Sunset Boulevard

Released:  August 10^th, 1950

Rated:  NR (predates MPAA)

Distributor:  Paramount Pictures

Starring:  William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson

Directed by:  Billy Wilder

Written by:  Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marsham Jr.

Personal Bias Alert:  not a fan of the classics

9 of 10

            “A Hollywood Story” is the understated tagline of Sunset Boulevard, and it’s one that the film earns.  Upon its premiere in L.A., Louis B. Mayer (co-founder of MGM studios) famously yelled at director Billy Wilder “You have disgraced the industry that made and fed you!”  He said this not because Wilder had made a mockery of their industry, but because he showed the world what a mockery their industry actually was.  Sunset Boulevard takes place during the studio system era of Hollywood, when films were churned out by conglomerates that controlled the development, production, and distribution of films.  It’s a foreign concept to modern moviegoers, but at that time, the films Americans saw were entirely controlled by the bigwigs at eight major studios.  Who made them and who starred in them was decided by long-term contracts, and once a studio was done with you, your career was over.

            This is how people like Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) came to be.  Like many real-life stars, Sunset Boulevard’s Norma had been famous during the silent era but was pushed out by the studios during the transition to talkies.  With her copious amounts of money she withdrew from life, preserving a slice of her glory days in her mansion and pining for the day when the cameras would return.  Into her clutches wanders a struggling screenwriter named Joe (William Holden), whom she offers a job that can’t be refused.

            As with many classics, the twisted, darkly funny themes of Sunset Boulevard are laid bare for the viewer, but the nudging is so thoughtfully done here, so meticulously planned out, that it’s hard not to get sucked in.  Norma’s wild gesticulations bounce off the indifferent Joe in a way that epitomizes the audience’s willing forgetfulness.  People at that time had no choice but to accept what the studio gave them, so when the studio kicked out a star or a director, there was no one to catch them.  These people’s insulated world would just pick up and go, leaving many of them without the skills to exist in the real world.  What were we to do, then, when one of these relics cropped up out of the dust?  Would we laugh at them, ridicule them, or would we take pity and try to lead them to some sort of peace?  This is the question that Joe never finds the answer to, perhaps because the audience never did, either.

            Wilder and his cowriters clearly pulled no punches when it came to examining the Hollywood of their time, and Wilder spared no expense when it came to seeing his vision through.  Norma’s mansion is a wonder of extravagance, captured in impeccable black and white.  The cast is a top-notch affair, with stars of yesteryear and the future littering the screen.  It’s difficult when watching this film not to exclaim when Buster Keaton or Cecil B. DeMille appear for cameos, and Holden, who carries us through the film, went on to be a well-known star in his own right (The Bridge on the River Kwai, anyone?).  But it’s undeniably Swanson, a legitimate star of the silent era herself, who steals the show.  Her every movement is pitch-perfectly wild, mining Norma for all the pathos and comedy you could ever want, and showing us in a meta way what Norma might have been able to do if given the chance.

            The fact that Sunset Boulevard is a triumph will be a news flash to no one.  It’s been over 60 years since the film was released, and time has only made it slightly worse for the wear.  Despite the move away from the studio system, the broader themes of life in Hollywood and the average man’s relationship to it still remains poignant to this day.  I guess the question you have to ask yourself is:  how much do you really want that pool?

Other Notes:

Ø  Just how meta is Swanson’s casting as Norma?  When the character exclaims that she made Paramount Studios, the same could be said for Gloria Swanson.

Ø  This is one of only 13 films to be nominated for Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress at the Oscars.  One of the other films to achieve this feat, Network, also starred William Holden.

Ø  If only the pictures hadn’t gotten small…