Are you ready for Norma's last close-up?
It’s been called the best movie about Hollywood ever made, and with good reason. Billy Wilder’s 1950 masterpiece, Sunset Boulevard examines the struggles of trying to make it, ageism, faded stardom, and tragic love all using Hollywood as the backdrop.
By now you’re familiar with the signature lines, “I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille,” or “I am big, it’s the pictures that got small.” Both uttered by faded film star, Norma Desmond played by the over-the-top Gloria Swanson. Once the biggest star in pictures, the has-been actress lives a secluded life in an enormous mansion. The only problem? She doesn’t know she’s been long forgotten.
Enter Joe Gillis, a handsome, young, down-on-his-luck screenwriter, played with a wry wit by William Holden. While trying to outrun his creditors he mistakenly ends up at the Desmond house. Eventually he agrees to edit a script Norma’s been working on for years. It’s a stinker, but needing the money, Joe sweet talks her into thinking it could be a blockbuster with some editing.
After months of being a kept man, Joe rebuffs Norma on New Year’s Eve, and she slashes her wrists while he is at another party. It’s there where he meets Betty, a pretty, young screenwriter. An attraction between the two develops and they eventually start meeting afterhours to work on a script of their own. However, Joe returns to Norma, shocked to learn Cecil B. DeMille may be interested in her screenplay. He actually isn’t, but the mistake further underscores the tragedy of Norma’s faded celebrity.
As she prepares for her imagined comeback, with experts in hair, make-up and exercise at the mansion round-the-clock, she grows more and more anxious and distraught about her return to the big screen. That’s when she discovers Joe’s relationship and script with Betty. Feeling threatened and undermined, she lashes out in a way that leads to tragic results for not only Joe but Norma, herself.
When the film was released, Hollywood executives and insiders were not fans. They felt Billy Wilder had spilled dirty secrets of an industry that helped make him one of the most successful directors of all time. According to Film Noir by Paul Duncan and Jurgen Muller, “MGM film mogul Louis B. Mayer exited a Paramount screening in an uproar denouncing Wilder as a bastard…”
While dated in parts, Sunset Boulevard still holds up to this day. Besides the campy quotes and silver screen cameos, it’s still a great look back at the Hollywood machine and the wreckage it makes of those that dare to play there.
Such a great, movie! Love your analysis and history of the film.