Joe Gillis
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The film stars William Holden as Joe Gillis, a struggling screenwriter, and Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, a former silent-film star who draws him into her deranged fantasy world, where she dreams of making a triumphant return to the screen.
Sunset Boulevard: Directed by Billy Wilder. With William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson. A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.
- (239K)
- Drama, Film-Noir
- Billy Wilder
- 1950-08-04
Mar 1, 2019 · "Sunset Boulevard" is a classic film that masterfully blends Hollywood glamour with dark, introspective drama. Directed by Billy Wilder and released in 1950, it offers a gripping look at the cost of fame and the Sedgwick often tragic lives of those who once ruled the silver screen.
- 110 min
- 85.5K
- Joséaugustosoares
Norma Desmond lives in her crumbling Sunset Boulevard mansion with only her butler to keep her company. She has become a sad demented recluse convinced that the outside world is clamoring for her dramatic return.
- Overview
- Production notes and credits
- Cast
- Academy Award nominations (* denotes win)
Sunset Boulevard, American film noir, released in 1950, that is often cited as one of Hollywood’s greatest films, especially noted for Gloria Swanson’s portrayal of a fading silent-film star. The movie is named after the iconic street that runs through Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, Calif. Deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” to America’s film heritage, it was among the first films selected in 1989 for inclusion in the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry.
(Read Lillian Gish’s 1929 Britannica essay on silent film.)
Britannica Quiz
Pop Culture Quiz
A sharp critique of the film industry, Sunset Boulevard centres on the delusional aging film queen Norma Desmond (played by Swanson), who lives in a ramshackle mansion with her butler and former husband (Erich von Stroheim) while planning a doomed comeback. When Desmond takes on frustrated young screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) as her lover, his attraction to a younger woman and his disgust with his own inability to leave the pampered life Desmond offers him culminates in murder.
(Read Martin Scorsese’s Britannica essay on film preservation.)
•Studio: Paramount Pictures
•Director: Billy Wilder
•Writers: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and D.M. Marshman, Jr.
•Music: Franz Waxman
•Gloria Swanson (Norma Desmond)
•William Holden (Joe Gillis)
•Erich von Stroheim (Max Von Mayerling)
•Nancy Olson (Betty Schaefer)
•Picture
•Director
•Lead actor (William Holden)
•Lead actress (Gloria Swanson)
•Supporting actor (Erich von Stroheim)
•Supporting actress (Nancy Olson)
- Lee Pfeiffer
Billy Wilder’s chillingly cold-blooded satire of Hollywood is one of his finest films — and indeed arguably one of the greatest movies of the period. Jun 27, 2023. TOP CRITIC. Smashing drama ...
- (115)
- Drama
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Intense, enthralling, and unforgettable, Sunset Boulevard stars Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, a faded silent-movie star, and William Holden as Joe Gillis, a down-on-his-luck screenwriter whom she enlists to help her make her triumphant return. Rentals include 30 days to start watching this video and 48 hours to finish once started.
