Boulevard of Broken Dreams

With the steamy heat of summer upon us, it is time to revisit one of my favourite genres – the dark, seductive, hard-boiled stories of film noir (from the 1940’s and 50’s). Billy Wilder, one of the great directors of the twentieth century, created three classics that fall within this genre: 1944’s Double Indemnity (which I have already reviewed), 1951’s Ace In the Hole and the 1950 iconic motion picture Sunset Blvd. – which will be reviewed here today.

Using the typical noir trope, we follow our ‘voice-over narrator’ and main character Joe Gillis (William Holden – Network) as he makes his way through the cut-throat world that is Hollywood. A struggling writer in a bind (simply a lack of money – behind on his rent and his car about to be repossessed), Gillis tries to flog his scripts to anyone and everyone, yet his bland, cookie-cutter stories fail to impress.

One day, as he flees from the repo-men, he pulls into an historic, disheveled and eerie mansion that looks long since deserted. He places his car in the garage and starts to explore – eventually being waved in by an elderly butler who thinks he is a mortician. He enters into a home that looks like a grand silent movie set and meets Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), a reclusive former silent movie star who is burying her monkey with the utmost seriousness.

She learns of his profession and asks him to rework a mammoth movie script that she has written to aid in her triumphant comeback. The desperate man agrees, giving the manipulative woman the chance to sink her claws into him. Gillis’ items are almost immediately moved into her ex-husband’s room by the butler, Max (Erich von Stroheim), as she lures him into her web.

The delusional Desmond is further convinced of her imminent comeback after receiving a call from Paramount – which she will not take as it is not from Cecil B. DeMille himself; in reality, it has nothing to do with the script she has submitted, it is merely interest in renting her unusual vintage car for a movie. She enters the film lot in the old automobile and meets with the classic director (playing himself) who is too nice to tell her that the script is awful.

The situation continues to darken as Gillis, who has now become Desmond’s lover, has started to write scripts in the middle of the night with the young and innocent beauty Betty Schaefer (Nancy Olson). With things escalating to a fever pitch, minds will be warped, hearts will be broken and blood will be shed.

One of the amazing things about Billy Wilder’s movie (which he co-wrote and directed), is the fact that he is painting Hollywood in such a bad light. He shows the phony, dark, seedy and opportunistic quality of the city and its business – something many in Hollywood frowned upon at the time (with Louis B. Mayer screaming that Wilder should be “tarred, feathered and run out of Hollywood” after watching it at a preview screening).

Another brilliant aspect of the story is that the actors’ personas are eerily close to their characters’ in the script. Gloria Swanson was a silent film goddess who was her studio’s top star for six years running – then fell out of favour in the business. Her butler is a former director who lost his job, which is once again true of Erich von Stroheim. He was an iconic silent film director who worked with Swanson (they had a huge dispute) on the 1929 movie Queen Kelly (a scene of the movie is played in Sunset Blvd.); the beginning of the end for both of their careers.

Some of the cameos are also impressive. Cecil B. DeMille does an excellent job as the kind director who does not want to hurt the former star’s feelings. The card playing scene features spots from former greats Buster Keaton (The General), (silent film star) Anna Q. Nilsson and H.B. Warner (It’s A Wonderful Life). Famed gossip columnist Hedda Hopper also makes a cameo at the end of the film. Finally, Paramount songwriting duo Jay Livingston and Ray Evans are seen playing the piano at the New Year’s party.

There are so many classic scenes and amazing pieces of dialogue that can be found in this film. One of the best is when Desmond visits DeMille on the Paramount set – the love and admiration she receives from the veteran staff working on his latest project, with the audience knowing that she will never return, makes the scene both funny and poignant. The final scene is eerily breathtaking, with Desmond descending the stairs while onlookers are seemingly frozen around her. When one adds her dramatic movements and emotive dialogue into the final shot, what we see is pure cinematic gold.

Sunset Blvd. is an excellent example of cinema done right. It encompasses the dying days of the silent film era, the evil that lurks beneath the glamour of Hollywood, a darkly comedic story and pure performances from its stars – all wrapped together within a stylish film noir cloak. So, get a close up view of this classic piece of Hollywood celluloid; it is well worth the time.