"[13]:174 The interactions between Bogart, Hepburn and Holden made shooting less than pleasant, as Bogart had wanted his wife, Lauren Bacall, to play Sabrina. Gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, who plays herself in the movie, wrote that Billy Wilder was crazy about Evelyn Waughs book The Loved One, and the studio wanted to buy it.. He followed it with a romantic comedy, Dear Ruth (1947) and he was one of many cameos in Variety Girl (1947). [23][24] Picnic was his last film under the contract with Columbia. The actor-turned-director-turned-actor-again, who had indeed been one of the great silent-filmmakers, winced at playing a character so self-referential and demeaning, but he needed the money. Peavey reportedly wore flashy golf clothes but didnt own golf clubs and had been arrested for social vagrancy and booked on lewd and dissolute charges just a few nights before the murder. Free shipping for many products! or "Boulevard"? "Lonely, alone, without dignity.". Make-up designer Wally Westmore found that Gloria Swanson's face belied her age and wanted to make her look older. You used to be in silent pictures. It was widely known as a top Hollywood hangout for many actors, directors, writers and producers. But Joe wouldnt have fallen so hard if he werent so shackled. [39] On a trip to Africa, he fell in love with the wildlife and became increasingly concerned with the animal species that were beginning to decrease in population. These towns were favored because they were on the way to Palm Springs where, after collecting the audience reaction cards, studio personnel would then go to relax and determine what changes should be made to the previewed films. Gloria Swanson played her final descent on the staircase barefoot, as she was terrified of tripping in high heels. Schwab's was torn down in 1988 to make way for a movie theater and a shopping center. He stayed at Paramount for The Remarkable Andrew (1942) with Brian Donlevy, then made Meet the Stewarts (1943) at Columbia. When Norma Desmond says to the guard at the "Paramount Studio" gates, "Without me there wouldn't be any 'Paramount Studio'" the words could apply to Gloria Swanson herself, as she was the studio's top star for six years running. When he appeared in the innovative Hollywood director Rouben Mamoulian's Golden Boy (1939), he was hailed as exactly that, but had seen his stock fall, largely through his problems with alcohol and a string of unmemorable films in the 1940s. Some, including Holden himself and one of his close confidants, could foresee the death (per The Huntsville Item). Prior to joining the Houston Chronicle, Gonzales worked as a night cops reporter at The. The actor got up and tried to staunch the blood pouring from his forehead but never called 911, which might have saved his life, per the biography. An ending for the film was cobbled together, but the movie was never shown in the U.S. Oddly enough, the reclusive Greta Garbo granted permission to use her name, though when she saw the film itself she was sorry she had done so. The script (which was to be a vehicle for her comeback) was submitted to Cecil B. DeMille who sent it back. (1950) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Billy Wilder Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) verified as complete Produced by Charles Brackett . When Powers returned to California, she went to his penthouse apartment in Santa Monica but couldn't get in. The murder made it to the late editions, radio, and television because one of the biggest old-time stars was involved. Mary Pickford, Pola Negri, and Greta Garbo turned down the role. After graduating from South Pasadena High School, Holden attended Pasadena Junior College, where he became involved in local radio plays. Sunset Boulevards cinematographer John Seitz said Wilder had wanted to do The Loved One, but couldnt obtain the rights. British author Evelyn Waughs satirical 1948 novel was about a failed screenwriter who lives with a silent film star and works in a cemetery. When filming began, William Holden was 31 and Gloria Swanson was 50, the same stated age as her character. That movie, however, departs from the trope by making both actress and stranger much younger. This car has been on display at the National Automobile Museum in Turin, Italy since 1972. A modern-girl Jiminy Cricket, Betty asks, Dont you sometimes hate yourself? and Joe corrects her, Constantly.. He did another Western at Columbia, Texas (1941) with Glenn Ford, and a musical comedy at Paramount, The Fleet's In (1942) with Eddie Bracken, Dorothy Lamour, and Betty Hutton.[9]. They had to have the ears of the old place, too. In the movie, an aide tells Cecil B. DeMille "Gordon Cole has been trying to reach you". Wilder won the argument and privately told friends that he would not be making any more films with Brackett. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett almost came to blows over the montage depicting Norma's preparations for her comeback. Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die," edited by Steven Schneider. The exteriors of Norma Desmond's home on Sunset Boulevard were filmed at 641 South Irving Boulevard. It's probably just as well, since the darker, more nuanced story that eventually emerged was quite different from West's wheelhouse anyway. [17], Their relationship did not last much beyond the completion of the film. Location scenes at Norma Desmond's mansion were shot not on Sunset Boulevard but on Wilshire Boulevard. a mean old woman who looks and acts a little like Ma Bates if she'd been dead for several years but was somehow still just as talkative and feisty. Sometimes hetinkles the wheezing gothic ivories like Lurch in the original TV series The Addams Family, playing the recognizable strains of The Phantom of the Opera. Glenn Close, who portrayed Norma Desmond on stage, also played a character who dramatically cut her wrists over a man she was in love with in the film "Fatal Attraction. For the cover photo of the very first issue, in April 1951, of what many consider the most important film magazine of all time, the Paris-based "Cahiers du Cinema, " the editors chose the image of Gloria Swanson and William Holden in her screening room. According to both versions of the morgue prologue script, Gillis' body is admitted on 5/17/49 (as indicated by a toe tag). - 65th Anniversary (25) Film Noir Through the Years (3) Movies Set in Hollywood (3) Our Favorite Male-Female Duos (1) The History of Golden Globe Winners for Best Actor and Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (1) Our Favorite Stills From "The Movies" (1) Movies About Movies (1) 77 Years of Golden Globes Best Picture Winners (1) A Western at MGM, Escape from Fort Bravo (1953) did much better, and the all-star Executive Suite (1954) was a notable success. Unsurprisingly, he was largely self taught, spending countless hours with instruction manuals and newspaper clips, playing all four hands simultaneously until he became an expert. Both Keaton and Hopper died the same day, on February 1, 1966, at the ages of 70 and 80 respectively, both in Los Angeles. He played an older version of Joe in Sidney Lumets classic Network (1976), written by the cynical Paddy Chayefsky. The building manager found the body of the legendary actor who starred in 70 films and was a good friend of President Ronald Reagan nearly a week later, per The Washington Post. Since he had classic good looks, an expressive voice, and was an excelle The film is included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list. The moment he discovers that life could be beautiful, Norma slits her wrist with Joes razor. He is the TV Editor at Entertainment. Columbia put Holden in a Western with Jean Arthur, Arizona (1940), then at Paramount he was in a hugely popular war film, I Wanted Wings (1941) with Ray Milland and Veronica Lake. For some scenes, cinematographer John F. Seitz would sprinkle dust into the air so it could be caught by the lights and create a moody effect. Von Stroheim didnt know how to drive, and the scene where hes driving the exotic leopard-upholstered Isotta-Fraschini was shot as the car was being towed. It made him a true front ranked star after years of being an actor slogging through a series of largely forgottable films (and performances). Swanson and von Stroheim are playing themselves in that scene. The last name of the studio executive played by Fred Clark is Sheldrake. The plot element of Norma Desmond's obsession with writing a screenplay based on Salome as a vehicle for her comeback was obviously influenced by eccentric, aging actress Valeska Suratt, who had a brief film career (1915-1917) playing mostly vamp roles. When Joe and Betty stroll around the studio back lot they pass through the Washington Square set that was used in The Heiress (1949). His family moved to South Pasadena when he was three. William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 - November 12, 1981) was an American actor and murderer, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. The studio needed an actor who the audience could believe wrote a story about Okies in the Dust Bowl that played on a torpedo boat by the time it hit the screen. To shoot Joe and Norma dancing together at her New Year's Eve party, cameraman John F. Seitz used a dance dolly---a wheeled platform attached to the camera. His co-star Barbara Stanwyck, a screen. A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return. Norma Desmond: Get out! He was Judy Hollidays tutor in Born Yesterday (1950) and played a war correspondent in Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955). On the basis of this film and largely due to his continuing association with director Billy Wilder, Holden would reach the zenith of his career from 1950-'57. [38], Holden maintained a home in Switzerland and also spent much of his time working for wildlife conservation as a managing partner in an animal preserve in Africa. The clips in Sunset Boulevard were the first American audiences had seen of it. Gloria Swanson's career was not revitalized by this film. Sure she was a forgotten silent star, living in exile, screening her old movies and dreaming of a comeback. Ironically, the last films that Gloria Swanson made for Paramount were not at this famous facility. and was "a loner," according to Edwards, who wasn't surprised that Holden's body went so long without being discovered. Haines, whose career had ended because of his homosexual off-screen life, was too happy in his new profession as an interior decorator to want to call attention to his past as an actor. The black studs on Joe's shirt front were probably onyx, black opals, or even black pearls. Brackett was also a frequent collaborator with Billy Wilder, co-writing and producing a dozen movies with him (including The Lost Weekend) before Sunset Boulevard proved to be their last. Although Sheldrake's musings on a film about the story of a female baseball player was seen as humorous, the movie "A League of Their Own" would do just that 42 years later. Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! The mundane accident that took the Hollywood actor's life was made even worse by the fact that nobody found his body for a week afterward, according to the Associated Press. The 2014 book by William J. Mann, Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood, names Ross Blackie Madsen Sheridan as the killer, based on a death bed confession from actress Margaret Gibson, who beat a 1917 rap on prostitution and opium dealing. But like so many of the female actors of the era, Holden soon realized it was his physical attributes and not his acting ability that the studio cared about. Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder retained the term of endearment for the scene in which DeMille greets Norma Desmond at the door of the sound stage. Perry, George & Andrew Lloyd Webber (1993). After all, it's about a dethroned queen." Now that we are getting closer to Awards Season in here in Hollywood, Im getting more and more interest from nominees and prospective nominees who want to know in advance if they are going home with the gold, Marie Bargas, known for years as the Hollywood Witch, told Den of Geek. . What do you say about a longtime friend a sense of personal loss, a fine man. [46] Rumors existed that he was suffering from lung cancer, which Holden had denied at a 1980 press conference. He made two more films with Olson: Force of Arms (1951) at Warner Bros. and Submarine Command (1951) at Paramount. Marshman Jr. Sunset Boulevard was the last time Brackett and Wilder collaborated on a film. Holden continued to work steadily for the next decade, but Hollywood often had no idea what to do with him. Kodak would discontinue to manufacture it altogether in 1953. According to the Los Angeles Times, the actor long experienced alcoholism, and though he was able to avoid drinking when with lover Stefanie Powers, it ultimately helped pave the way for his death. This is an old film which has been made into a musical. Sunset Boulevard is no has-been, though. In their scene together in Artie's bathroom Gillis mentions to Betty in his dramatic flirtation about having spent "12 years in the Burmese jungle", when coincidentally, just a few years later his character, Shears, finds himself lost there in David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai. The movie's line "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up" was voted the #7 movie quote by the American Film Institute. As this film opens, William Holden's character Joe Gillis describes himself as a Hollywood screenwriter "living in an apartment house above Ivar Street." Everyone had a good laugh, though the record doesn't reflect whether Marshall joined in. She burst into tears upon completion of the scene. Like most old things in L.A., the house has since been replaced by an office building. read more: Key Largo, Lauren Bacall, and the Definitive Post-War Film. Billy Wilder originally wanted another silent star, Pola Negri, to take the part of Norma Desmond. When Joe and Norma sit down to watch one of her old movies, Joe pulls out a cigarette and places the bottom end in his mouth. De Mille, and Max von Mayerling. 12 Sep. WILLIAM HOLDEN: At some point, "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) played at The Silver Screen. In a scene described by director Billy Wilder as one of the best he'd ever shot, the body of Joe Gillis is rolled into the morgue to join three dozen other corpses, some of whom--in voice-over--tell Gillis how they died. Sunset Boulevard English audio Gloria Swanson, as Norma Desmond, an aging silent-film queen, and William Holden, as the struggling young screenwriter who is held in thrall by her madness,. Montgomery Clift was originally cast as Joe Gillis but quit the production two weeks before filming began because he had already played the kept man of a wealthy older woman in The Heiress (1949). According to Billy Wilder, it was von Stroheim's idea to use a clip from Queen Kelly (1932) in Sunset Blvd. After his final film S.O.B., Holden declined to star in Jason Miller's film That Championship Season.[37]. The body was found by Henry Peavey, who took over for convicted embezzler Edward F. Sands as Taylors valet. Throughout Hollywood history many film stars, and/or single films, were responsible for saving ailing studios. Gloria Swanson became so identified with the demanding, irascible Norma that later generations of fans were startled to discover her serene, easy-going, naturalist personality in real life. The truth of the matter was that Bing Crosby was one of the very few actors to whom Billy Wilder had borne a grudge, mainly because Crosby had done the unthinkable during filming of The Emperor Waltz (1948), and ad-libbed dialog, something he and Bob Hope had done for years as standard operating procedure in their breezy "Road" pictures. Her character's age was 22 but she was 21 at the time of filming. 25 on AFI's list of all-time great leading men. Every woman was in love with him. Brenda Marshall, Holden's wife since 1941, was visiting the set when Holden and Nancy Olson had their kissing scene. Buster Keaton appears only in the bridge party scene and utters the word "Pass" twice. Wilder was no fan of improvisation and was very protective of his words. Billy Wilder originally approached William Haines to play one of Norma's bridge partners. In 1969, Holden made a comeback when he starred in director Sam Peckinpah's graphically violent Western The Wild Bunch,[4] winning much acclaim. There was a maharajah who came all the way from India to beg one of her silk stockings. He rejects her. But along with the accolades came a dependence on alcohol that would play a major role in his tragic end. He always wished that I would get an Oscar. American Film Institute On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder, by Ed Sikov, 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. On February 7, 1955, Holden appeared as a guest star on I Love Lucy as himself. Swanson supplemented many of the costumes with her own accessories and jewelry. Holden earned his first Best Actor Oscar nomination for the role.[11]. in West Hollywood. Norma telling studio guard Jonesy that without her there would be no Paramount Studios is not a far-fetched notion. Eugene Walter was a prolific Hollywood screenwriter of the 1920s and 1930s. He followed it with Damien: Omen II (1978) and had a cameo in Escape to Athena (1978), which co-starred his real-life love interest Stefanie Powers. Well, not everybody! He worked on dramas like The Key (1958), Westerns like John Fords The Horse Soldiers (1959) opposite John Wayne, and comedies like The Moon is Blue which so famously challenged the Production Code in 1953 that Hawkeye and BJ insisted it get shown at M*A*S*H 4077 to break the monotony of the Korean War. A classic film review of Sunset Boulevard (1950) starring William Holden, Gloria Swanson and Eric Von StroheimDirected by acclaimed film maker Billy Wilder (. [41], Holden was married to actress Brenda Marshall from 1941 until their divorce in 1971. Fat Man: "A husky fellow like you?" So they opened their big mouths and out came talk. Wilder changed the scene so that DeMille offered Lamarr's chair to Norma without Lamarr being present. So Wilder gave up, and DeMille (who was already being compensated) gave Norma his own chair.. Not long ago, he was divorced from the actress, Gloria Holden, but carried the torch after the marital rift. After returning from France, she shot her last Paramount films--Stage Struck (1925), The Untamed Lady (1926) and Fine Manners (1926)--at the studio's lot in Astoria, Queens, NY. According to reports, Taylor went to the feds for help filing charges against Normands cocaine suppliers. As far as being a forgotten star, past her prime, Norma is only 50 in the movie, Swanson was 53 when she made it and was herself very busy on the then-new medium of television. (he'd already gotten the shot he needed on the first take). When the movie first dropped, Louis B. Mayer, the Mayer in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, told everyone who would listen that Wilder disgraced the industry that made him and fed him, and urged that he be tarred and feathered, and run out of Hollywood. Wilder, who had been feeding himself for quite some time, told Meyer to go fuck himself. Bogart took the part hoping it would pair him back up with his wife Lauren Bacall. He rose to prominence with his role in the movie "Sunset Boulevard" (1950), which landed him his first Best Actor Oscar nomination. There's a little dig in the scene when Cecil B. DeMille finds out that Paramount has been calling Norma Desmond because it wants to rent her car for "the Crosby picture." The movie's line "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." Thirty-one years later, the actor who played Gillis, William Holden, met his end. He just didnt have what it takes. William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 November 12, 1981) was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Costume designer Edith Head found working on the film to be one of her greatest challenges. The character of Max Von Mayerling as a washed up silent film director was an homage paid by Wilder to Erich von Stroheim, who was an inspiration to Billy in his glory days as a notorious silent film director himself. After working on Sunset Boulevard, Swanson remarked, Bill Holden was a man I could have fallen in love with. Movie audiences in the nave early days of film sometimes didnt know that somebody had to sit down and write a movie. April 17 marks the 100th birthday of William Holden, who is ranked No. He was named one of the "Top 10 Stars of the Year" six times (19541958, 1961), and appeared as 25th on the American Film Institute's list of 25 greatest male stars of Classical Hollywood cinema. New York-born novelist and screenwriter Brackett was head of the Screen Actors Guild in the late 1930s, and president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1949 to 1955. An iconic sequence in that earlier film sees the character of Diane ascending a long staircase to a seventh-story apartment (hence the film's title). The other line, "I am big! Gloria Swanson worked closely with Edith Head on Norma's clothes to achieve just the right look: grandly expensive but slightly out of date. The veteran actress particularly wanted to see what Mary Pickford felt and was disappointed to see that she had left. Later in the film Max tells Gillis that he was the silent-movie director who discovered Norma and put her in films. Also in 1969, Holden starred in director Terence Young's family film L'Arbre de Nol, co-starring Italian actress Virna Lisi and French actor Bourvil, based on the novel of the same name by Michel Bataille. Holden starred in the 20th Century Fox film Apartment for Peggy (1948). In her private screening room, with butler Max running the projector, Norma cuddles up with Joe to watch one of her own films. Ultimately she retired completely from films, making only sporadic appearances, notably in Airport 1975 (1974). Marlon Brando was considered, but the producers thought he was too much of an unknown as a film actor. is directed toward his associate producer, Henry Wilcoxon, who had starred in his epics Cleopatra (1934), The Crusades (1935) and Unconquered (1947), later moving to a position behind the camera as DeMille's associate, which he held until the older man's death in 1959. Besides Tyrone Power, other stars mentioned when Joe Gillis is pitching his "baseball" picture to the producer are Alan Ladd, William Demarest and Betty Hutton. The footage we see is from Queen Kelly (1929), which starred Gloria Swanson and was directed by Max himself, Erich von Stroheim. To help promote the film, Gloria Swanson did a three-month tour of 36 cities in America and Canada. Universal bought it on her death in 1920 and it was used in several movies, most notably in The Phantom of the Opera (1925). It was the same technique he had used to shoot Rudolph Valentino's tango in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921). When she received her Honorary Oscar at the 1982 Academy Award ceremony, Holden had died in an accident just a few months prior. read more: The Big Sleep is Proof That Plot Doesnt Matter. Jay Livingston, Ray Evans: The Paramount songwriting duo is seen at the piano at Artie Green's New Year's Eve party. Warner, who appears as one of "The Waxworks", had been Gloria Swanson's leading man in Zaza (1923). One of his father's grandmothers, Rebecca Westfield, was born in England, while some of his mother's ancestors settled in Virginia's Lancaster County after emigrating from England in the 17th century. Montgomery Clift was originally cast as the writer but dropped out two weeks before the shoot. The film and actors was excellent and lived up to our expectations. Clift was also wary of appearing in the film because he, like the character of Joe, was having an affair with a wealthy older former actress, Libby Holman. But trophies or not, Sunset Boulevard has stayed near the top of the list of great movies about moviemaking. Billy Wilder was a friend of the danish silent movie star Asta Nielsen, and based the Norma Desmond caracter on her. The Academy Award-winning actor William Holden, born William Beedle Jr., on April 17, 1918, in O'Fallon, Illinois, began his career with 1939s "Golden Boy," per Britannica. So in that scene, William Holden is driving over the future locations of Walk of Fame stars dedicated to the two people arguably most responsible for his success in Hollywood. Being born on 17 April 1918, William Holden was 63 years old at the time of his death. Less popular was Satan Never Sleeps (1961), the last film of Clifton Webb and Leo McCarey; The Counterfeit Traitor (1962), his third film with Seaton; or The Lion (1962), with Trevor Howard and Capucine. Mrs. Getty divorced her millionaire husband and received custody of the house; it was she who rented it to Paramount for the filming. The character of Norma Desmond is modeled on the fate of several leading actresses of the silent era. According to the DVD commentary by Wilder biographer Ed Sikov, this story was most likely invented/exaggerated by Billy Wilder. Strange? She can be seen talking and giggling on the phone during the party. One of only 13 films to be nominated for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Director. And if you find it a little odd to hear dead men telling their own tales via narration, it is less strange than hearing it from a bunch of corpses with toe-tags talking it over in the LA county morgue, which was the way the movie was originally shot. Holden appeared uncredited in Prison Farm (1939) and Million Dollar Legs (1939) at Paramount. Every character is jaded, except the oldest players. Holden's first starring role was in Golden Boy (1939), costarring Barbara Stanwyck, in which he played a violinist-turned-boxer. Watch Sunset Boulevard: Centennial Collection, When Norma Desmond says to the guard at the "Paramount Studio" gates, "Without me there wouldn't be any 'Paramount Studio'" the words could apply to, When Max is telling Joe about directing Madam's first pictures, there is a bad dub of the word "sixteen". For Swanson, whose career was already being threatened by the advent of talkies, Queen Kelly was another blow. Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard took the tinsel out of Tinseltown, the gild off the golden boy, and the cover off a forgotten murder. [32] Also in 1974, Holden starred with Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in the critically acclaimed disaster film The Towering Inferno,[33] which became a box-office smash and one of the highest-grossing films of Holden's career. Technically the address was 641 S Irving Blvd but the estate lay at the corner of Irving and Wilshire Blvd.
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