You used to be in silent pictures. Because all three audiences inappropriately found the morgue scene hilarious, the film's release was delayed six months so that a new beginning could be shot. Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard took the tinsel out of Tinseltown, the gild off the golden boy, and the cover off a forgotten murder. This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 22:44. 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. 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. (The book is about a failed screenwriter who works for a cemetery and lives with a forgotten silent-film star.) 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. Was Oscar-nominated in all the major categories--Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Screenplay--but only won in the last category. After working on Sunset Boulevard, Swanson remarked, Bill Holden was a man I could have fallen in love with. (1954). Norma Talmadge and Constance Talmadge were famous for owning downtown real estate in Los Angeles and San Diego. Art director John Meehan experimented until he came up with the idea to shoot the scene through a mirror at the bottom of the studio water tank. Gloria Swanson worked closely with Edith Head on Norma's clothes to achieve just the right look: grandly expensive but slightly out of date. Holden acted in Executive Suite (1954), The Country Girl (1954) with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly, The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), and Picnic (1955). but Holden's wife, Ardis (Brenda Marshall), who happened to be on set that day. It's the *pictures* that got small. Every woman was in love with him. Director Billy Wilder Writers Charles Brackett Billy Wilder D.M. She lives in a crumbling old mansion with her butler Max (Erich von Stroheim). [45], According to the Los Angeles County Coroner's autopsy report, Holden bled to death in his apartment in Santa Monica, California, on November 12, 1981, after lacerating his forehead from slipping on a rug while intoxicated and hitting a bedside table. Joe Gillis: You're Norma Desmond. Please, don't let it be true, it must be some mistake," per her memoir. was voted #6 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by "Premiere" magazine in 2007. For purposes of authenticity Erich von Stroheim and Nancy Olson wore their own clothes in the film. (1950), as a way of "art imitating life." He rose to prominence with his role in the movie "Sunset Boulevard" (1950), which landed him his first Best Actor Oscar nomination. Since 2006, he has overseen the Bayou City History blog, which covers various aspects of Houston's history. In fact,Bob Thomas, Holden's biographer, said that the actor's addiction counselor predicted his demise. He played Bogarts kid brother in Sabrina, Holdens third film with director Billy Wilder, in 1954. Cecil B. DeMille agreed to do his cameo for a $10,000 fee and a brand-new Cadillac. There were three young directors who showed promise in those early days of silent film, D.W. Griffith, Cecil B. On the morning of February 1, 1922, Taylor--who had been romantically involved with her-- was shot and killed in his Hollywood bungalow. That's the end.". She looks like a mannequin of a . Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard is one of his three or four masterpieces, a seminal Hollywood black comedy-satire, which unlike most films keeps improving with the passage of time.. Benfiting from a glorious and iconic cast, the film concerns a faded silent film star, played by Gloria Swanson (in a variation of her own onscreen persona), who lives in the past with her butler (and former . [10] RKO borrowed him for Rachel and the Stranger (1948) with Robert Mitchum and Loretta Young. Norma's bed originally belonged to French actress/singer Gaby Deslys. 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. In fact, such was the buzz about the film during production that the viewing of the dailies became one of the hottest tickets on the lot. Gillis: "Yes I was murdered." in West Hollywood. and Crescent Heights Blvd. It was this astonishing footage that rekindled interest in the film. It's the pictures that got small" was #91. William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. 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. over the spiraling budget. Paramount reunited him with Nancy Olson, one of his Sunset Boulevard costars, in Union Station (1950). So funny that it took away from the rest of the picture. This one had it in spades. are shown stenciled on the curb of that street. They stayed that way even if the pictures got small. 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. 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. (1950) in Australia? 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. Billy Wilder was frustrated with people assuming that the ending was meant to be ambiguous and asking him what happens to Norma after the final dissolve. [26], He made another war film for a British director, The Key (1958) with Trevor Howard and Sophia Loren for director Carol Reed. 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. "I know how it's going to be," Holden said (per The Huntsville Item). Mary Pickford, Pola Negri, and Greta Garbo turned down the role.
William Holden, Gloria Swanson and 'Sunset Boulevard' at the Metropolitan 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]. Every character is jaded, except the oldest players. The mansion belonged to the second Mrs. Jean Paul Getty, who rented it on condition that if she did not like the swimming pool the studio would have to add for the film, it would cover it over and restore the original landscaping. A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return. Erich von Stroheims Max von Mayerling is equally awestruck, still caught in the wake of Normas star dust. At the end of her acceptance speech, she paid him a personal tribute: "I loved him very much, and I miss him. 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. Strange? 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). It always will be! Next image (0) (0) Glenn Close, who portrayed Norma Desmond on stage, also played a character who dramatically cut her wrists over a man she was in love with in the film "Fatal Attraction. He said it was because she was braver than any man.
The Tragic 1981 Death Of Sunset Boulevard Star William Holden They are singing a parody of their song "Buttons and Bows," from The Paleface (1948), for which they won an Oscar in 1949, the year this film was made. Since he had classic good looks, an expressive voice, and was an excelle In the fall of 1981, the television actor Stefanie Powers, who was dating William Holden, was in Hawaii filming the ABC show "Hart to Hart" when Holden stopped answering his phone. Holden starred in the 20th Century Fox film Apartment for Peggy (1948). Joe could have slept with Norma and loved Betty, and owned the pool that would be his final resting place. When Norma Desmond says to the guard at the "Paramount Studio" gates, "Without me there wouldn't be any 'Paramount Studio'" the words could apply to Gloria Swanson herself, as she was the studio's top star for six years running. He made two more films with Olson: Force of Arms (1951) at Warner Bros. and Submarine Command (1951) at Paramount. Taylor had $78 in his wallet, a silver cigarette case, a Waltham pocket watch, and a two-carat diamond ring on his finger when his body was found, so cops quickly ruled out robbery as the motive. It also alludes to the fact that Pomona was one of three towns in California's Inland Empire region (Riverside and San Bernardino were the others) that were frequently used during Hollywood's Golden Age for testing preview audiences' reactions to unreleased films. The character of Norma Desmond is modeled on the fate of several leading actresses of the silent era. He played an older version of Joe in Sidney Lumets classic Network (1976), written by the cynical Paddy Chayefsky. It was meant to be slightly humorous in a morbid way, but the audience at the first test screening found it flat-out hysterical, setting the wrong mood for the rest of the picture. 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. F. Scott Fitzgerald suffered a heart attack while in Schwab's in 1940 (contrary to legend, Lana Turner was not discovered by a talent agent in Schwab's but, rather in a drugstore across from Hollywood High School, about three miles to the east). They had paired up in pictures since 1938. In 1973, Holden starred with Kay Lenz in a movie directed by Clint Eastwood called Breezy, which was considered a box-office flop. The Tragic 1981 Death Of Sunset Boulevard Star William Holden Grunge 2.14M subscribers Subscribe 486 18K views 3 weeks ago #Actor #Hollywood #SunsetBoulevard While Actor William Holden. (1940) followed by the role of George Gibbs in the film adaptation of Our Town (1940), done for Sol Lesser at United Artists.[8]. [42][citation needed]. In 1998 the American Film Institute selected this as the 12th greatest film of the 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time. 3.48. 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. The script (which was to be a vehicle for her comeback) was submitted to Cecil B. DeMille who sent it back. Holden had another good break when he was cast as Judy Holliday's love interest in the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway hit Born Yesterday (1950). [7], Back at Paramount, he starred with Bonita Granville in Those Were the Days! Oh, wake up, Norma. 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.
Sunset Boulevard (1950): Billy Wilder's Darkly Humorous Masterpiece Her friend George Cukor, who initially recommended her for the part, told her, "If they want you to do ten screen tests, do ten screen tests. Later he strangled himself with it. Both suits were dismissed.
SUNSET BOULEVARD: The Making of the Billy Wilder Classic 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). Ballard, who used to impersonate Norma descending the stairs. Mae West rejected the role of Norma Desmond because she felt she was too young to play a silent-film star. It is because of Sunset Blvd., for certain, that my mind could ever go there. Billy Wilder wanted Hedy Lamarr to appear in a cameo in the scene where Norma and Joe visit Cecil B. DeMille at Paramount. When filming began, William Holden was 31 and Gloria Swanson was 50, the same stated age as her character. 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. He followed it with Damien: Omen II (1978) and had a cameo in Escape to Athena (1978), which co-starred his real-life love interest Stefanie Powers. She burst into tears upon completion of the scene. In 1986 Nancy Olson became the last surviving member of the cast. Swanson argued that a woman like Norma would have been obsessed with her appearance and would have done her utmost not to look old. Sunset Boulevard mixed fiction with the realities of filmmaking. It was Erich von Stroheim who suggested the revelation that Max was writing all of Norma's fan mail. American actress Gloria Swanson in a promotional portrait for 'Sunset Boulevard', directed by Billy Wilder, 1950. 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. The exteriors of Norma Desmond's home on Sunset Boulevard were filmed at 641 South Irving Boulevard. . Norma's "gondola bed" was originally white, and was featured in Twentieth Century (1934) with Carole Lombard and John Barrymore. Brenda Marshall, Holden's wife since 1941, was visiting the set when Holden and Nancy Olson had their kissing scene. . Norma Desmond: Get out! The stars read the stars. Universal bought it on her death in 1920 and it was used in several movies, most notably in The Phantom of the Opera (1925). I didn't know. The only addition was the swimming pool, which wasn't equipped with a means of circulating the water so it was useless after filming. [17], Their relationship did not last much beyond the completion of the film. Studs and cufflinks were inserted into the shirt holes to secure the garment. Blu-ray features and commentary Also, the house didn't have a pool, so Paramount paid to have one installed on the condition that if Mrs. Getty didn't like it, they'd remove it after filming was over. When Peavey heard the moans I am the ghost of William Desmond Taylor.
Boulevard du crpuscule : Amazon.com.mx: Pelculas y Series de TV 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. But along with the accolades came a dependence on alcohol that would play a major role in his tragic end. Only 950 were made from 1924 to 1931. William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 - November 12, 1981) was an American actor and murderer, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett met with Greta Garbo and tried to convince her to make a comeback in the role of Norma Desmond. This was a first for Gloria Swanson, but proved a big boon in helping her develop her character's descent into madness. So they opened their big mouths and out came talk. Or shall I call my servant? Filtered cigarette packs always open at the filtered end, which meant he would've been lighting the filter otherwise. or "Boulevard"? The finest things in the world have been written on an empty stomach, and Wilder and Brackett rewrote the story as adrama. In fact, a pivotal plot point in the Showtime limited series of Twin Peaks (2017) includes a scene from "Sunset Boulevard" in which the character's name is mentioned. It was only natural that he should film several sequences on the studio's backlots.
Sunset Boulevard Review (1950) Classic Film | William Holden | Gloria 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. 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. The only film to be nominated for Best Actor and Actress Oscars that year. The pool was used in its empty condition in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Like most old things in L.A., the house has since been replaced by an office building. The writer was almost all washed up, one step ahead of the finance company, parking his car in a lot behind the shoeshine parlor run by Rudy, a guy who never asked any questions about finances because he could just look at the peoplesr heels and know the score. ), a woman who trades on charms that have . I know your face. A neglected house gets an unhappy look. The film originally opened and closed the story at the Los Angeles County Morgue. 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. They eventually worked together on several films and became close friends. Hedda Hopper: at the top of the stairwell as Norma descends toward the cameras. This is an old film which has been made into a musical. The great big white elephant of a mansion on Sunset Boulevard was actually on Wilshire Boulevard and would be used again as the abandoned mansion in the film Rebel Without a Cause. Holden's first film back from the services was Blaze of Noon (1947), an aviator picture at Paramount directed by John Farrow. He loves Norma so much, he even forges thousands of pages of fan mail, just to feed her delusion. There were actually three mansions used during filming. He said hed already played a young kept man in the film The Heiresswith Olivia De Havilland, and in real life with his relationship with older singer Libby Holman. The investigation found that in the weeks just prior to his death, Taylor had been making some pretty delusional statements about his place in the world and some of his friends thought he had recently gone insane. These towns were favored because they were on the way to Palm Springs where, after collecting the audience reaction cards, studio personnel would then go to relax and determine what changes should be made to the previewed films. It was named after a major street that runs through Hollywood, the center of the American film industry . Holden appeared uncredited in Prison Farm (1939) and Million Dollar Legs (1939) at Paramount. In 1989 the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress selected this as one of 25 landmark films of all time. William Haines turned down an offer to appear in the film but attended the Hollywood premiere with Joan Crawford. (1966), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), Network (1976), Coming Home (1978), Reds (1981), Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and American Hustle (2013). Her character's age was 22 but she was 21 at the time of filming. And, of course, a pool. Brackett thought the sequence was cruel in its emphasis on what age had done to the one-time beauty, but Wilder insisted it was essential to show how driven she was in her pursuit of youth. They swore each other off over the montage where Norma struggles to lose weight for her comeback. American Beauty screenwriter Alan Ball has acknowledged that another Billy Wilder film, The Apartment (1960), influenced that screenplay. But it wasn't a mistake. In addition to the famous swimming pool, the studio also built sets to exactly duplicate Schwab's Drug Store in Hollywood and the Los Angeles County Morgue. This inter-positive was scanned at 2,000 lines of resolution and electronically restored for the 2002 DVD reissue. cynical Hollywood survivor played by William Holden. As the band plays 'Diane', we also see Desmond ascending her staircase. Columbia put Holden in a Western with Jean Arthur, Arizona (1940), then at Paramount he was in a hugely popular war film, I Wanted Wings (1941) with Ray Milland and Veronica Lake. Queen Kelly nearly ruined both of their careers after Joe Kennedy, JFKs dad who produced the film, replaced von Stroheim as director because Swanson complained about the racy material. He was Judy Hollidays tutor in Born Yesterday (1950) and played a war correspondent in Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955). read more: Can The Biblical Epic be Resurrected? The same musical quote from "Salome" is used again as she descends the stairs, where Waxman segues into his own original musical statement of "The Dance of the Seven Veils". Co-writer D.M. With unofficial permission from Paramount, she worked for a few years with writer Dickson Hughes and actor Richard Stapley developing a show called Starring Norma Desmond (later changed to Boulevard). Gloria Swanson, meanwhile, was born on March 27, 1899. Some speculated it was because he was dating an older woman at the time (actress Libby Holman, 16 years his senior) and didn't want people to think the movie was a parody of that relationship. For the record, the other 12 films to achieve a similar feat are Mrs. Miniver (1942), Johnny Belinda (1948), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
William Holden: Golden Boy of Hollywood Starred in 'Sunset Boulevard He just didnt have what it takes.
Sunset Boulevard - Paramount Originals (includes Limited Edition All of the silent film stars mentioned by Norma, Joe, Betty and Max were either dead or no longer active in films by 1950. 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. Joe Gillis: Wait a minute, haven't I seen you before? The movie featured the famed director Erich von Stroheim, who made photographs of Gloria Swanson move so beautifully the world was enthralled, as Max Von Mayerling, the director who made, married, and divorced the enthralling Norma Desmondand then gave up his career in film to be her slave in butlers clothing. So in that scene, William Holden is driving over the future locations of Walk of Fame stars dedicated to the two people arguably most responsible for his success in Hollywood. (1950), Cecil B. DeMille, who plays himself in the film, directed H.B. His killer was never identified. During the shopping excursion, Norma remarks that if Joe is not careful, he'll need a cutaway. Sure she was a forgotten silent star, living in exile, screening her old movies and dreaming of a comeback. Marshman Jr. Stars William Holden Gloria Swanson Erich von Stroheim See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist 701 User reviews 196 Critic reviews Even though it wasn't the last scene filmed, Billy Wilder threw a party for her as soon as the shot was finished. One of only 13 films to be nominated for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Director. His Mount Kenya Safari Club in Nanyuki (founded 1959) was popular with the international jet set. So Wilder gave up, and DeMille (who was already being compensated) gave Norma his own chair.. When Joe Gillis and Norma Desmond watch one of Norma's old silent movies, they are watching a scene from Queen Kelly (1932), starring a young Gloria Swanson. 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. Billy Wilder was one of the ultimate Hollywood insiders and he grew with film. The character of Max Von Mayerling as a washed up silent film director was an homage paid by Wilder to Erich von Stroheim, who was an inspiration to Billy in his glory days as a notorious silent film director himself. Free Postage. Throughout Hollywood history many film stars, and/or single films, were responsible for saving ailing studios. Holden was best man at the wedding of his friend Ronald Reagan to actress Nancy Davis in 1952. Paramount was more than happy to be the subject of the film, and didn't ask for the studio to be disguised. What is the streaming release date of Sunset Blvd. ", 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.". Director Cecil B. DeMille, silent film actors Buster Keaton, H. B. Warner, and Anna Q. Nilsson played waxy versions of themselves. After a private screening for Hollywood dignitaries, Barbara Stanwyck knelt in front of Gloria Swanson and kissed the hem of her skirt. Holden was reunited with Wilder in Stalag 17 (1953), for which Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Carol Burnett spoofed the film several times on her TV variety show.