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Sunset Blvd. (1950)

110 min  -  Drama | Film-Noir  -   25 August 1950 (Australia)
8.7
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Ratings: 8.7/10 from 74,839 users  
Reviews: 365 user | 130 critic

A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent-film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and 1 more credit »

Stars:

William Holden, Gloria Swanson and Erich von Stroheim
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Still of William Holden, Erich von Stroheim and Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd. Still of Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd. Still of Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd. Still of Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd.
53 photos | 5 videos | 661 news articles | full cast and crew »

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Top 250 #32 | Won 3 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 13 nominations See more awards »

Related Videos

Sunset Blvd. -- Trailer for the classic film Sunset Blvd., starring William Holden, Gloria Swanson, and Erich von Stroheim Sunset Blvd. -- Clip: I am big, it's the pictures that got small
See all 5 »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Holden ...
Gloria Swanson ...
Erich von Stroheim ...
Nancy Olson ...
Fred Clark Fred Clark ...
Lloyd Gough Lloyd Gough ...
Jack Webb ...
Franklyn Farnum Franklyn Farnum ...
Larry J. Blake Larry J. Blake ...
1st Finance Man (as Larry Blake)
Charles Dayton Charles Dayton ...
2nd Finance Man
Cecil B. DeMille ...
Himself
Hedda Hopper ...
Herself
Buster Keaton ...
Himself
Anna Q. Nilsson Anna Q. Nilsson ...
Herself
H.B. Warner H.B. Warner ...
Himself
Full cast and crew »
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Storyline

The story, set in '50s Hollywood, focuses on Norma Desmond, a silent-screen goddess whose pathetic belief in her own indestructibility has turned her into a demented recluse. The crumbling Sunset Boulevard mansion where she lives with only her butler, Max who was once her director and husband has become her self-contained world. Norma dreams of a comeback to pictures and she begins a relationship with Joe Gillis, a small-time writer who becomes her lover, that will soon end with murder and total madness. Written by alfiehitchie  

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

Writer | Mansion | Director | Comeback | Time  | See more »

Taglines:

A HOLLYWOOD STORY: Sensational...Daring...Unforgettable...Sunset Blvd. See more »

Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

(Australia) See more »

Also Known As:

Sunset Boulevard See more »

Filming Locations:

Alto-Nido Apartments -1851 N. Ivar Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA See more »

Box Office

Budget:

$1,752,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$5,000,000 (Worldwide) (January 1960)
See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures See more »
Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

 | Argentina:  | West Germany: (cut version)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

In "On Sunset Boulevard: The Life and Times of Billy Wilder", Ed Sikov relates a story about Wilder's explanation of the true meaning of the strange dead chimp scene from the start of the film. Sikov says that during the mid-1990s, both Wilder and former First Lady Nancy Reagan were at a party for an opening of one of the productions of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical based on the film, when, with Reagan nearby, an older woman approached Wilder with a question about what the chimp scene meant. Wilder's typically outrageous answer, probably intended to shock the former First Lady as much as to inform the woman of the true meaning of the scene, was, "Don't you understand? Before Joe Gillis came along, Norma Desmond was fucking the monkey." See more »

Goofs

Revealing mistakes: When Joe returns to the mansion after having been in the rain in a vicuna coat twice, the coat shows no signs of being wet. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
Joe Gillis: Yes, this is Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, California. It's about 5 0'clock in the morning. That's the homicide squad, complete with detectives and newspaper men.
See more »

Crazy Credits

The Paramount logo appears as a transparency over the opening shot. The
words "Sunset Blvd." are shown stenciled on the curb of that street. See more »

Connections

Featured in Visions of Light (1992) See more »

Soundtracks

"Buttons and Bows"
(1948) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
Played and sung by guests at Artie's Party See more »