•3:36 PM
The classic American film noir of 1950 Sunset Blvd tells the tale of an aging Hollywood star and her demise from screen to murder.
It was directed by Billy Wilder who made many other classic movies and its name provides the basis for its setting. The title is the famous Boulevard in Los Angeles and the playground of the rich and famous movie stars.
Leading actor William Holden plays the hack movie writer and Gloria Swanson stars as Norma Desmond, the aging actress that refuses to give up right until the fatal end.
The plot centers around Holden in character as Joe Gillis, a young screenplay writer who is down on his luck. He owes money and has dreams of grandeur, which his pay check can not compete with. He meets Norma Desmond, a now aging star of the silent screen, and given his limited options he agrees to write a screenplay for her to relaunch her career.
Desmond falls in love, but Joe is only using the relationship as a stopgap until the big time. He eventually gets tired of being a kept man and tried to leave, but Norma's suicide attempt has him returning out of guilt.
She thinks that she can be a successful actress again, but the years have not been kind and she is trying to rise in an industry that rewards youth and beauty over everything else.
In secret Joe works on a script with a younger writer Betty and the two of them fall in love. He is determined to leave Norma, but she fires a shot and he falls dead into the swimming pool at her lavish mansion.
The famous line arrives at the end with Desmond weaving down the steps and saying; "I'm ready for my close up" sealing her fate and showing how mentally unstable she has become.
This is a tragic movie and reveals the inner darkness and corruption in the film industry. People become dispensable commodities and the film is testament to an actress with a mental illness who cannot accept that her youth and beauty are behind her.
She is a sad reminder of an industry that worships the young over everything else. This is particularly poignant in this day and age of cosmetic enhancement and shows how an individual can suffer once they lost their film making appeal.
Desmond has several maids and each are gentle with her and try to hide the fact that she has aged and grown out of touch with reality.
Ultimately our sympathies lie with Desmond. All her possessions and material wealth can not help her instability and refusal to accept growing old gracefully. Her heartbreak and fear that she has lost her last chance at love lead her to commit the tragic acts that ensue.
Gillis on the other hand is portrayed as a mercenary man who is out for his own greed. He shows some sympathy for Desmond's frailty, but ultimately he is out to exploit her for her wealth.
It was directed by Billy Wilder who made many other classic movies and its name provides the basis for its setting. The title is the famous Boulevard in Los Angeles and the playground of the rich and famous movie stars.
Leading actor William Holden plays the hack movie writer and Gloria Swanson stars as Norma Desmond, the aging actress that refuses to give up right until the fatal end.
The plot centers around Holden in character as Joe Gillis, a young screenplay writer who is down on his luck. He owes money and has dreams of grandeur, which his pay check can not compete with. He meets Norma Desmond, a now aging star of the silent screen, and given his limited options he agrees to write a screenplay for her to relaunch her career.
Desmond falls in love, but Joe is only using the relationship as a stopgap until the big time. He eventually gets tired of being a kept man and tried to leave, but Norma's suicide attempt has him returning out of guilt.
She thinks that she can be a successful actress again, but the years have not been kind and she is trying to rise in an industry that rewards youth and beauty over everything else.
In secret Joe works on a script with a younger writer Betty and the two of them fall in love. He is determined to leave Norma, but she fires a shot and he falls dead into the swimming pool at her lavish mansion.
The famous line arrives at the end with Desmond weaving down the steps and saying; "I'm ready for my close up" sealing her fate and showing how mentally unstable she has become.
This is a tragic movie and reveals the inner darkness and corruption in the film industry. People become dispensable commodities and the film is testament to an actress with a mental illness who cannot accept that her youth and beauty are behind her.
She is a sad reminder of an industry that worships the young over everything else. This is particularly poignant in this day and age of cosmetic enhancement and shows how an individual can suffer once they lost their film making appeal.
Desmond has several maids and each are gentle with her and try to hide the fact that she has aged and grown out of touch with reality.
Ultimately our sympathies lie with Desmond. All her possessions and material wealth can not help her instability and refusal to accept growing old gracefully. Her heartbreak and fear that she has lost her last chance at love lead her to commit the tragic acts that ensue.
Gillis on the other hand is portrayed as a mercenary man who is out for his own greed. He shows some sympathy for Desmond's frailty, but ultimately he is out to exploit her for her wealth.
About the Author:
With a Les Paul, I don't think I've put the gain past 12 O Clock, ever. video game rentals Coltrane (James Best) and the owner of seemingly every business entity in Hazzard County, J.D. Lucy Ricardo, I Love Lucy: Its hard to think of television without paying homage to Lucille Ball.
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