Sunset Blvd.
BBBBB
(out of 5)
The mother of all backstage Hollywood movies that just never seems to age. One of the peaks of Billy Wilder’s abundantly successful career is this fantastic film about a struggling screenwriter (William Holden) who takes refuge in the decaying home of a has-been silent movie queen (Gloria Swanson, in a career-reviving performance). He thinks he has hit easy street after she takes him in, but he soon realizes that this woman expects him to put out freely while helping her get ready for her giant comeback, a script about Salome that she has written herself. A cameo by Cecil B. DeMille helps lend weight to this great story, plus fantastic camerawork by John Seitz really allows the viewer to personally experience Swanson’s fall into the darkness of insanity. Marvelous.
USA, 1950
Directed by Billy Wilder
Screenplay by Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr.
Cinematography by John F. Seitz
Produced by Charles Brackett
Music by Franz Waxman
Production Design by Hans Dreier, John Meehan
Costume Design by Edith Head
Film Editing by Arthur P. Schmidt
Cast Tags: Anna Q. Nilsson, Buster Keaton, Cecil B. DeMille, Charles Dayton, Erich von Stroheim, Franklyn Farnum, Fred Clark, Gloria Swanson,H.B. Warner, Hedda Hopper, Jack Webb, Jay Livingston, Larry J. Blake, Lloyd Gough, Nancy Olson, Ray Evans, William Holden
Academy Awards
Best Art Direction (Black-and-White) (art direction: Hans Dreier, John Meehan; set decoration: Sam Comer, Ray Moyer)
Best Music (Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) (Franz Waxman)
Best Writing (Story and Screenplay) (Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr.)
Nominations
Best Actor (William Holden as “Joe Gillis”)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Erich von Stroheim as “Max Von Mayerling”)
Best Actress (Gloria Swanson as “Norma Desmond”)
Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Nancy Olson as “Betty Schaefer”)
Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) (John F. Seitz)
Best Directing (Billy Wilder)
Best Film Editing (Arthur Schmidt, Doane Harrison)
Best Motion Picture (Paramount)
Golden Globe Awards
Best Performance By An Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama (Gloria Swanson)
Best Motion Picture-Drama
Best Motion Picture Director (Billy Wilder)
Best Original Score-Motion Picture (Franz Waxman)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (Erich von Stroheim)
Best Screenplay (Charles Brackett, D.M. Marshman Jr., Billy Wilder)
Nomination
Best Cinematography-Black and White (John F. Seitz)
New York Film Critics Award Nominations
Best Film
Best Actress (Gloria Swanson)
Best Director (Billy Wilder)
National Board Of Review Awards
Best Film
Best Actress (Gloria Swanson)
Writers Guild Award
Best Written American Drama
Directors Guild Award Nomination
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Billy Wilder)
