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. 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. Paramount reunited him with Nancy Olson, one of his Sunset Boulevard costars, in Union Station (1950). Although it can get chilly by the ocean, a light jacket or sweater would be plenty. The address of Norma Desmond's house is given as 10086 Sunset Boulevard. Its second owner was Jean Paul Getty, who purchased it for his second wife. Despite that, von Stroheim "still managed to hit the gates, he had no co-ordination", said Billy Wilder in an interview for the book "Sunset Boulevard: From Movie to Musical". GLAMOROUS MEN: WILLIAM HOLDEN: At some point, "Sunset Boulevard" An inventory of his prospects added up to exactly zero. Swanson herself reportedly asked him to do it. Holden was still an unknown actor when he made Golden Boy, while Stanwyck was already a film star. Included among the 25 films on the American Film Institute's 2005 list of AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores. This dynamic served them well for years, each man's extreme tendencies being balanced by the other's, but during Sunset Boulevard it finally became unworkable. Included among the American Film Institute's 1998 list of the Top 100 Greatest American Movies. The only extant film elements were 35mm inter-positives struck in 1952, which had undergone a great deal of decay. "We didn't need dialogue. The audience left 20 years ago. Billy Wilder quickly offered the role to Fred MacMurray, who turned it down because he didn't want to play a gigolo. Movie audiences in the nave early days of film sometimes didnt know that somebody had to sit down and write a movie. He rejects her. It's the pictures that got small" was #91. Part of the dialogue goes: Fat Man: "Where did you drown? In the film Gloria is seen playing cards with three silent film stars: Buster Keaton, H.B. There are several references to Gloria Swanson's actual career in the film. Haines declined and fellow screen veteran H.B. read more: The Big Sleep is Proof That Plot Doesnt Matter. But she wanted to rewrite her dialogue (as was her custom)a nonstarter for Wilder, who seldom let his actors change their lines even slightly from what was on the page. Although Gloria Swanson correctly states he is a Sagittarius, it is actually on the Sagittarius-Capricorn cusp. While in Italy in 1966, Holden was responsible for the death of another driver in a drunk-driving incident near Pisa. It's the pictures that got small," was voted #24, out of 100. We all are." Normands career never recovered after word of her addiction leaked out and she died of tuberculosis on Feb. 23, 1930. ), and he calls her "young fellow." She hates all of Joes writing except for about six pages. Some, including Holden himself and one of his close confidants, could foresee the death (per The Huntsville Item). 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". 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. And gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (who appears in the movie as herself) wrote that "Billy Wilder was crazy about Evelyn Waugh's book The Loved One, and the studio wanted to buy it.". It was largely from his association with Wilder that Holden would enjoy the greatest acting successes of his career in the 1950s. But that wasnt good enough for Hollywood. [7], Back at Paramount, he starred with Bonita Granville in Those Were the Days! It was not particularly successful. Studs and cufflinks were inserted into the shirt holes to secure the garment. De Mille at Paramount, the director is shooting the film Samson and Delilah, which he was actually shooting at the time. The part was only Nancy Olson's third film appearance. That's the end.". was better known as the seat of the film industry in 1950, the Los Angeles film industry actually began on Sunset Blvd. 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. [32] Also in 1974, Holden starred with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in the critically acclaimed disaster film The Towering Inferno,[33] which became a box-office smash and one of the highest-grossing films of Holden's career. Von Stroheim didnt know how to drive, and the scene where hes driving the exotic leopard-upholstered Isotta-Fraschini was shot as the car was being towed. Carol Burnett spoofed the film several times on her TV variety show. They had faces. It was named after a major street that runs through Hollywood, the center of the American film industry . was voted #6 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by "Premiere" magazine in 2007. The much sought after but highly finicky leading man accepted the role, then backed out. When Billy Wilder went back to him later to secure a close-up, DeMille charged him another $10,000. The Tragic 1981 Death Of Sunset Boulevard Star William Holden Kodak would discontinue to manufacture it altogether in 1953. Erich von Stroheim dismissed his participation in this film, referring to it as "that butler role.". Co-writer D.M. Montgomery Clift was originally cast as the writer but dropped out two weeks before the shoot. 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. 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. )[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. "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. He was a genuine star. It would go on to be one of his most successful movies. As far as being a forgotten star, past her prime, Norma is only 50 in the movie, Swanson was 53 when she made it and was herself very busy on the then-new medium of television. Sunset Boulevard is no. Well, not everybody! About 10 minutes later, Holden passed out and died from blood loss. In those days there were no buttons on formal shirts. No one wants to get caught by surprise anymore. On February 7, 1955, Holden appeared as a guest star on I Love Lucy as himself. Youre killing yourself for an empty house. 10 films that began filming without a finished script, Donald Trumps Bad Romance with Hollywood Began Before Parasite, Shazam! A disagreement over the montage where Norma puts herself through hell getting thinner and younger for her comeback nearly resulted in physical violence: Brackett thought it was too mean, while Wilder felt it was necessary to show what lengths a desperate actor would go to in Hollywood. 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. She turns out to be a multimillionaire silent screen icon played by the legendary Gloria Swanson and she leaves him all her money, which shes already spent, and face down in a pool. One of his father's grandmothers, Rebecca Westfield, was born in England, while some of his mother's ancestors settled in Virginia's Lancaster County after emigrating from England in the 17th century. Holden, who was at this point dependent on alcohol, said, "I really was in love with Audrey, but she wouldn't marry me. Buscar Amazon.com.mx. Sunset Boulevard - General Discussions - TCM Message Boards He was just a movie writer with a couple of B-pictures to his credit. [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. While Hollywood Blvd. Getting the role was a lucky break for Holden, as Montgomery Clift was initially cast but backed out of his contract. 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. Culture Editor Tony Sokol is a writer, playwright and musician. Billy Wilder originally wanted another silent star, Pola Negri, to take the part of Norma Desmond. Not long ago, he was divorced from the actress, Gloria Holden, but carried the torch after the marital rift. [47], President Ronald Reagan released a statement: "I have a great feeling of grief. 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). Norma is at the edge of insanity through the whole movie, but that doesnt mean shes not fun. In one week, she received 17,000 fan letters. The house was owned by the J. Paul Getty family. 25 on AFI's list of all-time great leading men. Among the many past associations embedded in Sunset Blvd. The latter was shot in Africa and sparked Holden's fascination with the continent that was to last for the rest of his life. The next decade saw Holden's career flourish. Fury of the Gods Brings Back the "Shazamily": Inside DC's New Superhero Adventure, Scream 6's Brutal NYC Trip: "You Can't Trust Anyone" This Time, Cocaine Bear Is Not Just About a Killer "Coked-Up" Bear, It's Also an "Underdog Story", How Marvel's Wastelanders Podcast Created an Exciting Story with No Visual Safety Net, Sunset Boulevard: The Original Hollywood Expose. Unsurprisingly, he was largely self taught, spending countless hours with instruction manuals and newspaper clips, playing all four hands simultaneously until he became an expert. 1851 Ivar Street was the address of the Alto Nido Apartments, where he lived, sometimes worked and, ultimately died in 1941. After working on Sunset Boulevard, Swanson remarked, Bill Holden was a man I could have fallen in love with. In subsequent years, two lawsuits have been filed against Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, claiming that Sunset Blvd. but Holden's wife, Ardis (Brenda Marshall), who happened to be on set that day. [39][46] He dictated in his will that the Neptune Society cremate him and scatter his ashes in the Pacific Ocean. 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. After Salome, she planned to make another picture and another picture. 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. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett almost came to blows over the montage depicting Norma's preparations for her comeback. 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. A neglected house gets an unhappy look. 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]. in West Hollywood. When Joe tells Betty that next time he will write "The Naked and the Dead", he is referring to the best-seller written by Norman Mailer and published in 1948. Paramount reunited Bracken and him in Young and Willing (1943). It was Erich von Stroheim who suggested the revelation that Max was writing all of Norma's fan mail. This car has been on display at the National Automobile Museum in Turin, Italy since 1972. After the. Warner, who appears as one of "The Waxworks", had been Gloria Swanson's leading man in Zaza (1923). West wanted to rewrite her dialogue. This indicates that he is smoking filterless cigarettes, which was the norm for that era until filters became the standard after the mid-'50s. You probably know about the Andrew Lloyd Webber version of Sunset Boulevard that premiered in London in 1993 and headed to Broadway in 1994 with Glenn Close in the lead role. The producer in the film was originally called Kaufman and was to be played by Joseph Calleia. Perry, George & Andrew Lloyd Webber (1993). The two actors never worked together in another film. Brackett was also a frequent collaborator with Billy Wilder, co-writing and producing a dozen movies with him (including The Lost Weekend) before Sunset Boulevard proved to be their last. Universal bought it on her death in 1920 and it was used in several movies, most notably in The Phantom of the Opera (1925). Sunset Boulevard movie review (1950) | Roger Ebert Holden continued to work steadily for the next decade, but Hollywood often had no idea what to do with him. The mansion was torn down in 1957, and a large office building for Getty Oil built on the site still stands on the spot. She said it was a blackmail scheme gone wrong. 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. Despite the 19 year gap in their ages, Holden and Swanson died just 2 years apart from each other- Holden in 1981 at age 63 and Swanson in 1983 at age 84. He loves Norma so much, he even forges thousands of pages of fan mail, just to feed her delusion. 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. (1950) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Billy Wilder Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) verified as complete Produced by Charles Brackett . 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. About 28:00 in, when Max is playing the organ, it is the same chords that Captain Nemo (James Mason) plays on his organ aboard the Nautilus in "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea." Perhaps one of the reasons Swanson got the job was because director George Cukor mentioned that the actress once lived in a mansion on Sunset Boulevard. Rudy's shoeshine stand at the parking lot where Gillis hides his car from the creditors was inspired by Oscar Smith's shoeshine stand located just inside the Bronson Gate at the old Paramount Studios, which was a popular hangout for gossip and socializing while Billy Wilder was building his career there. Thirty-one years later, the actor who played Gillis, William Holden, met his end. [38], Holden maintained a home in Switzerland and also spent much of his time working for wildlife conservation as a managing partner in an animal preserve in Africa. Please, don't let it be true, it must be some mistake," per her memoir. This is an old film which has been made into a musical. 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. Norma goes to visit Cecil B. DeMille, several of whose films Swanson had starred in. 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 last name of the studio executive played by Fred Clark is Sheldrake. Sunset Blvd. (1950) - Photo Gallery - IMDb Gloria Swanson, meanwhile, was born on March 27, 1899. Norma Desmond was the greatest of them all. Talk! So they opened their big mouths and out came talk. I instantly fell in love - both with the movie itself and with its handsome 32-year old male lead, William Holden. We'll hear two of his visits to Suspense, beginning with the New Orleans jazz . But attempts to turn the movie into a stage musical began almost immediately, spearheaded by none other than Gloria Swanson. What is the streaming release date of Sunset Blvd. There was a maharajah who came all the way from India to beg one of her silk stockings. A week later she heard the news of Holden's death on her car radio. Every time I go to L.A., which isn't too often, I look at these palm-bemused, once smart stucco facades, and wonder if a Norma Desmond from a later era might be hiding from the world inside them, buttressed by cable TV (AMC or TCM, no doubt), a poodle named FiFi or Sir Francis, walk-in closets full of leopard-print Capri pants that haven't fit in decades, and a world class liquor cabinet that has seen heads of state under the table on a good night. 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. During the shopping excursion, Norma remarks that if Joe is not careful, he'll need a cutaway. but at 641 S. Irving Blvd. With the help of his partners, he created the Mount Kenya Game Ranch and inspired the creation of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation. Eugene Walter was a prolific Hollywood screenwriter of the 1920s and 1930s. Louis B. Mayer's reaction is well documented but Mae Murray also found the film offensive. The movie's line "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up" was voted the #7 movie quote by the American Film Institute. When crew members asked Billy Wilder how he was going to shoot the burial of Norma's monkey, one of the film's most bizarre scenes, he just said, "You know, the usual monkey-funeral sequence.". But it's also a love story, and the love keeps it from becoming simply a waxworks or a freak show. Norma Shearer turned down the role of Norma Desmond as she didn't want to come out of retirement and also found the part to be highly distasteful. A classic film review of Sunset Boulevard (1950) starring William Holden, Gloria Swanson and Eric Von StroheimDirected by acclaimed film maker Billy Wilder (. When filming began, William Holden was 31 and Gloria Swanson was 50, the same stated age as her character. 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. (1954). The ocean?' Fat Man: "A husky fellow like you?" Montgomery Clift was originally cast as Joe Gillis but quit the production two weeks before filming began because he had already played the kept man of a wealthy older woman in The Heiress (1949). Whether he was the washed up screenwriter of Sunset Boulevard or the reluctant hero of The Bridge on the River Kwai, Holden kept audiences engrossed. 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. Swanson was told "She can't show herself, Gloria, she's too overcome. Yes, this is Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. You used to be big. (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). At one point, Norma decides the time is right to send Gillis script to DeMille because is a Leo. Without Norma Desmond, there wouldnt be any Paramount Pictures. This is absolutely true, Nancy Reagan continued consulting her astrologer long after she stopped parking at studio lots. [2] He had two younger brothers, Robert Westfield Beedle and Richard Porter Beedle. Sands disappeared after the murder. 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. [4] They had two sons, Peter and Scott. 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. Sunset Boulevards cinematographer John Seitz said Wilder had wanted to do The Loved One, but couldnt obtain the rights. British author Evelyn Waughs satirical 1948 novel was about a failed screenwriter who lives with a silent film star and works in a cemetery.