It also alludes to the fact that Pomona was one of three towns in California's Inland Empire region (Riverside and San Bernardino were the others) that were frequently used during Hollywood's Golden Age for testing preview audiences' reactions to unreleased films. For the record, the other 12 films to achieve a similar feat are Mrs. Miniver (1942), Johnny Belinda (1948), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), From Here to Eternity (1953), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Sands had forged Taylors name on checks and wrecked his car the summer before and left footprints on Taylors bed after a burglary. On the advice of Libby Holman, Montgomery Clift, who had signed to play the part of Joe Gillis, broke his contract just two weeks prior to the start of shooting. After his final film S.O.B., Holden declined to star in Jason Miller's film That Championship Season.[37]. There were actually three mansions used during filming. 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]. What is the correct title - "Blvd." Being born on 17 April 1918, William Holden was 63 years old at the time of his death. And, of course, a pool. Getty always wanted a pool, the poor dope. If Gillis is accurate in stating that his meeting with Norma occurred some six months prior, the action of the film takes place between mid-November 1948 and mid- May 1949. [46] Rumors existed that he was suffering from lung cancer, which Holden had denied at a 1980 press conference. But along with the accolades came a dependence on alcohol that would play a major role in his tragic end. But Joe wouldnt have fallen so hard if he werent so shackled. Gillis smokes unfiltered cigarettes in the film. Holden starred in the 20th Century Fox film Apartment for Peggy (1948). Holden appeared uncredited in Prison Farm (1939) and Million Dollar Legs (1939) at Paramount. So Wilder gave up, and DeMille (who was already being compensated) gave Norma his own chair.. Marion Davies owned a famous ocean-front mansion in Santa Monica. The address of Norma Desmond's house is given as 10086 Sunset Boulevard. Holden was reunited with Wilder in Stalag 17 (1953), for which Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Gloria Swanson and Nancy Olson also appeared in Airport 1975. [4] He made a sex comedy with David Niven for Otto Preminger, The Moon Is Blue (1953), which was a huge hit, in part due to controversy over its content. Holden, who was at this point dependent on alcohol, said, "I really was in love with Audrey, but she wouldn't marry me. As DeMille was directing Lamarr at the time in Samson and Delilah (1949), this would have been no problem. Betty and Joe fall in love after they sneak off to the studio backlot by moonlight to collaborate on a screenplay. Wilder's version is the one they went with (he was the director, after all), but the argument marked a turning point for him, and he decided never to work with Brackett again. "Lux Radio Theater" broadcast a 60-minute radio adaptation of the movie on September 17, 1951, with Gloria Swanson and William Holden reprising their film roles. He would slay, "I have no idea! Saltar al contenido principal.com.mx. The character of Norma Desmond is modeled on the fate of several leading actresses of the silent era. April 17, 2019 6:00AM. It was George Cukor who suggested Gloria Swanson for the role of Norma Desmond. When Norma Desmond visits her old friend at Paramount, she affectionately calls him "Mr. DeMille" (not Cecil or C.B. 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. 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. Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder and D. M. Marshman Jr. Online Film & Television Association Awards, "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." Hack screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) accidentally falls in with faded screen legend Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). With the help of his partners, he created the Mount Kenya Game Ranch and inspired the creation of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation. The one on the Paramount studio soundstage; the one whose driveway William Holden ducks into at 10060 Sunset Blvd; and the one used for the exteriors, which is the one shown here. F. Scott Fitzgerald suffered a heart attack while in Schwab's in 1940 (contrary to legend, Lana Turner was not discovered by a talent agent in Schwab's but, rather in a drugstore across from Hollywood High School, about three miles to the east). According to the DVD commentary by Wilder biographer Ed Sikov, this story was most likely invented/exaggerated by Billy Wilder. They reportedly began a two-year affair, which is alleged to have ended due to Holden's alcoholism. These actors were bigger than life. The drugstore where Joe Gillis meets up with his old movie industry friends is Schwab's Pharmacy, then a real pharmacy/soda fountain at the intersection of Sunset Blvd. Movie audiences in the nave early days of film sometimes didnt know that somebody had to sit down and write a movie. DeMille." "I'm not surprised that this could have happened.". Westmore and director Billy Wilder agreed with this so William Holden was made up to look younger than he was. Sunset Boulevard is also a reflection of Hollywood through a glass, darkly. The others were Union Station (1950), Force of Arms (1951), and Submarine Command (1951). Sunset Boulevard's cinematographer, John Seitz, said Wilder "had wanted to do The Loved One, but couldn't obtain the rights." The older actor prided himself on needling people and he needled the shit out of Holden on the first movie, and the second movie was worse because Holden started dating Audrey Hepburn during filming. The home was built in 1923 for businessman William O. Jenkins. The moment he discovers that life could be beautiful, Norma slits her wrist with Joes razor. A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return. 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. Their partnership ended in a professional and gentlemanly mannerthere was no airing of any dirty laundrybut it did end.. "I am big. Later in the film Max tells Gillis that he was the silent-movie director who discovered Norma and put her in films. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett's 17th and final screenplay collaboration. "We didn't need dialogue. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Sunset Boulevard DVD Special Collector's Edition William Holden Gloria Swanson at the best online prices at eBay! The name was then changed to Millman and finally to Sheldrake and was played by Fred Clark. On the Columbia lot is an assistant director and scout named Harold Winston. . He contributed to Altvariety, Chiseler, Smashpipe, and other magazines. The directions given by the Paramount guard for Norma and Joe to go meet Cecil B. DeMille on "Stage 18" is accurate: this stage, one of the largest on the Paramount lot, was known for years as "The DeMille Stage" and now is called "The Star Trek Stage", as all the "Trek" movies and some scenes from the TV shows have been shot there (the TV series, from Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) onward, had its main sets right across the studio street on Stages 8 and 9, which are right below the second-floor office occupied by Betty Schaefer in this film. 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. Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard" is the portrait of a forgotten silent star, living in exile in her grotesque mansion, screening her old films, dreaming of a comeback. Swanson made the transition to talkies with The Trespasser in 1929. The pool was used in its empty condition in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). West wanted to rewrite her dialogue. ", 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.". Holden's films continued to struggle at the box office, however: Paris When It Sizzles (1964) with Hepburn was shot in 1962 but given a much delayed release, The 7th Dawn (1964) with Capucine and Susannah York, a romantic adventure set during the Malayan Emergency produced by Charles K. Feldman, Alvarez Kelly (1966), a Western, and The Devil's Brigade (1968). According to both versions of the morgue prologue script, Gillis' body is admitted on 5/17/49 (as indicated by a toe tag). On the night of November 12, 1981, Holden consumed somewhere between eight and 10 drinks in a short amount of time, according to "William Holden: A Biography." And like the title, Holden seemed to have the looks and muscular build Hollywood craved. When Peavey heard the moans I am the ghost of William Desmond Taylor. She looks like a mannequin of a . It is one of the most indelible films you will ever see. Minters mother Charlotte Shelby was a manipulative stage mother who owned a rare .38 caliber pistol that fired unusual bullets very similar to ones found inside Taylor. He was Judy Hollidays tutor in Born Yesterday (1950) and played a war correspondent in Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955). The movie begins about five oclock in the morning, left coast time. The two stars had never expressed any hostility towards each other over the failure of Cecil B. DeMille and Stroheim made many recommendations to Wilder during the making of the film, including having his character write all of Norma Desmond's fan mail, and, more importantly, to use footage from "Queen Kelly" as an excerpt from one of Desmond's great silent films. In 1973, Holden starred with Kay Lenz in a movie directed by Clint Eastwood called Breezy, which was considered a box-office flop. She was nominated for the first Academy Award in the Best Actress category. The general consensus was that the two titans had canceled each other out, leaving the field clear for Holliday. 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. His Mount Kenya Safari Club in Nanyuki (founded 1959) was popular with the international jet set. 25 on AFI's list of all-time great leading men. Sunset Boulevard is no. 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. (1954). After a private screening for Hollywood dignitaries, Barbara Stanwyck knelt in front of Gloria Swanson and kissed the hem of her skirt. While in Italy in 1966, Holden was responsible for the death of another driver in a drunk-driving incident near Pisa. Warner, who appears as one of "The Waxworks", had been Gloria Swanson's leading man in Zaza (1923). 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. Holden turned the tables on Lucille Ball when he appeared as a guest star on I Love Lucy at The Brown Derby. Wilder asked how much shed charge just to shoot the chair and Lamarr said $10,000. He stayed at Paramount for The Remarkable Andrew (1942) with Brian Donlevy, then made Meet the Stewarts (1943) at Columbia. It was a the kind of a place crazy movie people built in the crazy 20s. Set non-holiday all-time house record of $166,000 at New York's Radio City Music Hall when it opened. Norma Talmadge and Constance Talmadge were famous for owning downtown real estate in Los Angeles and San Diego. We were close friends for many years. Ultimately she retired completely from films, making only sporadic appearances, notably in Airport 1975 (1974). He had made Swanson a star by. She burst into tears upon completion of the scene. Norma Desmond says that she paid $28,000 for the Isotta-Fraschini car in 1929. Gloria Swanson's career was not revitalized by this film. Hedda Hopper: at the top of the stairwell as Norma descends toward the cameras. But as commentator Steve Sailer points out, more than one contemporary source mentions it as an inspiration. [2] He had two younger brothers, Robert Westfield Beedle and Richard Porter Beedle. 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. In the penultimate scene, as Max tells Norma that "the cameras have arrived," the high strings in composer Franz Waxman's Oscar-winning score quote a chord from Richard Strauss's "The Dance of the Seven Veils" from his opera "Salome". It's probably just as well, since the darker, more nuanced story that eventually emerged was quite different from West's wheelhouse anyway. She hates all of Joes writing except for about six pages. He was a genuine star. 10 films that began filming without a finished script, Donald Trumps Bad Romance with Hollywood Began Before Parasite, Shazam! The exterior shots were of a house located not on Sunset but Irving Boulevard, near the corner of Wilshire, owned by the J. Paul Getty family. The other line, "I am big! Sunset Boulevard is no has-been, though. Billy Wilder's sixth film in a row for Paramount Pictures. Norma's bed originally belonged to French actress/singer Gaby Deslys. [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. But trophies or not, Sunset Boulevard has stayed near the top of the list of great movies about moviemaking. Swanson was told "She can't show herself, Gloria, she's too overcome. It was named after a major street that runs through Hollywood, the center of the American film industry . 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. [35] Holden starred in The Earthling,[36] as a loner dying of cancer at the Australian outback and accompanying an orphan boy (Ricky Schroder). Vega subsequently confirmed that this was a reference to Holden.[50]. Erich von Stroheim, who directed Swanson in Queen Kelly (1932), plays Max the butler, who serves as the projectionist in the scene. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . "[13] And Wilder commented "Bill was a complex guy, a totally honorable friend. Queen Kelly nearly ruined both of their careers after Joe Kennedy, JFKs dad who produced the film, replaced von Stroheim as director because Swanson complained about the racy material. read file from blob storage c#; ted dwane and isabel soden; best seats at belk theater charlotte; my rabbit ate ibuprofen Features the only Oscar-nominated performances of Erich von Stroheim and Nancy Olson. The footage we see is from Queen Kelly (1929), which starred Gloria Swanson and was directed by Max himself, Erich von Stroheim. The Tragic 1981 Death Of Sunset Boulevard Star William Holden. Principal photography took place from 11 April to 18 June 1949. William Holden movies: 15 greatest films, ranked worst to best, include 'Sunset Boulevard,' 'Network,' 'Stalag 17'. At Paramount, he was in a comedy with Ginger Rogers that was not particularly popular, Forever Female (1953). Rudy's shoeshine stand at the parking lot where Gillis hides his car from the creditors was inspired by Oscar Smith's shoeshine stand located just inside the Bronson Gate at the old Paramount Studios, which was a popular hangout for gossip and socializing while Billy Wilder was building his career there. It was meant to be slightly humorous in a morbid way, but the audience at the first test screening found it flat-out hysterical, setting the wrong mood for the rest of the picture. The "fee" for renting the Jean Paul Getty mansion was for Paramount to build the swimming pool, which features so memorably. She was disappointed to see that all the parts she was offered subsequently were watered-down versions of Norma Desmond. Eventually it wasn't Wilder who shouted "Cut!" This was the last major Hollywood feature film to be shot on nitrate stock. For the first industry screening, Paramount executives invited several silent-film stars. She is ever the star. Without Norma Desmond, there wouldnt be any Paramount Pictures. [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. Joes voice even starts to take on more and more of her theatrical flourish after too much exposure. 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. The director turned actor was still able to steer the expensive Italian car into the Paramount gate. 1851 Ivar Street was the address of the Alto Nido Apartments, where he lived, sometimes worked and, ultimately died in 1941. Norma's buying Joe a fine woolen topcoat would be mostly an affectation in sunny Los Angeles. producer Music by Franz Waxman Cinematography by John F. Seitz . and was "a loner," according to Edwards, who wasn't surprised that Holden's body went so long without being discovered. ", After serving with the U.S. Army Air Forces in World War II, he returned to Hollywood and in 1950 he got his first substantial role in Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard," per Britannica. [41], Holden was married to actress Brenda Marshall from 1941 until their divorce in 1971. The apartments, and the "Alto Nido" sign out front that is glimpsed briefly in the film, are still there. 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. But she fits it like a round peg in a square hole. His killer was never identified. Billy Wilder originally wanted another silent star, Pola Negri, to take the part of Norma Desmond. Her Stockholm Syndrome is positively infectious. 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. There was a maharajah who came all the way from India to beg one of her silk stockings. The look of pain sustained two fine films 'The Wild Bunch' and 'Network' so that we rubbed our eyes to recall the fresh-faced enthusiast from Golden Boy. 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). Included among the 25 films on the American Film Institute's 2005 list of AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores. Oh, wake up, Norma. Joe insists hes not a Hollywood whore, but he accepts Normas gifts, gold cigarette cases, a platinum watch, suits, shirts, and shoes that would impress Rudy. The larger version is seen at the temple that Samson brings down in the movie Samson and Delilah (1949), which Cecil B. DeMille was shooting when Norma visits him at Paramount. [2] His brother Robert ("Bobbie") became a U.S. Navy fighter pilot and was killed in action in World War II, over New Ireland, a Japanese-occupied island in the South Pacific. De Mille, and Max von Mayerling. Despite that, von Stroheim "still managed to hit the gates, he had no co-ordination", said Billy Wilder in an interview for the book "Sunset Boulevard: From Movie to Musical". William Holden returns to find that Gloria Swanson has tried to slash her wrists in 'Sunset Boulevard', directed by Billy Wilder. Holden's films after that time had not impressed Wilder (in the 1940s Holden's movies were decidedly mediocre). 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. This makes her the youngest of the cast members, excluding any extras. Columbia teamed him with Lucille Ball for Miss Grant Takes Richmond (1949), and the sequel to Dear Ruth, Dear Wife (1949). 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). Around this time he also appeared in 21 Hours at Munich (1976). (Gloria Swanson's TV star - she has one for TV and one for film - is very near by at 6301 Hollywood Blvd). In 1954, Holden was featured on the cover of Life. 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. Test audiences at the time couldnt let go of the joke, which was why it was re-edited this way. Norma Desmond was the greatest of them all. 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. "Sometimes he'd just get in his car and drive," the director told the AP. Upon telephoning her, however, Wilder found that Negri's Polish accent, which had killed her career, was still too thick for such a dialog-heavy film. 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. 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. Hola, identifcate . )[19], He took third billing for The Country Girl (1954) with Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly, directed by George Seaton from a play by Clifford Odets. 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. 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. The Pharmacy was filmed only 500 feet (150 meters) from a scene in Armed and Dangerous (1986) & Falling Down (1993), The parking lot behind Rudy's Shoeshine where Joe Gillis pulls his car out of is 1751 Vine Street - about a half a block North of Hollywood Blvd (you can tell by the scene's POV of the Taft building that sits on the corner of Hollywood and Vine). He stayed true to his word. Every woman was in love with him. read more: Key Largo, Lauren Bacall, and the Definitive Post-War Film. 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. 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). At Cecil B. DeMille's first appearance, his on-set cry of "Wilcoxon!" Cecil B. DeMille: at the studio during Norma's visit. Wilder changed the scene so that DeMille offered Lamarr's chair to Norma without Lamarr being present. Like most old things in L.A., the house has since been replaced by an office building. Costume designer Edith Head found working on the film to be one of her greatest challenges. For Swanson, whose career was already being threatened by the advent of talkies, Queen Kelly was another blow. Mary Pickford lived in seclusion, away from the public eye, while both Mae Murray and Clara Bow had well documented struggles with mental illness. in 1911 when the Nestor Film Company moved from New. Editorial Reviews. Culture Editor Tony Sokol is a writer, playwright and musician. Technically the address was 641 S Irving Blvd but the estate lay at the corner of Irving and Wilshire Blvd. 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. Suratt believed that DeMille's epic, "The King of Kings" (released in 1927) was based on her screenplay and filed a $1,000,000 plagiarism suit which was settled out of court in 1930. Erich von Stroheim, who made the masterpiece Greed in 1924, directed Swanson in Queen Kelly (1928), the flick Holdens character cuddles up with Norma to watch in the dark screening room of the dark mansion. He just didnt have what it takes. Charles Brackett and Wilder were just as adamant that nothing in their scripts should be changed, and nothing new added. Holden never lost his stride as cinema changed. Forensic evidence recovered at the scene suggested that he was conscious for at least half an hour after the fall. 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. It gives them an opportunity to write really good acceptances speeches. It's kind of sweet, actually. Wilder, ever the merry prankster, told Holden and Olson to keep kissing until he called "cut": he was going to fade out at the end of the scene, and he needed to make sure the kiss didn't end prematurely. That should make the young blond Paramount actress-turned-script reader Betty Schaefer (Nancy Olson) the virgin in the virgin/whore dynamic that film noir so often (and happily) deals in. This promised to go the limit. Holden met French actress Capucine in the early 1960s. Holden's first starring role was in Golden Boy (1939), costarring Barbara Stanwyck, in which he played a violinist-turned-boxer. We all are."
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