Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Decided to knock another classic off my list of shame today and watch Sunset Blvd. This is a film from another era. It's not just old, but the entire way it's presented is quite different from what I'm used to. Heavy on the narration and set firmly in the time of it's making. The way people talk, the way they dress, everything is noticeably different, and not because that's how it was made to look, but because that's just how things were then. The question becomes then, if these differences become too much to be able to still connect with the film. I'll go into some more detail and answer that question after the jump.


It's important to know that I really didn't know what I was getting into when I started this movie. I knew it was high on the IMDB lists, but I didn't know what it was until I started it up. This is the movie where the famous line "Alright, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up" comes from, among others. Sunset Blvd is filled with famous quotes I've heard a hundred times, just like Casablanca, and it was cool to finally see them in the right context of the film.

But I suppose I should flesh out the story a bit for you. After all, this is a movie that is now over 60 years old, and it's no doubt that there are plenty who don't know the story, just like I didn't. The main character is Joe Gillis (William Holden), he's a writer. Actually, he's a washed up writer. After a series of events while dodging debt collecters, he meets Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), a star of the screen of years gone by. She's aged and time has forgotten her, but she lives unaware, in a world all her own. He ends up agreeing to stay to be a ghost writer for a script she's writing, and eventually ends up involved with her as she pours her endless wealth on him to keep him around. It's a good life, but is it really living? Joe longs for the outside world and finds himself in a love triangle with a young script writer. Can he keep it a secret, or will he have to live out his days as a prop in Norma Desmond's fantasy world?

Joe and Norma at her fancy New Years Eve Party (for 2). Note all the photos of Norma behind them.

The first thing I noticed about this film was the massive amount of narration given by Joe. There aren't many movies these days that have much narration at all, it's now considered bad to just narrate what's going on instead of showing it. When I realized it was a trapping of the past, it suddenly made the 40s-50s era feeling of the film so much more genuine. In movies like L.A. Confidential, it just came across as fake to me, but this film rang true, because it wasn't trying to seem like that era, it was that era.

The next note worthy thing of the film was definitely Gloria Swanson's acting as Norma Desmond. She always had this peculiar way about her. The way she talked and carried herself for example. She was just sort of creepy and you could tell she was right on the edge of being insane and lost in the past. One thing that I found the most creepy was the way her hands were almost always formed into something like claws. Her fingers always arched and curled into bony tendrils tipped with sharp nails. I'll say this though, in a movie where she plays a star that the world has forgotten, she's definitely unforgettable.

"I'm ready for my close-up"

While the story is a little predictable after 60+ years, it was still done really well and I wasn't really ever bored. The narration and dated way of talking took a little getting used to, but I still wouldn't say it was too off putting. I always find myself enjoying seeing classics just for the famous lines, but I found the characters and performances just as memorable and made the film more than worthwhile. I'm super glad I saw this one, and I would recommend it as a film worth seeing.