Sunset Boulevard
The Roaring 20s certainly saw its share of raucous behavior and nowhere more so than in the Hollywood silent film industry, a place where many dark secrets would disappear into a gigantic black hole, never to be found out. From the recesses of the decadence would the sound film era begin with a newfound sensitivity for scandalous activities and the ever growing awareness of media attention. For years afterwards, few movies would dare touch the subject of the 1920s in Hollywood, but later on in 1950 Billy Wilder would hit upon an idea with some potential: Crazed Ex Silent Movie Queen Who Longs So Much For A Comeback That She Becomes Dangerously Homicidal. Wanting to cast a real and legitimate silent movie star in the part, Wilder immediately headed over to Pickfair, holding a pitch meeting with America’s Sweetheart herself, Mary Pickford (a recluse at that time). Halfway through the pitch, Wilder noticed Pickford becoming so visibly disgusted by the concept that Wilder would apologize, excuse himself and leave. His next try was for Greta Garbo, but she couldn’t be located. After casting aside Pola Negri for her strong Polish accent, Wilder would approach and offer the part to Gloria Swanson, a genuine silent movie star but also a relatively down to earth, modest person, holding no ill will or animosity towards the industry and continuing to work on modest TV projects while maintaining a seemingly tranquil existence in the meantime. With Wilder’s offer and the right money, Swanson took on the role and everything started clicking into place, with Swanson herself securing the services of none other than Cecil B. DeMille in a cameo as himself and other silent movie legends joining the cast including H.B. Warner and even Buster Keaton in the flesh along with the most intriguing casting choice: Erich Von Stroheim, once a giant in his own right amongst directors in the silent movie days before being nearly blackballed from directing films due to his out of control budgets and who was then allowed to become a legendary character actor, usually playing villains of a European (or Nazi) sort. Here cast in the key role of Swanson’s butler whom himself is both an ex director AND ex husband of Swanson’s, he has willingly conceded to give up his directing career and take on the role of a loyal servant as being the only way to stay in her life somehow. And with William Holden handling narrating duties as the shady, opportunist screenwriter who becomes intertwined with our main character, we move on to the legend herself: Norma Desmond, the silent movie goddess whom 20 years after the advent of sound is living in an amazingly opulent Hollywood mansion, loaded with money but much more obsessed with finding a way back onto the Hollywood A list and with her ex Von Stroheim dutifully keeping the house clean and managing all business affairs, she lives exactly the kind of life she wants to live with no apologies, turning her home into a shrine to herself and her stardom, ignoring the strains of the outside world as she obsesses over how to make her big comeback. Enter Holden’s Joe Gillis, a randy and unlikable thud with an annoying hipster attitude. He talks his way past Von Stroheim at the front gate and is soon playing slick with the sad and broken woman, currently in the process of burying her pet monkey (which Wilder has publicly claimed was her previous lover) and soon finding himself moving in and enjoying his new digs, screwing the older lady and also sneaking off to hang with his friends who are mostly technical people on Hollywood films (including Jack Webb who looks and sounds nothing like Joe Friday here), finally taking up with his best friend’s girl (Nancy Olson, still amongst us the living as of this writing) all while eating his meals and buying the best clothes at the behest of the Sugar Mommy whom he lives with, always knowing when to grovel and also when to talk some shit to upset her when he’s in a bad mood. But no mind, since Norma Desmond has written a script that she intends to bring to DeMille himself and her ex husband / butler (with whom she maintains a strict no sex relationship with even while she orders him around) drives her out to set as the film clearly shows how it paved the way for later “meta” Hollywood projects featuring big names playing themselves and (even better) actors playing roles and engaging in onscreen scenarios that have some stunning parallels and dynamics to various real life situations. The film garnered four acting Oscar nominations, including one for Best Supporting Actress to Olson’s cute and ambitious ingenue, Best Supporting Actor for Von Stroheim who promptly sued the studio for not submitting him for Best Lead Actor, Holden scoring that very same Best Lead Actor nomination even as his work remains underrated here due mostly to his leading lady. Swanson NOT walking off with Best Actress for this will remain a great mystery for all time other than the fact that she was competing with Bette Davis in All About Eve which led to a full split of the vote which then resulted in Judy Holliday scoring the massive upset for her goofy comedy Born Yesterday. Swanson knew the long term ramifications of her iconic performance, enjoying her newfound 15 minutes of spotlight before going back to her smaller scale work, turning down many other bigger and better offers to play various other psychopathic characters and thus allowing her work here to resonate through the ages, having presented us with one of the top 10 (or maybe 5) greatest female performances in history, one which was hated by many silent movie stars (and reportedly Von Stroheim was not a fan either) but Barbara Stanwyck on the other hand would bow and kneel in front of Swanson before kissing the hem of her dress after seeing the film. Norma Desmond remains relevant to this day not just because of Hollywood nostalgia, but because she was the first great fictional diva, a hodgepodge of female vanity, narcissism and insecurity that one need not be a has been movie star in order to possess these qualities, inspiring everything after her up to and including Miss Piggy, Lady Gaga and Madonna. Moreso, Norma Desmond in all of her sad and pathetic attempts for attention, at times seems like so much fun to hang out with that one is tempted to get a has been movie star of their own. And the ending, with the sleazebag Holden getting his just desserts and Desmond getting exactly what she wanted, the bright lights and big pictures which OJ Simpson experienced in his Trial Of The Century and what Norma is about to become as the biggest name in the world again, the happiest of endings indeed (even Von Stroheim or at least his character is seen directing again) and the most fulfilling dream coming true with a return to that old spotlight which she always craved…
9/10