Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder retained the term of endearment for the scene in which DeMille greets Norma Desmond at the door of the sound stage. The clips in Sunset Boulevard were the first time American audiences saw it. Gillis: "No, swimming pool." It would go on to be one of his most successful movies. Warner, who appears as one of "The Waxworks", had been Gloria Swanson's leading man in Zaza (1923). Free shipping for many products! We all are." An inventory of his prospects added up to exactly zero. In the movie, an aide tells Cecil B. DeMille "Gordon Cole has been trying to reach you". In his place, Wilder hired Buster Keaton. Wilder used real names like Darryl Zanuck, Tyrone Power, and Alan Ladd. A second film with Seaton did not do as well, The Proud and Profane (1956), where Holden played the role with a moustache. Only 950 were made from 1924 to 1931. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett met with Greta Garbo and tried to convince her to make a comeback in the role of Norma Desmond. Hedda Hopper: at the top of the stairwell as Norma descends toward the cameras. 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. Erich von Stroheim, who directed Swanson in Queen Kelly (1932), plays Max the butler, who serves as the projectionist in the scene. Beedle grew up in South Pasadena, California. The car with the massive chrome grill that the repo men drive is a 1948 DeSoto Custom Club Coupe. So Wilder gave up, and DeMille (who was already being compensated) gave Norma his own chair.. Ultimately she retired completely from films, making only sporadic appearances, notably in Airport 1975 (1974). Read more of his work here or find him on Twitter @tsokol. 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. Erich von Stroheim dismissed his participation in this film, referring to it as "that butler role.". But as commentator Steve Sailer points out, more than one contemporary source mentions it as an inspiration. Gillis: "Yes I was murdered." 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. It opened on Broadway at the Minskoff Theater on November 17, 1994, ran for 977 performances and won the 1995 Tony Awards for Best Musical, Book and Score. . 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. Zach Laws, Chris Beachum. Sunset Boulevard - Paramount Originals (includes Limited Edition The film's narrative structure bears a marked resemblance to that of American Beauty (1999). But when Sondheim pitched the idea to Billy Wilder at a party, Wilder said, "You can't write a musical about Sunset Boulevard. Holden's career took off again in 1950 when Billy Wilder tapped him to play a down-at-heel screenwriter taken in by a faded silent film actress (Gloria Swanson) in Sunset Boulevard. Their relationship makes the film as much a love story as it is a noir film, because if ever there is a femme fatale, it is Norma Desmond. "We didn't need dialogue. The stars read the stars. Oh, wake up, Norma. Test audiences at the time couldnt let go of the joke, which was why it was re-edited this way. 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]. In Billy Wilder's film, Erich von Stroheim plays the butler of Gloria Swanson's forgotten silent-film star. Filtered cigarette packs always open at the filtered end, which meant he would've been lighting the filter otherwise. He had made Swanson a star by. The clips in Sunset Boulevard were the first American audiences had seen of it. Fat Man: "A husky fellow like you?" The general consensus was that the two titans had canceled each other out, leaving the field clear for Holliday. 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. Oddly enough, the reclusive Greta Garbo granted permission to use her name, though when she saw the film itself she was sorry she had done so. The original nitrate negatives for the film have long disappeared. Fat Man: "You were murdered?" It was only natural that he should film several sequences on the studio's backlots. 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. The house was owned by the J. Paul Getty family. 12 Sep. WILLIAM HOLDEN: At some point, "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) played at The Silver Screen. Holden, who was at this point dependent on alcohol, said, "I really was in love with Audrey, but she wouldn't marry me. It was George Cukor who suggested Gloria Swanson for the role of Norma Desmond. 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. Winston was one of those who discovered the Golden Boy newcomer and who renamed himin honor of his former spouse!"[3]. 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. Getty Mansion aka Norma Desmond's home in "Sunset Boulevard" midway American actress Gloria Swanson in a promotional portrait for 'Sunset Boulevard', directed by Billy Wilder, 1950. But also much funnier. Although she had long before ruled out the possibility of a movie comeback, she was nevertheless highly intrigued when she got the offer to play the lead. ), a woman who trades on charms that have . ", 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.". When he appeared in the innovative Hollywood director Rouben Mamoulian's Golden Boy (1939), he was hailed as exactly that, but had seen his stock fall, largely through his problems with alcohol and a string of unmemorable films in the 1940s. To publicize the film, Paramount sent Gloria Swanson on a cross-country tour, paying her $1,000 a week for her services. According to reports, Taylor went to the feds for help filing charges against Normands cocaine suppliers. When Gloria Swanson finished Norma's final scene, the mad staircase descent, she burst into tears and the crew applauded. The latter was shot in Africa and sparked Holden's fascination with the continent that was to last for the rest of his life. Schwab's Pharmacy was filmed only 500 feet (145 meters) from where Robert "D-Fens" Foster shot out the phone booth in Falling Down (1993). But who could play the silent film diva? West wanted to rewrite her dialogue. This is an old film which has been made into a musical. They thought the actors made it up as they went along. The four films were released between August 1950 and November 1951. 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. He was just a movie writer with a couple of B-pictures to his credit. cynical Hollywood survivor played by William Holden. The whole place seemed to have been stricken with the kind of creeping paralysis, out of beat with the rest of the world, crumbling apart in slow motion. His death certificate makes no mention of cancer. [16] Holden recalls their romance:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, Before I even met her, I had a crush on her, and after I met her, just a day later, I felt as if we were old friends, and I was rather fiercely protective of her, though not in a possessive way. De Mille at Paramount, the director is shooting the film Samson and Delilah, which he was actually shooting at the time. Set non-holiday all-time house record of $166,000 at New York's Radio City Music Hall when it opened. When filming began, William Holden was 31 and Gloria Swanson was 50, the same stated age as her character. 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. 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. [27] He played an American Civil War military surgeon in John Ford's The Horse Soldiers (1959) opposite John Wayne, which was a box-office disappointment. 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. was voted #6 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by "Premiere" magazine in 2007. Norma is perceived as the evil force, even if she uses a white phone while Betty is relegated to a poor black phone. [22] The golden run at the box office continued with Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), from a best-selling novel, with Jennifer Jones, and Picnic (1955), as a drifter, in an adaptation of the William Inge play with Kim Novak. Part of the dialogue goes: Fat Man: "Where did you drown? 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. Marshman Jr. was hired to help batten down a script that was giving Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett great difficulty. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film Stalag 17 (1953) and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for the television miniseries The Blue Knight (1973). She reads everyone and everything in Hollywood, except Joes script. It was Erich von Stroheim who suggested the revelation that Max was writing all of Norma's fan mail. She felt that Wilder used her name in a past-tense context, and she was offended. [42][citation needed]. This promised to go the limit. 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 Blvd. (1950) - IMDb While Hollywood Blvd. As the camera cranes up into the apartment, we can see it's the Alto Nido. Sands had forged Taylors name on checks and wrecked his car the summer before and left footprints on Taylors bed after a burglary. The mundane accident that took the Hollywood actor's life was made even worse by the fact that nobody found his body for a week afterward, according to the Associated Press. The film and actors was excellent and lived up to our expectations. The finest things in the world have been written on an empty stomach, and Wilder and Brackett rewrote the story as adrama. After all, it's about a dethroned queen." 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. For scenes in which he drove, the car was towed by another car. In the film Gloria is seen playing cards with three silent film stars: Buster Keaton, H.B. So she lands his head on a golden tray, kissing his cold, dead lips. [12] Swanson later said, "Bill Holden was a man I could have fallen in love with. Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie, New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor, Venice Film Festival Special Award for Ensemble Acting, Laurel Award for Top Male Dramatic Performance, BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, "When Alcoholics drink themselves to death", "William Holden Dead at 63; Won Oscar for 'Stalag 17', "Barbara Stanwyck's Honorary Award: 1982 Oscars", "The Screen Strand Shows 'Invisible Stripes', "30 Days, 30 Classics Day 17: Sabrina (1954) starring Audrey Hepburn, William Holden and Humphrey Bogart", "Screen: Crosby Acts in 'Country Girl'; Film Based on Odets Drama Makes Bow", "The Screen in Review; 'Bridges at Toko-ri' Is Fine Film of War", "Han Suyin dies at 95; wrote 'Many-Splendored Thing', "13 Fascinating Facts About 'The Bridge on the River Kwai', "Columbia Earns as It Holds Coin Due Bill Holden on 10% of 'Kwai', "The Towering Inferno Movie Review (1974)", "Network Movie Review & Film Summary (1976)", "William Holden Gave His All Even "When Time Ran Out", "William Holden's Unscripted Fall From Grace", The William Holden Wildlife Education Center, "West Holden: More than just the son of William Holden", Image of William Holden and Brenda Marshall, Academy Awards, Los Angeles, 1951, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Holden&oldid=1142631715, Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners, United Service Organizations entertainers, Articles with dead external links from December 2019, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using infobox person with multiple partners, Articles with unsourced statements from September 2022, TCMDb name template using numeric ID from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, episode: "William Holden/Frances Bergen Show", This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 14:28. Holden was still an unknown actor when he made Golden Boy, while Stanwyck was already a film star. I instantly fell in love - both with the movie itself and with its handsome 32-year old male lead, William Holden. She puts on a show playing a Max Sennett bathing girl and Charlie Chaplins Tramp character, though Maxs bad timing is a little too on the nose. Billy Wilder's 1978 Flop Fedora Is a Sorry Footnote to Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard mixed fiction with the realities of filmmaking. It was a big hit, as was The Bridges at Toko-Ri (1954), a Korean War drama with Kelly.[20][21]. After returning from France, she shot her last Paramount films--Stage Struck (1925), The Untamed Lady (1926) and Fine Manners (1926)--at the studio's lot in Astoria, Queens, NY. After working on Sunset Boulevard, Swanson remarked, Bill Holden was a man I could have fallen in love with. Location scenes at Norma Desmond's mansion were shot not on Sunset Boulevard but on Wilshire Boulevard. But Joe wouldnt have fallen so hard if he werent so shackled. When filming began, William Holden was 31 and Gloria Swanson was 50, the same stated age as her character. Sunset Boulevard Ending Explained: Hollywood Is Always Hungry For The Neither was The Revengers (1972), another Western. This can be deduced from the fact that when he pulls one out of the pack he turns the bottom end up to his mouth. The film was the favorite of Sci-Fi author J.G. Billy Wilder was a friend of the danish silent movie star Asta Nielsen, and based the Norma Desmond caracter on her. He just didnt have what it takes. She reportedly told Clift shed kill herself if he made the movie. Culture Editor Tony Sokol cut his teeth on the wire services and also wrote and produced New York CitysVampyr Theatreand the rock operaAssassiNation: We Killed JFK. 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. But even to show a chair with her name on it, Lamarr wanted $10,000. Initially, writer-director Wilder envisioned the movie as a straightforward comedy, and the famously saucy West seemed like a perfect fit. On the last day of shooting, Swanson drove back to the house she, her mother and daughter shared during production, announcing "there were only three of us in it now, meaning that Norma Desmond had taken her leave.". Joe Gillis: You're Norma Desmond. Thirty-one years later, the actor who played Gillis, William Holden, met his end. 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. But it's also a love story, and the love keeps it from becoming simply a waxworks or a freak show. Being born on 17 April 1918, William Holden was 63 years old at the time of his death. He worked on dramas like The Key (1958), Westerns like John Fords The Horse Soldiers (1959) opposite John Wayne, and comedies like The Moon is Blue which so famously challenged the Production Code in 1953 that Hawkeye and BJ insisted it get shown at M*A*S*H 4077 to break the monotony of the Korean War. Erich von Stroheim could not drive in real life. Cinematographer John Seitz put a mirror on the bottom of the pool and filmed the reflection. Features the only Oscar-nominated performances of Erich von Stroheim and Nancy Olson. The only Best Picture Oscar nominee of the year to be also nominated for Original Screenplay. It's the pictures that got small," was voted #24, out of 100. Billy Wilder wanted a fresh face for the part of Betty Schaefer. Schwab's was torn down in 1988 to make way for a movie theater and a shopping center. It's the *pictures* that got small. 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. Billy Wilder had worked on a script for a Swanson picture years earlier called "Music in the Air (1934)" and had forgotten about it. Joe insists hes not a Hollywood whore, but he accepts Normas gifts, gold cigarette cases, a platinum watch, suits, shirts, and shoes that would impress Rudy. In the penultimate scene, as Max tells Norma that "the cameras have arrived," the high strings in composer Franz Waxman's Oscar-winning score quote a chord from Richard Strauss's "The Dance of the Seven Veils" from his opera "Salome". 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. Other actresses considered for Norma Desmond were Mae West (who wanted to rewrite the dialogue), Mae Murray, and Mary Pickford. Oh, and while were at it, Wilder didnt submerge any cameras to get that underwater shot. In 1954, Holden was featured on the cover of Life. That's a reference to the traditional grey morning suit worn by the groom at a formal wedding. At one point, Norma decides the time is right to send Gillis script to DeMille because is a Leo. It was the same technique he had used to shoot Rudolph Valentino's tango in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921). Sunset Boulevard now begins with police cars racing to Norma Desmond's house, where a dead body is floating in the pool. It was largely from his association with Wilder that Holden would enjoy the greatest acting successes of his career in the 1950s. 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. At the end, they stood and cheered for Gloria Swanson's return. 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. 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. Holden continued to work steadily for the next decade, but Hollywood often had no idea what to do with him. 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. The death was just one of many infamous Hollywood scandals of the 1920s, which included the Roscoe Arbuckle bottle rape trial, the death of Olive Thomas, the mysterious death of Thomas H. Ince, and the drug-related deaths of Wallace Reid, Barbara La Marr, and Jeanne Eagels. Our friendship never waned. 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." Ironically, the last films that Gloria Swanson made for Paramount were not at this famous facility. Yeah. All I know is that she's meshuggah, that's all. read more: The Big Sleep is Proof That Plot Doesnt Matter. So funny that it took away from the rest of the picture. . Even though it wasn't the last scene filmed, Billy Wilder threw a party for her as soon as the shot was finished. I think that Sunset Boulevard was the most important film of William Holden's career. She looks like a mannequin of a . 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. Make-up designer Wally Westmore found that Gloria Swanson's face belied her age and wanted to make her look older. 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 Technically the address was 641 S Irving Blvd but the estate lay at the corner of Irving and Wilshire Blvd. At the time this movie was made, the incident was still quite recent. Sunset Boulevard DVD (2007) William Holden, Wilder (DIR) cert PG Amazing Value. Erich von Stroheims Max von Mayerling is equally awestruck, still caught in the wake of Normas star dust. Although they don't have a scene together in this film, Hedda Hopper and Buster Keaton had worked together in the 1932 comedy Speak Easily (1932), both were among the many stars appearing in the 1931 two-reeler The Stolen Jools (1931), and they both appeared in a 1958 episode of The Garry Moore Show (1958) that also featured Carol Burnett, who years later would spoof the Norma Desmond character regularly on her own variety show. The car William Holden drives is a P15 Plymouth Special DeLuxe convertible, a model that was produced from 1945-49. He stayed at Paramount for The Remarkable Andrew (1942) with Brian Donlevy, then made Meet the Stewarts (1943) at Columbia. Im not giving anything away here. Prior to joining the Houston Chronicle, Gonzales worked as a night cops reporter at The. You used to be big. On the basis of this film and largely due to his continuing association with director Billy Wilder, Holden would reach the zenith of his career from 1950-'57. Sunset Boulevard told an old familiar story. producer Music by Franz Waxman Cinematography by John F. Seitz . "[18] Rumors at the time had it that Hepburn wanted a family, but when Holden told her that he had had a vasectomy and having children was impossible, she moved on. The character of Joe Gillis was very much in tune with William Holden's standing at the time. After graduating from South Pasadena High School, Holden attended Pasadena Junior College, where he became involved in local radio plays. On the Columbia lot is an assistant director and scout named Harold Winston. Boulevard du crpuscule : Amazon.com.mx: Pelculas y Series de TV. William Holdens Joe Gillis helps a timid soul named Norma Desmond cross a crowded street on Paramounts back lot. ), It came out the same year as another behind-the-scenes showbiz classic, All About Eve, which took most of the Oscars. Watch 'Sunset Boulevard (1950)' Online Streaming (Full Movie) | PlayPilot He would slay, "I have no idea! Bogart took the part hoping it would pair him back up with his wife Lauren Bacall. 4.99. She hates all of Joes writing except for about six pages. Billy Wilder was one of the ultimate Hollywood insiders and he grew with film. read more: Can The Biblical Epic be Resurrected? But attempts to turn the movie into a stage musical began almost immediately, spearheaded by none other than Gloria Swanson. He walked into his bedroom and tripped over a throw rug and slammed his head so hard into the corner of a teak nightstand, the piece of furniture flew into the wall causing an indentation, per "William Holden." 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. 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. The exterior shots were of a house located not on Sunset but Irving Boulevard, near the corner of Wilshire, owned by the J. Paul Getty family. 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.