scene, the mad staircase descent, she burst into tears and the crew applauded. After the. We were close friends for many years. After his final film S.O.B., Holden declined to star in Jason Miller's film That Championship Season.[37]. Wilder was no fan of improvisation and was very protective of his words. a mean old woman who looks and acts a little like Ma Bates if she'd been dead for several years but was somehow still just as talkative and feisty. Marshman Jr. Sunset Boulevard was the last time Brackett and Wilder collaborated on a film. This still goes on today. Originally Billy Wilder wanted both of Hollywood's top gossip columnists--Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons--reporting from Norma's mansion at the end and fighting over the phone. 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. Sunset Boulevard told an old familiar story. Location scenes at Norma Desmond's mansion were shot not on Sunset Boulevard but on Wilshire Boulevard. Erich von Stroheim, who made the masterpiece Greed in 1924, directed Swanson in Queen Kelly (1928), the flick Holdens character cuddles up with Norma to watch in the dark screening room of the dark mansion. From the right angle, the camera could shoot the reflected image in the mirror without ever going underwater itself. You used to be big. Mary Pickford lived in seclusion, away from the public eye, while both Mae Murray and Clara Bow had well documented struggles with mental illness. 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,. She said it was a blackmail scheme gone wrong. In addition to starring in "Queen Kelly", Swanson also produced it, and fired von Stroheim when he had already gone over the budget by more than double, and with no end to filming in sight. Cinematographer John Seitz put a mirror on the bottom of the pool and filmed the reflection. Read more of his work here or find him on Twitter @tsokol. The princess in love with a holy man, she dances the dance of the seven veils. Cecil B. DeMille had a pet name for Gloria Swanson: "Young Fellow". Unlike the character she played, Gloria Swanson had accepted the fact that the movies didn't want her anymore and had moved to New York, where she worked on radio and, later, television. In July 1941, he married 25-year old actress Brenda Marshall, who commanded five times his income. In 1969, Holden made a comeback when he starred in director Sam Peckinpah's graphically violent Western The Wild Bunch,[4] winning much acclaim. Carol Burnett spoofed the film several times on her TV variety show. Boulevard du crpuscule : Amazon.com.mx: Pelculas y Series de TV. director of photography Film Editing by Arthur P. Schmidt . When he drives Norma to Paramount Pictures at the studio gates, the car was pulled with a rope by off-camera grips. Boulevard du crpuscule : Amazon.com.mx: Pelculas y Series de TV Norma Talmadge and Constance Talmadge were famous for owning downtown real estate in Los Angeles and San Diego. The only Best Picture Oscar nominee of the year to be also nominated for Original Screenplay. ", After serving with the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, he returned to Hollywood and in 1950 he got his first substantial role in Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard," per Britannica. Microphones would catch the last gurgles, and Technicolor would photograph the red, swollen tongues. For purposes of authenticity Erich von Stroheim and Nancy Olson wore their own clothes in the film. So she lands his head on a golden tray, kissing his cold, dead lips. It's the pictures that got small," was voted #24, out of 100. Norma's "gondola bed" was originally white, and was featured in Twentieth Century (1934) with Carole Lombard and John Barrymore. His height was 1.8 m tall and weighed 89 kg. But when Sondheim pitched the idea to Billy Wilder at a party, Wilder said, "You can't write a musical about Sunset Boulevard. Normands career never recovered after word of her addiction leaked out and she died of tuberculosis on Feb. 23, 1930. He called it "that goddamned butler role" for the remaining seven years of his life. is a 1950 American black comedy [1] [2] film noir [3] directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and produced and co-written by Charles Brackett. He was also one of many stars in Feldman's Casino Royale (1967). At Paramount, he did another Western, Streets of Laredo (1949). If Gillis is accurate in stating that his meeting with Norma occurred some six months prior, the action of the film takes place between mid-November 1948 and mid- May 1949. Joes voice even starts to take on more and more of her theatrical flourish after too much exposure. You murdered me. Louis B. Mayer's reaction is well documented but Mae Murray also found the film offensive. But in 1957, Paramount formally asked Desmond to stop, the studio bosses having decided not to grant permission after all. When she received her Honorary Oscar at the 1982 Academy Award ceremony, Holden had died in an accident just a few months prior. Holden was born William Franklin Beedle, Jr., on April 17, 1918, in O'Fallon, Illinois, son of Mary Blanche Beedle (ne Ball), a schoolteacher, and her husband William Franklin Beedle, an industrial chemist. In 1998 the American Film Institute selected this as the 12th greatest film of the 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time. Im not giving anything away here. The undertaker, who appears for a few seconds early on with the white casket for Norma's deceased pet chimp, was veteran actor Franklyn Farnum, who played extras in over 1,000 films during his lengthy but unsung career. During Norma Desmond's New Years' Eve party, the band begin to play the song 'Diane', the theme of the 1927 film 7th Heaven (1927). [16] Holden recalls their romance:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, Before I even met her, I had a crush on her, and after I met her, just a day later, I felt as if we were old friends, and I was rather fiercely protective of her, though not in a possessive way. As day breaks. He earned an Oscar nomination for "Sunset Boulevard" and won an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 for his role in "Stalag 17," per IMDb. Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard" is the portrait of a forgotten silent star, living in exile in her grotesque mansion, screening her old films, dreaming of a comeback. After all, it's about a dethroned queen." Thirty-one years later, the actor who played Gillis, William Holden, met his end. Perry, George & Andrew Lloyd Webber (1993). Montgomery Clift was originally cast as the writer but dropped out two weeks before the shoot. The actor-turned-director bitched about that goddamned butler role for the rest his life. Fred MacMurray and Gene Kelly both turned down the role of Joe Gillis. For the clip of the vintage film that Norma was watching Paramount couldn't find anything suitable so Gloria provided it from her own collection. It was a big hit, as was The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), a Korean War drama with Kelly.[20][21]. In an interview Wilder gave in 1996 he claimed that the film which eventually became SUNSET BOULEVARD began as a comedy for Mae West and Marlon Brando. Holman was 16 years older than him and was afraid people would think the movie was a parody of their relationship. [39] On a trip to Africa, he fell in love with the wildlife and became increasingly concerned with the animal species that were beginning to decrease in population. Jay Livingston, Ray Evans: The Paramount songwriting duo is seen at the piano at Artie Green's New Year's Eve party. In 1973, Holden starred with Kay Lenz in a movie directed by Clint Eastwood called Breezy, which was considered a box-office flop. ), It came out the same year as another behind-the-scenes showbiz classic, All About Eve, which took most of the Oscars. "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. If you don't, I will personally shoot you." We had faces" was #13. [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. Not long ago, he was divorced from the actress, Gloria Holden, but carried the torch after the marital rift. (Norma Desmond would be quick to point out that, thanks to computers and iPads, the pictures have gotten even smaller. He said it was because she was braver than any man. He earned an Oscar nomination for "Sunset Boulevard" and won an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 for his role in "Stalag 17," per IMDb. William Holden: The Golden Boy of Vintage Hollywood - Variety (She liked it.). Only 950 were made from 1924 to 1931. Norma's butler, Max, who used to be one of her directors is played by Erich von Stroheim, who directed Swanson in the movie Queen Kelly (1932), clips from which are used in the scene where Norma and Joe watch one of her old films. Sunset Boulevard DVD Special Collector's Edition William Holden Gloria Marshman Jr. was hired to help batten down a script that was giving Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett great difficulty. Joe Gillis' typewriter is a portable manual Remington Rand Noiseless Model 7. 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]. Sunset Boulevard movie review (1950) | Roger Ebert Beedle grew up in South Pasadena, California. Every character is jaded, except the oldest players. Reluctantly, Wilder met with William Holden, who hadn't done much after the great Hollywood innovator Rouben Mamoulian's Golden Boy (1939). Those offices later became the home of the "Star Trek" art department. He directed classic films like Double Indemnity, Ace in the Hole, The Apartment, The Lost Weekend, Stalag 17, Witness for the Prosecution, Sabrina, and Some Like It Hot. Its second owner was Jean Paul Getty, who purchased it for his second wife. Holden's career took off again in 1950 when Billy Wilder tapped him to play a down-at-heel screenwriter taken in by a faded silent film actress (Gloria Swanson) in Sunset Boulevard. 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. 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. Realizing that former actress Hopper would easily dominate the scene, Parsons declined, even though she and Wilder were friends. On the advice of Libby Holman, Montgomery Clift, who had signed to play the part of Joe Gillis, broke his contract just two weeks prior to the start of shooting. The forensics team rolled him over and saw he had been shot at least once in the back with a small-caliber pistol. When he appeared in the innovative Hollywood director Rouben Mamoulian's Golden Boy (1939), he was hailed as exactly that, but had seen his stock fall, largely through his problems with alcohol and a string of unmemorable films in the 1940s. Brenda Marshall, Holden's wife since 1941, was visiting the set when Holden and Nancy Olson had their kissing scene. Director Billy Wilder Writers Charles Brackett Billy Wilder D.M. These actors were bigger than life. (1950) in Australia? Her Stockholm Syndrome is positively infectious. One of the few showy bits of camerawork in the film is near the beginning, when the corpse floating in Norma Desmond's pool is seen from underneath. Ready? Idealists can screw for fun and for power, because sex is good for business but love is a luxury Hollywood gals cant live without. On the basis of this film and largely due to his continuing association with director Billy Wilder, Holden would reach the zenith of his career from 1950-'57. "Lonely, alone, without dignity.". Universal bought it on her death in 1920 and it was used in several movies, most notably in The Phantom of the Opera (1925). After graduating from South Pasadena High School, Holden attended Pasadena Junior College, where he became involved in local radio plays. Wilder and Brackett told everyone at Paramount and the Production code that the screenplay was based on the story A Can of Beans by Wilder, Brackett, and D.M. For the cover photo of the very first issue, in April 1951, of what many consider the most important film magazine of all time, the Paris-based "Cahiers du Cinema, " the editors chose the image of Gloria Swanson and William Holden in her screening room. 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. At one point Norma mistakes Joe for a funeral director and asks for her coffin to be white, as well as specially lined with satin. over the spiraling budget. In 1954, Holden was featured on the cover of Life. The next decade saw Holden's career flourish. They had faces. [43] Capucine and Holden remained friends until his death in 1981. Culture Editor Tony Sokol cut his teeth on the wire services and also wrote and produced New York CitysVampyr Theatreand the rock operaAssassiNation: We Killed JFK. Cecil B. DeMille appears in the film on a studio set. 13 Close-Up Facts About Sunset Boulevard - Mental Floss 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! The part was only Nancy Olson's third film appearance. The larger version is seen at the temple that Samson brings down in the movie Samson and Delilah (1949), which Cecil B. DeMille was shooting when Norma visits him at Paramount. To shoot Joe and Norma dancing together at her New Year's Eve party, cameraman John F. Seitz used a dance dolly---a wheeled platform attached to the camera. To everyone's surprise, Judy Holliday won the Best Actress Oscar in 1951 for Born Yesterday (1950), beating Gloria Swanson in this film, and Bette Davis in All About Eve (1950). According to the DVD commentary by Wilder biographer Ed Sikov, this story was most likely invented/exaggerated by Billy Wilder. As the band plays 'Diane', we also see Desmond ascending her staircase. Holden met French actress Capucine in the early 1960s. "[18] Rumors at the time had it that Hepburn wanted a family, but when Holden told her that he had had a vasectomy and having children was impossible, she moved on. On the night of November 12, 1981, Holden consumed somewhere between eight and 10 drinks in a short amount of time, according to "William Holden: A Biography." Swanson supplemented many of the costumes with her own accessories and jewelry. And like the title, Holden seemed to have the looks and muscular build Hollywood craved. Well, not everybody! The role of Norma Desmond was initially offered to Mae West (who rejected the part), Mary Pickford (Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett realized when talking to her that her image as "America's Sweetheart" made her unsuitable for the part), and Pola Negri (Billy Wilder rejected her as her thick accent would cause too many problems) before being accepted by Gloria Swanson. [26], He made another war film for a British director, The Key (1958) with Trevor Howard and Sophia Loren for director Carol Reed. The clips in Sunset Boulevard were the first American audiences had seen of it. I think that Sunset Boulevard was the most important film of William Holden's career. She refuses to believe that she's no longer remembered and will never make another movie. Previous image. Gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, who plays herself in the movie, wrote that Billy Wilder was crazy about Evelyn Waughs book The Loved One, and the studio wanted to buy it.. 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).
