Hollywood on Hollywood: the tale of a screenwriter, Joe Gillis (William Holden), who stumbles into the orbit of a now-forgotten movie star, Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), and realizes this silent film diva could be his meal ticket.
It’s sobering to recall the year was 1950 — just 22 years after The Jazz Singer ushered in the sound era. Billy Wilder apparently imagined Greta Garbo in the role, or the former vamp Pola Negri, with Monty Clift as the writer. But Swanson is imperious and indelible in the part. At 4’9 she really sells the movie’s most famous line: “I AM big. It’s the pictures that got small.”
Styled as a film noir, Sunset Blvd is a vicious comedy about Hollywood’s delusions of grandeur. It’s equally cynical about modern (mid-century) show biz — such was Wilder’s way.
Jun 11: Intro by Mike Archibald, writer, editor and filmmaker
Still the best Hollywood movie ever made about Hollywood.
Andrew Sarris
Billy Wilder
Gloria Swanson, William Holden, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Buster Keaton
USA
1950
English
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Screenwriter
Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr.
Cinematography
John F. Seitz
Editor
Arthur P. Schmidt
Original Music
Franz Waxman
Art Director
Hans Dreier, John Meehan
Also in This Series
Getting Real charts the evolution of screen acting in American film from 1945-1980, diving into the psychological realism which took audiences somewhere deeper and more authentic than ever before.
The Fugitive Kind
Sidney Lumet's movie brings together two of the greatest actors of the period, Brando and Anna Magnani, reason enough to check out this underrated poetical drama about a handsome musician who washes up in a small southern town.
Hud
Landmark modern western with Brandon de Wilde from Shane worshipping the wrong hero, Paul Newman’s eponymous heel. According to Paul Schrader, this movie marks the birth of the cynical (anti-)hero in American cinema.
Wild River
Tennessee Valley Authority man Montgomery Clift finds derision from the locals, love from the war widow Lee Remick, and obduracy from matriarch Jo Van Fleet, who just won’t leave that scheduled-to-be-flooded farm.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
A young couple accept an invitation for a nightcap with history professor George (Richard Burton) and his wife Martha (Elizabeth Taylor). At first it's fun and games. But what passes for caustic wit soon degenerates into vicious mind games.
In the Heat of the Night
Sidney Poitier in an indelible role a Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs, pulled in as a murder suspect when changing trains in Mississippi. He allies with bigoted local sheriff (Rod Steiger) to solve the case.
The Miracle Worker
Academy Awards went to Best Actress Anne Bancroft and Best Supporting Actress Patty Duke for their moving portrayals of Annie Sullivan and her remarkable blind and deaf pupil, Helen Keller. "A film that storms where most biopics respectfully tiptoe."
Rachel, Rachel
The story of a shy schoolteacher whose sexual awakening in her mid-30s leads to a deeper re-evaluation of her life, the film is sensitive and sympathetic, as well as a surprising directorial debut from Paul Newman.
The Chase
Bubba Reeves (Robert Redford) escapes from prison and the south Texas town where his wife (Jane Fonda) is carrying on with his best friend (James Fox) is in uproar. Sheriff Marlon Brando tries and fails to keep a lid on the unpleasantness.