William Holden and Gloria Swanson are prisoners of Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard (1950) is an American film noir directed by Billy Wilder and starring William Holden, Gloria Swanson, and Eric von Stroheim. The screenplay was written by Charles Brackett, Wilder, and D. M. Marshman Jr. The supporting cast includes Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, and Jack Webb. The cinematography was by John F. Seitz and the music was by Franz Waxman.

Holden stars as Joe Gillis, a down-on-his-luck screenwriter who by a set of strange circumstances is drawn into the orbit of Norma Desmond (Swanson) a retired silent film star set on a return (don’t you dare say comeback) to the screen.

Norma hires Joe to work on her screenplay of Salome, the picture she believes will put her back on top. For the money, Joe takes the work on but knows it’s not going to go anywhere. Norma is convinced that the picture is sure to be a hit and that Cecil B. DeMille will direct it. DeMille worked with Norma during her reign as the queen of the silent screen.

Joe still dreams of getting his screenplay ideas sold and finds himself involved with Betty Schaefer (Olson), a script reader working at the Paramount Studio. Joe keeps his relationship with Norma a secret and finds himself falling in love with Betty, who just so happens to be engaged to Artie Green (Webb), an assistant director who is working on location. All the while, Norma has fallen in love with Joe and becomes more and more dependent on him.

How will this all end? Will Norma make a successful return to the screen? Will Joe and Betty find happiness together? Or will Norma’s hold on Joe destroy everything?

Billy Wilder (1906 - 2002) was an Austrian-born American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He won six Academy Awards for his writing and direction and was nominated twenty-one times over a career that spanned five decades. Wilder started his career as a writer, penning the screenplays for Ninotchka (1939), Ball of Fire (1942), Double Indemnity (1945), The Lost Weekend (1946), Sunset Boulevard (1951)  Boulevard (1951), Sabrina (1955), Some Like it Hot (1960), and The Apartment (1961). As a director, he won Academy Awards for directing The Lost Weekend (1946) and The Apartment (1961). Wilder directed fourteen different actors in Oscar-nominated roles. He is considered one of the most versatile directors from Hollywood’s Classical period.

William Holden (1918 - 1981) was an American actor and major movie star. He was one of the most bankable stars of the 1950s. Holden starred in some of the most popular and beloved films of all time including Sunset Boulevard, Sabrina, Picnic (1955), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), and Stalag 17 for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Holden became a star with his very first role in Golden Boy (1939). He had lead roles in other popular films like Our Town (1940), and  I Wanted Wings (1941). World War II interrupted his career. Holden was a first lieutenant in the United States Army Air Force. After the war, he made some popular but forgettable films. It wasn’t after he collaborated with director Wilder on Sunset Boulevard that Holden’s popularity and stature in Hollywood grew to superstar status.

Gloria Swanson (1899 – 1983) was an American actress who was a major star during the silent era. Swanson, a Chicago native, got her start in film at Essanay Studios where silent film star Francis X Bushman was under contract. Also employed by Essanay were Charlie Chaplin and Wallace Beery. Swanson married Beery in 1916. He was the first of here six husbands. Swanson, Chaplin, and Beery eventually moved to Hollywood where their careers flourished. Swanson was nominated for three Best Actress Oscars. The first two were for silent films and the third was for Sunset Boulevard. Swanson made the transition to sound, but her career stalled and her star power faded.

Sunset Boulevard trivia

• Norma Desmond was based on the several stars from the silent era including Mary Pickford, Mae Murray, and Clara Bow.
• Montgomery Clift was originally cast as Joe Gillis but left the broke his contract two weeks before production.
• Gloria Swanson was asked to do a screen test which she didn’t want to do. Her friend the director George Cukor told her to do ten screen tests if necessary.
• After a private screening of the film, Barbara Stanwyck knelt in front of Swanson and kissed the hem of her dress.
• Willian Holden and Billy Wilder became close friends during the production of Sunset Boulevard.
• Nancy Olson wore her own clothes in the film because Wilder wanted her to be herself on film.

 

To watch the film on YouTube click here.

 

To join the discussion on November 13, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, click here. Once you RSVP, you will receive an invitation with a link to join the discussion on Zoom.

 

Discussion question

1. Sunset Boulevard is considered one of the greatest films of all time. Do you think its reputation as such is well deserved?
2. The film lost the Best Picture Academy Award to All About Eve. Sunset Boulevard is about the film industry and All About Eve is about the theater. Which film holds up the best in 2023?
3. William Holden wasn’t even in Billy Wilder’s top five choices for the role of Joe Gillis. What do you think of his performance?
4. Gloria Swanson had hoped her performance and Oscar nomination would revive her movie career but it didn’t. What did you think of her performance?
5. Do you have a favorite scene or line of dialogue (the film is filled with great lines)?
6. Can you see any other actress from Swanson’s era in the role of Norma Desmond?
7. Is Hollywood the same today as it was in 1950? Does Hollywood treat women better today?
8. Bill Wilder was a director working in Hollywood. Was he exempting himself from the criticism? Was he any different than Cecil B. DeMille?

2018 Turner Classic Film Festival (#TCMFF) Day 3

Saturday the 28th was the third day—second full day—of the TCM Film Festival. And what a tough beginning to the day (To borrow a movie quote, “were there enough days in that sentence?”). There were four movies that I would have loved to have seen, but I had to choose one.

Dana Andrews (center) in The Ox-Bow Incident

His Girl Friday (1940) is a favorite of mine and it would have been great to see it with an audience in the Chinese Theatre and who doesn’t love the teaming of Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell? Kiss Me Deadly (1955) is a movie that I’ve never understood its appeal; this was an easy pass for me. Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) would have been great fun with Mickey Rooney, Lana Turner and Judy Garland before they became screen legends. And another favorite, A Letter to Three Wives (1949) I would have really loved to have seen with an audience. In my opinion this Joseph L. Mankiewicz classic (he won Oscars for his writing and direction) holds up better than All About Eve, the movie he made the next year. I decided to go to the Egyptian Theatre to see The Ox-Bow Incident (1943). This modest western was a favorite of the film’s star, Henry Fonda. The film is a tragic example of what happens when men take the law into their own hands. When word comes to town that a man has been shot dead, a group of men decide to find and hang the murderer. The supporting cast is excellent. It includes Dana Andrews, Anthony Quinn, Francis Ford, Jane Darwell, Harry Davenport, Harry Morgan, and William Eythe. Andrews is a standout as one of the victims at the hands of the posse. Fonda delivers a solid performance as a member of the posse who doesn’t go along with the mob. William Wellman, who also counted this as among his favorites, directed the film. Scott Eyman who is the author of the recent biography Hank and Jim: The Fifty-Year Friendship of Henry Fonda and James Stewart, introduced the movie. The movie was shown in a digital format that looked flawless.

The next choice at 11:30 a.m. was pretty easy. Bullitt (1968) starring Steve McQueen was a film that I had never seen from beginning to end. I’d seen clips of the famous car chase, but again, I never sat down to watch the whole film. The IMAX screen in the Chinese Theatre was the perfect venue in which to watch this movie. When the car chase happened, it was incredible and it holds up amazingly well. Actress Jacqueline Bisset was scheduled to appear at the screening, but she canceled at the last minute due to a family emergency. Eddie Muller, who was set to interview Bisset, expressed his disappointment at this turn of events, but managed to pull it together and deliver a good introduction.

My next film was another easy choice for me. I chose Sunset Boulevard (1950) because it’s just an amazing piece of filmmaking, directed by the legendary Billy Wilder. The movie takes a look at Hollywood in a most unglamorous light, which was a big risk at the time of its release. The Studio System was still in effect and many in Hollywood, including Louis B. Mayer, hated it. The film also features a great early performance by William Holden as Joe Gillis and was his first collaborative work with director Wilder. Gloria Swanson also delivers an amazing performance as silent film star Norma Desmond, winning an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in the process. She lost out to Judy Holiday. On the big screen in the Chinese, Sunset Boulevard looked just perfect…and Sunset Boulevard is an almost perfect movie. Nancy Olson who starred as Betty in the film was interviewed by Ben Mankiewicz before the screening.

Nancy Kwan and William Holden in The World of Suzie Wong

Another relatively easy pick for me came up at 6:30 p.m. The World of Suzie Wong (1960) starring William Holden and Nancy Kwan in her film debut. I had never seen this movie, being too young to have seen it in the movies (I was only three at the time) and when it finally arrived on network TV, I wasn’t allowed to watch it (once again, I was too young as far as my parents were concerned). By today’s standards, the movie is fairly tame, but it does deal with serious issues of race, sex, discrimination, and marriage. And it does so in a way that I found interesting and not as dated as I had been led to believe. Before the film, Kwan was interviewed by film historian Donald Bogle. She talked about her early life and how she entered acting completely by accident. Kwan was studying ballet in London and was discovered in her native Hong Kong when she visited the studio where they were testing for the role of Suzie Wong. Kwan wanted the opportunity to see some of her favorite actresses in person. She had no intention of auditioning herself. I enjoyed listening to Kwan talk about the movie, working with Holden (a good experience for her), and how her movie career wasn’t sustainable due to too few roles for Asian actresses.

The last movie of the night for me was Gigi (1958). I though it would be great to see this film on a big screen because every frame looks like a painting. I was not disappointed. The digital restoration was beautiful. The music by Lerner and Lowe is memorable, as is the cast: Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jordan, Hermione Gingold, and Leslie Caron as Gigi. Caron was perfect in the role; it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing her. The tuneful classic was the perfect end to the third day of the festival.

Looking ahead to day four of the festival. Some good choices in the morning: Once Upon a Time in The West (1968), The Black Stallion (1979), Woman of the Year (1942), Tunes of Glory (1960). What movie will I choose? What movie would you pick for your first movie on the last (sniff) day of the festival?

Spend Valentine’s Day with Billy Wilder

By Kate Voss

It’s Valentine’s Day once again -- that time of year when, no matter how harsh the weather may be outside, sentimentality abounds. When it comes to classic cinema, Billy Wilder and sentimentality are practically synonymous. However, Wilder wasn’t merely a purveyor of light-hearted comedies, as his body of work includes entries in various genres. Many of the films which he either wrote or directed are typically regarded as among the best of all time.

The Austrian-born Wilder got his start in the film industry in his youth, when he began writing screenplays in Berlin in the 1920s. As the Third Reich became an increasingly menacing presence throughout Germany, Wilder, fearing religious persecution because he was Jewish, defected to Paris where he directed his first feature-length film, Mauvaise Graine (1934). Shortly thereafter, in 1933 (before his directorial debut had even hit theaters in Paris), WIlder permanently settled in Hollywood.

He first achieved notoriety in the states for co-writing the romantic comedy Ninotchka (1939), which was directed by Hollywood veteran Ernst Lubitsch. In the film, we meet three Russians who are in Paris to sell Jewelry that was confiscated from the Imperial family after the revolution. Count Leon d'Algout (Melvyn Douglas) has been sent by an heiress of the Russian family to retrieve the jewels -- that’s when the titular Ninotchka (Greta Garbo), a Russian spy, gets involved. She has been deployed by the Russian government to ensure that the jewels are sold for the monetary benefit of her country.

This was made, of course, during a time of immense political turmoil, and heightened levels of friction between competing societal ideals in the burgeoning, socialist Soviet empire, and the free-market capitalism models in the West. Ninotchka is stoic, unflinching in her pursuits, and not given to levity or frivolity, whereas Leon is the very embodiment of Western frivolity. Inevitably though, they reconcile their differences and fall madly in love. The film was a major hit, and would go on to inspire the script for the Broadway musical  Silk Stockings, which was itself adapted into the 1957 film directed by Rouben Mamoulian.

Wilder went on to bolster his reputation with the script he co-wrote alongside crime writer Raymond Chandler for the noir thriller Double Indemnity (1944), and achieved even greater fame for writing and directing the ultra-self-reflexive Sunset Boulevard (1950).

But many fans will remember Wilder best for a series of romantic comedies he did in the 1950’s, most notably, the comedic masterpiece Some Like it Hot (1959). The film features Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as two wayward musicians in Chicago who find themselves fleeing from the mob after they bear witness to the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. They disguise themselves in drag, and hitch a train cross country with an all-female jazz ensemble. Both of them fall in love with the band’s singer, Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe). It feels dated in the very best way possible -- it’s the distillation of everything that is charming and effective about overtly-stylized romance films from Hollywood’s golden era, and the script for that film is so dense with jokes. If you only ever see one of Wilder’s films, this has got to be the one. It’s regarded by many critics, including Roger Ebert, as one of the best comedies ever made. And if you haven’t already seen it, you might consider cozying up tonight, as you can stream it in its entirety through sites like Directstartv.com and Hulu.

Wilder was a true master of his craft, and his work invokes a certain warm, fuzzy nostalgia that no other filmmaker can even come close to competing with.


Guest blogger, Kate Voss is an entertainment blogger from Chicago. A romantic at-heart, she will be delighting in the classical works of Wilder and Frank Capra this Valentine's Day. You can find her on Twitter at @Kateevoss.