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. In one week, she received 17,000 fan letters. The young actor also got to work with George Raft and Humphrey Bogart in the gangsters on parole movie,Invisible Stripes. Gillis smokes unfiltered cigarettes in the film. Wilder told the actors to kibbutz and let him shuffle. 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. Sunset Boulevard is a noir film and like many of the post-World War II dark classics, it is covered with a thick sheen of cynicism. 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. But when Sondheim pitched the idea to Billy Wilder at a party, Wilder said, "You can't write a musical about Sunset Boulevard. Born William Beedle Jr. on April 17, 1918, he was 21 when he got his first starring role as the classical fiddle playing boxer in Golden Boy in 1939. An iconic sequence in that earlier film sees the character of Diane ascending a long staircase to a seventh-story apartment (hence the film's title). The general consensus was that the two titans had canceled each other out, leaving the field clear for Holliday. According to both versions of the morgue prologue script, Gillis' body is admitted on 5/17/49 (as indicated by a toe tag). Being born on 17 April 1918, William Holden was 63 years old at the time of his death. After the completion of his film, Wilder shocked his longtime collaborator by announcing that he wished to dissolve their partnership; this was the result of a fierce quarrel over a montage scene in the film. At Paramount, he was in a comedy with Ginger Rogers that was not particularly popular, Forever Female (1953). "No, don't let it be true. 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]. They had to have the ears of the old place, too. On the Columbia lot is an assistant director and scout named Harold Winston. If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. 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. 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. Reluctantly, Wilder met with William Holden, who hadn't done much after the great Hollywood innovator Rouben Mamoulian's Golden Boy (1939). I didn't know. The body was found by Henry Peavey, who took over for convicted embezzler Edward F. Sands as Taylors valet. This film was originally released in the United States as The Christmas Tree and on home video as When Wolves Cry. ), a woman who trades on charms that have . In 1954, Holden was featured on the cover of Life. There were actually three mansions used during filming. He would slay, "I have no idea! Gillis: "Well, I had a few extra holes in me, two in the chest and one in the stomach." Billy Wilder's 1978 Flop Fedora is less a worthy follow up to Sunset Boulevard than a sorry footnote. Norma Desmond was the greatest of them all. Read more of his work here or find him on Twitter @tsokol. Billy Wilder originally approached William Haines to play one of Norma's bridge partners. But that wasnt good enough for Hollywood. Boulevard du crpuscule : Amazon.com.mx: Pelculas y Series de TV. was voted #6 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by "Premiere" magazine in 2007. Carol Burnett spoofed the film several times on her TV variety show. The magnifying glass in Normas beauty makeover scene shows the skin of a young ingnue, not an aging crone. A version of how he obtained his stage name "Holden" is based on a statement by George Ross of Billboard: "William Holden, the lad just signed for the coveted lead in Golden Boy, used to be Bill Beadle [sic]. But Hollywood press has always had clout. But before you hear it all distorted and blown out of proportion, before those Hollywood columnists get their hands on it, maybe youd like to hear the facts, the whole truth. He received an eight-month suspended sentence for vehicular manslaughter. It's not possible to shoot through water and get a clear image beyond. [42][citation needed]. Old whores dont fuck for fun, as the old saying goes. 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. The restoration was performed at Lowry Digital by Barry Allen and Steve Elkin. William Holden says his birthday is December 21st. (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). 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. Not everyone felt the same way, however. The writers feared that Hollywood would react unfavorably to such a damning portrait of the film industry, so the film was code-named "A Can of Beans" while in production. 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. William Holden returns to find that Gloria Swanson has tried to slash her wrists in 'Sunset Boulevard', directed by Billy Wilder. Norma Desmond returns to the Paramount lot and is overcome with nostalgia. That's the end.". Montgomery Clift was originally cast as the writer but dropped out two weeks before the shoot. But also much funnier. Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard took the tinsel out of Tinseltown, the gild off the golden boy, and the cover off a forgotten murder. 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. 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). ), and he calls her "young fellow." His co-star Barbara Stanwyck, a screen veteran and one of the greatest actors of all time, coached and promoted Holden personally. Director Cecil B. DeMille, a pioneer of silent Hollywood who was still a top director when "Sunset Boulevard" was shot in 1949, also famously played himself. A second film with Seaton did not do as well, The Proud and Profane (1956), where Holden played the role with a moustache. Forensic evidence recovered at the scene suggested that he was conscious for at least half an hour after the fall. The actor-turned-director bitched about that goddamned butler role for the rest his life. They eventually worked together on several films and became close friends. LAS COSAS DEL QUERER", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sunset_Boulevard_(film)&oldid=1142173541, Best Overall New Extra Features Library Release. Billy Wilder originally wanted another silent star, Pola Negri, to take the part of Norma Desmond. (1950), Cecil B. DeMille, who plays himself in the film, directed H.B. His height was 1.8 m tall and weighed 89 kg. London Boulevard (2010) was based on the Ken Bruen novel that was inspired by Sunset Boulevard and features the same trope of an aging actress as the stranger caught in her web. Director Billy Wilder Writers Charles Brackett Billy Wilder D.M. (She liked it.). "I left countless messages but received no answer." The car with the massive chrome grill that the repo men drive is a 1948 DeSoto Custom Club Coupe. Or shall I call my servant? Wilder wanted Hedy Lamarr to sit in for a cameo, but she wanted $25,000. There was a maharajah who came all the way from India to beg one of her silk stockings. [4] The film was made for Columbia, which negotiated a sharing agreement with Paramount for Holden's services. Holden served as a second and then a first lieutenant in the United States Army Air Force during World War II, where he acted in training films for the First Motion Picture Unit, including Reconnaissance Pilot (1943). Holden earned his first Best Actor Oscar nomination for the role.[11]. She can sense the hot spot of every light and has never lost the wonderment of movies. The character of Norma Desmond is modeled on the fate of several leading actresses of the silent era. He was named one of the "Top 10 Stars of the Year" six times (19541958, 1961), and appeared as 25th on the American Film Institute's list of 25 greatest male stars of Classical Hollywood cinema. With the help of his partners, he created the Mount Kenya Game Ranch and inspired the creation of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation. 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. While in Italy in 1966, Holden was responsible for the death of another driver in a drunk-driving incident near Pisa. Movie audiences in the nave early days of film sometimes didnt know that somebody had to sit down and write a movie. Norma wound up sitting in Mr. DeMilles chair. Eventually it wasn't Wilder who shouted "Cut!" And, of course, a pool. 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. After graduating from South Pasadena High School, Holden attended Pasadena Junior College, where he became involved in local radio plays. The clips in Sunset Boulevard were the first time American audiences saw it. William Holdens Joe Gillis helps a timid soul named Norma Desmond cross a crowded street on Paramounts back lot. 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. Westmore and director Billy Wilder agreed with this so William Holden was made up to look younger than he was. [47], President Ronald Reagan released a statement: "I have a great feeling of grief. And if you find it a little odd to hear dead men telling their own tales via narration, it is less strange than hearing it from a bunch of corpses with toe-tags talking it over in the LA county morgue, which was the way the movie was originally shot. Marshman Jr. Sunset Boulevard was the last time Brackett and Wilder collaborated on a film. The director turned actor was still able to steer the expensive Italian car into the Paramount gate. But it wasn't a mistake. The clips in Sunset Boulevard were the first American audiences had seen of it. According to Cameron Crowe, who shadowed Billy Wilder in his twilight years, a typical day in his office would consist of him answering numerous phone calls from people requesting to remake this film, and he would inform them that he didn't own the rights and promptly hang up. Norma Talmadge and Constance Talmadge were famous for owning downtown real estate in Los Angeles and San Diego. Billy Wilder's terrifying valentine to Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard (1950), features one of the most indelible of all screen performances: Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond. 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. 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. Marlon Brando was considered, but the producers thought he was too much of an unknown as a film actor. The others were Union Station (1950), Force of Arms (1951), and Submarine Command (1951). Every woman was in love with him. At the time this movie was made, the incident was still quite recent. Next image (0) (0) 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. 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. The photos of the young Norma Desmond that decorate the house are all genuine publicity photos from Gloria Swanson's heyday. The name Norma Desmond was a combination of early Hollywoods comedy star Mabel Normand and her lover, silent film director William Desmond Taylor. When he drives Norma to Paramount Pictures at the studio gates, the car was pulled with a rope by off-camera grips. In 1972, Holden began a nine-year relationship with actress Stefanie Powers and sparked her interest in animal welfare. Wilder was no fan of improvisation and was very protective of his words. Marion Davies owned a famous ocean-front mansion in Santa Monica. There's a little dig in the scene when Cecil B. DeMille finds out that Paramount has been calling Norma Desmond because it wants to rent her car for "the Crosby picture." Holden's films after that time had not impressed Wilder (in the 1940s Holden's movies were decidedly mediocre). But before that happened, it appeared in Rebel Without a Cause as the abandoned mansion in which the kids hang out. Schwab's was torn down in 1988 to make way for a movie theater and a shopping center. They thought the actors made it up as they went along. The Academy Award-winning actor William Holden, born William Beedle Jr., on April 17, 1918, in O'Fallon, Illinois, began his career with 1939s "Golden Boy," per Britannica. Brackett and Wilder worked together on more than a dozen movies including The Lost Weekend. Holden had another hit with The World of Suzie Wong (1960) with Nancy Kwan, which was shot in Hong Kong. A week later she heard the news of Holden's death on her car radio. 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. The film and actors was excellent and lived up to our expectations. is directed toward his associate producer, Henry Wilcoxon, who had starred in his epics Cleopatra (1934), The Crusades (1935) and Unconquered (1947), later moving to a position behind the camera as DeMille's associate, which he held until the older man's death in 1959. Wilder won the argument and privately told friends that he would not be making any more films with Brackett. Since her part required her to gaze at the newsreel cameramen and "fans" (the waiting police) gathered in the foyer below, she couldn't watch where she placed her feet. 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. Queen Kelly nearly ruined both of their careers: von Stroheim was replaced as director midway through after complaints from Swanson about the racy material and arguments with the producer (JFK's father!) The film is included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list. [10] RKO borrowed him for Rachel and the Stranger (1948) with Robert Mitchum and Loretta Young. The "Desmond mansion" was located not on Sunset Blvd. Betty is an idealist, more closely resembling Normas rose-colored outlook, but with darker shades she wants to bring to light. They had faces. Youre killing yourself for an empty house. Her character's age was 22 but she was 21 at the time of filming. . 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. 3.48. Holden, just 63 when he died, had most recently appeared in the Blake Edwards' film "S.O.B." She can be seen talking and giggling on the phone during the party. After a private screening for Hollywood dignitaries, Barbara Stanwyck knelt in front of Gloria Swanson and kissed the hem of her skirt. 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. The 2014 book by William J. Mann, Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood, names Ross Blackie Madsen Sheridan as the killer, based on a death bed confession from actress Margaret Gibson, who beat a 1917 rap on prostitution and opium dealing. 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. 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. They stayed that way even if the pictures got small. (Norma Desmond would be quick to point out that, thanks to computers and iPads, the pictures have gotten even smaller. 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). 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. Highly unusual at the time, Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder had Joe Gillis narrate, from beyond the grave, the sad tale of the final months of his life, while the film simultaneously depicts the still living Gillis experiencing those events unaware of the fate his dead self already knows. Both Keaton and Hopper died the same day, on February 1, 1966, at the ages of 70 and 80 respectively, both in Los Angeles. 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. Sunset Boulevard's cinematographer, John Seitz, said Wilder "had wanted to do The Loved One, but couldn't obtain the rights." Both suits were dismissed. Haines, whose career had ended because of his homosexual off-screen life, was too happy in his new profession as an interior decorator to want to call attention to his past as an actor. . 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). On Joe's and Betty's night walk through the Paramount backlot, his calling the false building fronts "Washington Square" would be an accurate reference, as that neighborhood in New York was full of brownstone houses, apartments, and other turn-of-the-century architecture. ), It came out the same year as another behind-the-scenes showbiz classic, All About Eve, which took most of the Oscars. I instantly fell in love - both with the movie itself and with its handsome 32-year old male lead, William Holden. Hack screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) accidentally falls in with faded screen legend Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). For purposes of authenticity Erich von Stroheim and Nancy Olson wore their own clothes in the film. 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. Like most old things in L.A., the house has since been replaced by an office building. This film is in the Official Top 250 Narrative Feature Films on Letterboxd. As this film opens, William Holden's character Joe Gillis describes himself as a Hollywood screenwriter "living in an apartment house above Ivar Street." About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . Less popular was Satan Never Sleeps (1961), the last film of Clifton Webb and Leo McCarey; The Counterfeit Traitor (1962), his third film with Seaton; or The Lion (1962), with Trevor Howard and Capucine. Sunset Boulevard is also a reflection of Hollywood through a glass, darkly. 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. "Lonely, alone, without dignity.". [40], Holden had a daughter born in 1937 from his relationship with actress Eva May Hoffman. 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. Winston was one of those who discovered the Golden Boy newcomer and who renamed himin honor of his former spouse!"[3]. Minters mother Charlotte Shelby was a manipulative stage mother who owned a rare .38 caliber pistol that fired unusual bullets very similar to ones found inside Taylor. It said so on the chart from her astrologer, who read DeMilles horoscope. He became bitter about the throwaway roles Hollywood kept giving him. 10 films that began filming without a finished script, Donald Trumps Bad Romance with Hollywood Began Before Parasite, Shazam! But who could play the silent film diva? He was perfection on and off-screen. Holden was a bit of an anti-hero, or at least a very flawed hero. The building manager found the body of the legendary actor who starred in 70 films and was a good friend of President Ronald Reagan nearly a week later, per The Washington Post. At one point, Norma decides the time is right to send Gillis script to DeMille because is a Leo. 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). and was "a loner," according to Edwards, who wasn't surprised that Holden's body went so long without being discovered. The Den of Geek quarterly magazine is packed with exclusive features, interviews, previews and deep dives into geek culture. You used to be in silent pictures. If anything, its observations on the greedy machinations of Tinseltown are truer now than they were in 1950. Gillis: "Yes I was murdered." 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. He just didnt have what it takes. He had made Swanson a star by. There once was a time in this business when they had the eyes of the whole world. These include Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Rudolph Valentino, Rod La Rocque, Vilma Bnky, Mabel Normand, Marie Prevost, Pearl White, and Douglas Fairbanks. 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. Although Sheldrake's musings on a film about the story of a female baseball player was seen as humorous, the movie "A League of Their Own" would do just that 42 years later. 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.". The statuette on the telephone table at Artie Green's new years party is a model of the Philistine god, Dagon. Swanson and von Stroheim are playing themselves in that scene. 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. director of photography Film Editing by Arthur P. Schmidt . Sands disappeared after the murder. Cecil B. DeMille: at the studio during Norma's visit. It's probably just as well, since the darker, more nuanced story that eventually emerged was quite different from West's wheelhouse anyway. In their scene together in Artie's bathroom Gillis mentions to Betty in his dramatic flirtation about having spent "12 years in the Burmese jungle", when coincidentally, just a few years later his character, Shears, finds himself lost there in David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai. When two more test audiences reacted the same way, Wilder cut the scene and the movie was saved. He rose to prominence with his role in the movie "Sunset Boulevard" (1950), which landed him his first Best Actor Oscar nomination. William Holden, original name William Franklin Beedle, Jr., (born April 17, 1918, O'Fallon, Illinois, U.S.found dead November 16, 1981, Santa Monica, California), American film star who perfected the role of the cynic who acts heroically in spite of his scorn or pessimism. #7. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett almost came to blows over the montage depicting Norma's preparations for her comeback. The structure in the film required a tennis court, or rather the ghost of a tennis court, with faded markings and a sagging net. It was named after a major street that runs through Hollywood, the center of the American film industry . What is the streaming release date of Sunset Blvd. 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. These actors were bigger than life. Holden appeared uncredited in Prison Farm (1939) and Million Dollar Legs (1939) at Paramount. )[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. 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. In the opening scene of the 1950 film "Sunset Boulevard," the cynical screenwriter turned gigolo Joe Gillis lies floating in a swimming pool, blood seeping from his lifeless body. William Haines turned down an offer to appear in the film but attended the Hollywood premiere with Joan Crawford. According to reports, Taylor went to the feds for help filing charges against Normands cocaine suppliers. Buscar Amazon.com.mx. And here is how he obtained his new movie tag. Sunset Boulevard (1950) 1950, 1h 50min - Drama 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, created two of the screen's most memorable characters in "Sunset Boulevard." Film News. 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. 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.