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. cynical Hollywood survivor played by William Holden. Was Oscar-nominated in all the major categories--Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Screenplay--but only won in the last category. There was a maharajah who came all the way from India to beg one of her silk stockings. The British author's satirical The Loved One was published in 1948, after Waugh had spent time in Hollywood observing the film industry and, of all things, the funeral industry. The film is included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list. Wilder was, well, the wilder of the two, often bawdy and crass, while Brackett was genteel. 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. De Mille, and Max von Mayerling. [12] Swanson later said, "Bill Holden was a man I could have fallen in love with. All of the silent film stars mentioned by Norma, Joe, Betty and Max were either dead or no longer active in films by 1950. This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 22:44. Its second owner was Jean Paul Getty, who purchased it for his second wife. The two starred in the films The Lion (1962) and The 7th Dawn (1964). Well, not everybody! Holden was still an unknown actor when he made Golden Boy, while Stanwyck was already a film star. Wilder used real names like Darryl Zanuck, Tyrone Power, and Alan Ladd. Marshman was a journalist but both Wilder and Brackett had been impressed by the critique he had given of their earlier film, The Emperor Waltz (1948). According to Gloria Swanson's daughter, Michelle Amon, her mother stayed in character throughout the entire shoot, even speaking like Norma Desmond when she arrived home in the evening after filming. Wilder almost hired Broadway star Marlon Brando, who would make his screen debut in The Men in 1950. At Columbia, he starred in film noirs, The Dark Past (1948), The Man from Colorado (1949) and Father Is a Bachelor (1950). William Holden, original name William Franklin Beedle, Jr., (born April 17, 1918, O'Fallon, Illinois, U.S.found dead November 16, 1981, Santa Monica, California), American film star who perfected the role of the cynic who acts heroically in spite of his scorn or pessimism. Montgomery Clift was originally cast as the writer but dropped out two weeks before the shoot. Holden starred in some of Hollywood's most popular and critically acclaimed films, including Sunset Boulevard (1950), Sabrina (1954), Picnic (1955), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), The Wild Bunch (1969) and Network (1976). This makes her the youngest of the cast members, excluding any extras. Those offices later became the home of the "Star Trek" art department. 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. Youre killing yourself for an empty house. Billy Wilder's sixth film in a row for Paramount Pictures. Sunset Boulevard (DVD, 2017) UK Region 2 release with extras. Highly unusual at the time, Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder had Joe Gillis narrate, from beyond the grave, the sad tale of the final months of his life, while the film simultaneously depicts the still living Gillis experiencing those events unaware of the fate his dead self already knows. Swanson supplemented many of the costumes with her own accessories and jewelry. In the film Gloria is seen playing cards with three silent film stars: Buster Keaton, H.B. . Gloria Swanson, meanwhile, was born on March 27, 1899. Some, including Holden himself and one of his close confidants, could foresee the death (per The Huntsville Item). Gloria Swanson worked closely with Edith Head on Norma's clothes to achieve just the right look: grandly expensive but slightly out of date. During Norma Desmond's New Years' Eve party, the band begin to play the song 'Diane', the theme of the 1927 film 7th Heaven (1927). "I am big. His co-star Barbara Stanwyck, a screen veteran and one of the greatest actors of all time, coached and promoted Holden personally. 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. She was nominated for the first Academy Award in the Best Actress category. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film Stalag 17 (1953) and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for the television miniseries The Blue Knight (1973). But before that happened, it appeared in Rebel Without a Cause as the abandoned mansion in which the kids hang out. He received an eight-month suspended sentence for vehicular manslaughter. Ballard, who used to impersonate Norma descending the stairs. She refuses to believe that she's no longer remembered and will never make another movie. He had made Swanson a star by. She felt that Wilder used her name in a past-tense context, and she was offended. read more: The Big Sleep is Proof That Plot Doesnt Matter. And that young man who was found floating in the pool of her mansion, with two shots in his back and one in his stomach, was nobody important, really. 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. Taylor had a British accent and the imposter sounded like he came out of Chicagos south side. It was the same technique he had used to shoot Rudolph Valentino's tango in The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921). Stanwyck went to bat for Holden when he was going to be replaced in Golden Boy (1939) and Wilder's collaboration with Holden in the 50s starting with Sunset Boulevard revitalized his career (including the Best Actor Oscar for Stalag 17 (1953). 12 Sep. WILLIAM HOLDEN: At some point, "Sunset Boulevard" (1950) played at The Silver Screen. [49], His death was noted by singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, whose 1987 song "Tom's Diner", about a sequence of events one morning in 1981, included a mention of reading a newspaper article about "an actor who had died while he was drinking". In addition to the famous swimming pool, the studio also built sets to exactly duplicate Schwab's Drug Store in Hollywood and the Los Angeles County Morgue. In 1998 the American Film Institute selected this as the 12th greatest film of the 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time. In the movie when a cop tries to call in to the coroners office, he cant get an open line because Hedda Hopper is on the phone in Normas room, talking to the Times City Desk and that is more important. He stayed true to his word. Holden made a fourth and final film for Wilder with Fedora (1978). Sunset Blvd. by Billy Wilder, Billy Wilder, William Holden, Gloria 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. Suratt was reportedly obsessed with the fact that she was the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary, and after her career ended commissioned the leader of the U.S. Reform Bah' Movement to co-write a script on the life of Mary Magdalene. ", The scene of Max playing Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor" at the organ might well have been an inspiration for Lurch at the harpsichord in the TV series "The Addams Family.". 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. Marshman Jr. Sunset Boulevard was the last time Brackett and Wilder collaborated on a film. In the movie, an aide tells Cecil B. DeMille "Gordon Cole has been trying to reach you". He rose to prominence with his role in the movie "Sunset Boulevard" (1950), which landed him his first Best Actor Oscar nomination. While Hollywood Blvd. A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return. American actress Gloria Swanson in a promotional portrait for 'Sunset Boulevard', directed by Billy Wilder, 1950. Well, in the end, he got himself a poolonly the price turned out to be a little high, so Paramount paid to have one installed on the condition that if Mrs. Getty didnt like it, theyd remove it after filming was over. The old movies needed neither color nor dialogue. After a private screening for Hollywood dignitaries, Barbara Stanwyck knelt in front of Gloria Swanson and kissed the hem of her skirt. taste bar and kitchen missouri city. According to Cameron Crowe, who shadowed Billy Wilder in his twilight years, a typical day in his office would consist of him answering numerous phone calls from people requesting to remake this film, and he would inform them that he didn't own the rights and promptly hang up. It was named after a major street that runs through Hollywood, the center of the American film industry . Holden had his most widely recognized role as "Commander" Shears in David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) with Alec Guinness,[25] a huge commercial success. 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. An ending for the film was cobbled together, but the movie was never shown in the U.S. On February 7, 1955, Holden appeared as a guest star on I Love Lucy as himself. Gillis: "No, swimming pool." The producer in the film was originally called Kaufman and was to be played by Joseph Calleia. Gloria Swanson's career was not revitalized by this film. But along with the accolades came a dependence on alcohol that would play a major role in his tragic end. Technically the address was 641 S Irving Blvd but the estate lay at the corner of Irving and Wilshire Blvd. She reads everyone and everything in Hollywood, except Joes script. He earned an Oscar nomination for "Sunset Boulevard" and won an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 for his role in "Stalag 17," per IMDb. The only addition was the swimming pool, which wasn't equipped with a means of circulating the water so it was useless after filming. Billy Wilder's 1978 Flop Fedora Is a Sorry Footnote to Sunset Boulevard William Holden: Golden Boy of Hollywood Starred in 'Sunset Boulevard 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. But before you hear it all distorted and blown out of proportion, before those Hollywood columnists get their hands on it, maybe youd like to hear the facts, the whole truth. Hola Elige tu direccin Pelculas y Series de TV. In Billy Wilder's film, Erich von Stroheim plays the butler of Gloria Swanson's forgotten silent-film star. They swore each other off over the montage where Norma struggles to lose weight for her comeback. Sunset Boulevard (film) - Wikipedia 25 on AFI's list of all-time great leading men. 1751 Vine is still a parking lot across the street from the landmark, Capitol Records building and is the address of both Billy's Wilder's and Barbara Stanwyck's "Hollywood Walk of Fame" stars that were dedicated in 1960. "[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. He contributed to Altvariety, Chiseler, Smashpipe, and other magazines. It is also one of the most frequently misquoted movie lines, usually given as, "I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. The Homicide Squad, complete with detectives and newspapermen, are responding to a call about a murder from one of those great big houses in the ten thousand block of Sunset Boulevard, a 22-mile block that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown LA to the Pacific Ocean. They are singing a parody of their song "Buttons and Bows," from The Paleface (1948), for which they won an Oscar in 1949, the year this film was made. He played Bogarts kid brother in Sabrina, Holdens third film with director Billy Wilder, in 1954. As this film opens, William Holden's character Joe Gillis describes himself as a Hollywood screenwriter "living in an apartment house above Ivar Street." The car with the massive chrome grill that the repo men drive is a 1948 DeSoto Custom Club Coupe. Sure she was a forgotten silent star, living in exile, screening her old movies and dreaming of a comeback. When Norma visits DeMille at Paramount, he's in the midst of shooting Samson and Delilah, which really is what he was up to at the time. Sunset Boulevard - General Discussions - TCM Message Boards Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). ), It came out the same year as another behind-the-scenes showbiz classic, All About Eve, which took most of the Oscars. William Holden Net Worth 2023: Age, Height, Weight, Wife, Kids, Bio According to reports, Taylor went to the feds for help filing charges against Normands cocaine suppliers. The photos of the young Norma Desmond that decorate the house are all genuine publicity photos from Gloria Swanson's heyday. In 1954, Holden was featured on the cover of Life. For a number of years, exhibitors voted Holden among the most popular stars in the country: On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [17], Their relationship did not last much beyond the completion of the film. Holman was 16 years older than him and was afraid people would think the movie was a parody of their relationship. He played an older version of Joe in Sidney Lumets classic Network (1976), written by the cynical Paddy Chayefsky. Still, whatever hard feelings there may have been between Swanson and von Stroheim, they were gone by the time Sunset Boulevard came along. Also, the house didn't have a pool, so Paramount paid to have one installed on the condition that if Mrs. Getty didn't like it, they'd remove it after filming was over. Their partnership ended in a professional and gentlemanly mannerthere was no airing of any dirty laundrybut it did end.. It was a gift from her lover, automobile magnate Walter Chrysler. Director Billy Wilder Writers Charles Brackett Billy Wilder D.M. Norma is at the edge of insanity through the whole movie, but that doesnt mean shes not fun. DeMille." William Haines turned down an offer to appear in the film but attended the Hollywood premiere with Joan Crawford. When Max picks up the discarded headpiece during the tango scene, his expression hints at concern for the mental issues Norma suffers from. So she lands his head on a golden tray, kissing his cold, dead lips. Sunset Boulevard DVD Special Collector's Edition William Holden Gloria He said hed already played a young kept man in the film The Heiresswith Olivia De Havilland, and in real life with his relationship with older singer Libby Holman. Holden was reunited with Wilder in Stalag 17 (1953), for which Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor. In the scene where Norma is showing Joe her silent movies, one of them is Queen Kelly (1932), which was filmed at Paramount's Astoria Studios in Astoria, Queens, NY. Even though it wasn't the last scene filmed, Billy Wilder threw a party for her as soon as the shot was finished. Seitz had used a similar technique on Double Indemnity (1944). Gillis: "Yes I was murdered." And gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (who appears in the movie as herself) wrote that "Billy Wilder was crazy about Evelyn Waugh's book The Loved One, and the studio wanted to buy it.". Sunset Boulevard, Clip, William Holden, Gloria Swanson, 1950 William Holden: The Golden Boy of Vintage Hollywood - Variety A new 4K high-definition scan was done in 2008 for the film's release on Blu-ray disc. The footage we see is from Queen Kelly (1929), which starred Gloria Swanson and was directed by Max himself, Erich von Stroheim. Swanson argued that a woman like Norma would have been obsessed with her appearance and would have done her utmost not to look old. The film originally opened and closed the story at the Los Angeles County Morgue. (1954). Joe Gillis: You're Norma Desmond. But she fits it like a round peg in a square hole. The movie opens with a shot of a dead guy floating face down in a pool, and the dead man himself tells us that its Joe Gillis getting bloated in the chlorine. I think that Sunset Boulevard was the most important film of William Holden's career. The film's narrative structure bears a marked resemblance to that of American Beauty (1999). Not long ago, he was divorced from the actress, Gloria Holden, but carried the torch after the marital rift. In real life, when Swanson and DeMille had worked together, that was what they always called each other. Ready? Eventually it wasn't Wilder who shouted "Cut!" What is the streaming release date of Sunset Blvd. It is one of the most indelible films you will ever see. Sunset Boulevard, the 1950 film noir classic directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, did a lot to change that and other myths of old Hollywoodlike the real-life murder at the heart of the story. It's the pictures that got small" was #91. Set designer Hans Dreier had in fact been the interior designer for the homes of former silent stars Bebe Daniels, Norma Shearer and Pola Negri. Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die," edited by Steven Schneider. but Holden's wife, Ardis (Brenda Marshall), who happened to be on set that day. His characters were always angling for something, whether it was silk stockings in a POW Camp in Stalag 17 from 1953, which won him a Best Actor Oscar, or to clear impersonation charges in in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) with Alec Guinness. It would go on to be one of his most successful movies. Norma Desmond says that she paid $28,000 for the Isotta-Fraschini car in 1929. Sunset Boulevard is also a reflection of Hollywood through a glass, darkly. You see, this is my life, she promised. Whether he was the washed up screenwriter of Sunset Boulevard or the reluctant hero of The Bridge on the River Kwai, Holden kept audiences engrossed. The musical version of the movie opened in London on July 12, 1993, and ran 1529 performances. Sunset Boulevard - Paramount Originals (includes Limited Edition But it wasn't a mistake. About 28:00 in, when Max is playing the organ, it is the same chords that Captain Nemo (James Mason) plays on his organ aboard the Nautilus in "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea." He received an eight-month suspended sentence for vehicular manslaughter.[1]. Holden's films after that time had not impressed Wilder (in the 1940s Holden's movies were decidedly mediocre). Cecil B. DeMille: at the studio during Norma's visit. About 10 minutes later, Holden passed out and died from blood loss. And here is how he obtained his new movie tag. According to a statement director King Vidor made in 1968, the Los Angeles police detective who was assigned to the case was told to lay off about a week into the investigation. It gives them an opportunity to write really good acceptances speeches. A few years later, Stephen Sondheim became interested in writing a musical version of his own, working with writer Burt Shevelove (with whom he ended up writing A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum). Unlike the character she played, Gloria Swanson had accepted the fact that the movies didn't want her anymore and had moved to New York, where she worked on radio and, later, television. Fat Man: "A husky fellow like you?" 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. [2] He had two younger brothers, Robert Westfield Beedle and Richard Porter Beedle. His deal was considered one of the best ever for an actor at the time, with him receiving 10% of the gross, which earned him over $2.5 million, however, Holden stipulated that he should only receive a maximum of $50,000 per year from the film. [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. Mrs. Getty's home had to be completely re-decorated to give it the oversized grandeur needed for the film. [26], He made another war film for a British director, The Key (1958) with Trevor Howard and Sophia Loren for director Carol Reed. It made him a true front ranked star after years of being an actor slogging through a series of largely forgottable films (and performances). He stayed at Paramount for The Remarkable Andrew (1942) with Brian Donlevy, then made Meet the Stewarts (1943) at Columbia. The apartments, and the "Alto Nido" sign out front that is glimpsed briefly in the film, are still there. The black studs on Joe's shirt front were probably onyx, black opals, or even black pearls. 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. To publicize the film, Paramount sent Gloria Swanson on a cross-country tour, paying her $1,000 a week for her services. The movie's line "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." On Joe's and Betty's night walk through the Paramount backlot, his calling the false building fronts "Washington Square" would be an accurate reference, as that neighborhood in New York was full of brownstone houses, apartments, and other turn-of-the-century architecture. The two men never worked together again. Oh, and while were at it, Wilder didnt submerge any cameras to get that underwater shot. Being born on 17 April 1918, William Holden was 63 years old at the time of his death. The next decade saw Holden's career flourish. Someone who said they were a doctor said Taylor died of a stomach hemorrhage and then disappeared. 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. But in 1957, Paramount formally asked Desmond to stop, the studio bosses having decided not to grant permission after all. Director Cecil B. DeMille, a pioneer of silent Hollywood who was still a top director when "Sunset Boulevard" was shot in 1949, also famously played himself. Gloria Swanson does a famous impression of Charles Chaplin as the "Little Tramp," but Chaplin's name is never mentioned. Culture Editor Tony Sokol cut his teeth on the wire services and also wrote and produced New York CitysVampyr Theatreand the rock operaAssassiNation: We Killed JFK. But as commentator Steve Sailer points out, more than one contemporary source mentions it as an inspiration. [27] He played an American Civil War military surgeon in John Ford's The Horse Soldiers (1959) opposite John Wayne, which was a box-office disappointment. He earned an Oscar nomination for "Sunset Boulevard" and won an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 for his role in "Stalag 17," per IMDb. Norma's buying Joe a fine woolen topcoat would be mostly an affectation in sunny Los Angeles. The butler stonewalls Joe from the outside world until hes rolling up twenties tight enough snort through to deal with even the shortest withdrawal from the big empty house. [47], President Ronald Reagan released a statement: "I have a great feeling of grief. And what faces. Betty is engaged to be married to Jack Webbs character, Arthur Artie Green, who is such a good buddy to Joe that he offers to put him up on the couch for a few weeks. At the end of her acceptance speech, she paid him a personal tribute: "I loved him very much, and I miss him. Peavey died in a San Francisco asylum, where he was being treated for syphilis-related dementia, in 1931. Although she had long before ruled out the possibility of a movie comeback, she was nevertheless highly intrigued when she got the offer to play the lead. I know your face. He starred in the 1953 . A neglected house gets an unhappy look. Microphones would catch the last gurgles, and Technicolor would photograph the red, swollen tongues. Norma Talmadge and Constance Talmadge were famous for owning downtown real estate in Los Angeles and San Diego. Charles Brackett and Wilder were just as adamant that nothing in their scripts should be changed, and nothing new added. A version of how he obtained his stage name "Holden" is based on a statement by George Ross of Billboard: "William Holden, the lad just signed for the coveted lead in Golden Boy, used to be Bill Beadle [sic]. was better known as the seat of the film industry in 1950, the Los Angeles film industry actually began on Sunset Blvd. 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. Cinematographer John Seitz put a mirror on the bottom of the pool and filmed the reflection. She reportedly told Clift shed kill herself if he made the movie. This film was originally released in the United States as The Christmas Tree and on home video as When Wolves Cry. There were no shortage of suspects. It's not possible to shoot through water and get a clear image beyond. Their relationship makes the film as much a love story as it is a noir film, because if ever there is a femme fatale, it is Norma Desmond. The first name of the Joe Gillis character was Dan in an early draft of the screenplay, then altered to Dick, and finally to Joe just before filming began. is a 1950 American black comedy [1] [2] film noir [3] directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and produced and co-written by Charles Brackett. This dynamic served them well for years, each man's extreme tendencies being balanced by the other's, but during Sunset Boulevard it finally became unworkable. Not everyone felt the same way, however. [28] Columbia would not meet Holden's asking price of $750,000 and 10% of the gross for The Guns of Navarone (1961); the amount of money Holden asked exceeded the combined salaries of stars Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Anthony Quinn.[29]. Principal photography took place from 11 April to 18 June 1949. The Tragic 1981 Death Of Sunset Boulevard Star William Holden In July 1941, he married 25-year old actress Brenda Marshall, who commanded five times his income. A Western at MGM, Escape from Fort Bravo (1953) did much better, and the all-star Executive Suite (1954) was a notable success. One of only 13 films to be nominated for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Director. (A few months later, Hepburn met Mel Ferrer, whom she later married and with whom she had a son Sean Hepburn Ferrer. [5][6], Next he starred with George Raft and Humphrey Bogart in the Warner Bros. gangster epic Invisible Stripes (1939), billed below Raft and above Bogart. Initially, writer-director Wilder envisioned the movie as a straightforward comedy, and the famously saucy West seemed like a perfect fit. This is a nod to retired silent-movie star Clara Bow, whose husband Rex Bell, a former star of "B" westerns, was the president of the Nevada Chamber of Commerce, and later Lieutenant Governor of Nevada. (1950), as a way of "art imitating life." He was perfection on- and off-screen. Normand was the last person known to have seen Taylor alive and she was grilled by the Los Angeles Police Department as a result. After Salome, she planned to make another picture and another picture. Despite the 19 year gap in their ages, Holden and Swanson died just 2 years apart from each other- Holden in 1981 at age 63 and Swanson in 1983 at age 84. Vega subsequently confirmed that this was a reference to Holden.[50]. Oscar and Emmy winner William Holden was one of Hollywood's biggest stars for decades, with his performances as cynical, conflicted men winning acclaim and awards.