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. [39][46] He dictated in his will that the Neptune Society cremate him and scatter his ashes in the Pacific Ocean. In one week, she received 17,000 fan letters. 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. 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. (Gloria Swanson's TV star - she has one for TV and one for film - is very near by at 6301 Hollywood Blvd). The pool was used in its empty condition in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). 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. She hates all of Joes writing except for about six pages. Eugene Walter was a prolific Hollywood screenwriter of the 1920s and 1930s. To shoot Joe and Norma dancing together at her New Year's Eve party, cameraman John F. Seitz used a dance dolly---a wheeled platform attached to the camera. The film is included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list. William Holden - Biography - IMDb "[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. All I know is that she's meshuggah, that's all. The Tragic 1981 Death Of Sunset Boulevard Star William Holden [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. Youre killing yourself for an empty house. But it's also a love story, and the love keeps it from becoming simply a waxworks or a freak show. [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. producer Music by Franz Waxman Cinematography by John F. Seitz . Confess, Peavey, he laughed in the ghosts face. 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). In those days there were no buttons on formal shirts. He just didnt have what it takes. Perry, George & Andrew Lloyd Webber (1993). Location scenes at Norma Desmond's mansion were shot not on Sunset Boulevard but on Wilshire Boulevard. )[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. SUNSET BOULEVARD: The Making of the Billy Wilder Classic The two starred in the films The Lion (1962) and The 7th Dawn (1964). 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! In 1972, Holden began a nine-year relationship with actress Stefanie Powers and sparked her interest in animal welfare. For added meta-truthfulness, Wilder wanted to have that film's lead actress, Hedy Lamarr, be there too, so that DeMille could ask her to let Norma sit in her chair (you know, those behind-the-scenes chairs that have the star's name on them). (1966), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), Network (1976), Coming Home (1978), Reds (1981), Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and American Hustle (2013). Jay Livingston, Ray Evans: The Paramount songwriting duo is seen at the piano at Artie Green's New Year's Eve party. The musical version of the movie opened in London on July 12, 1993, and ran 1529 performances. When Norma Desmond visits her old friend at Paramount, she affectionately calls him "Mr. DeMille" (not Cecil or C.B. Wilder wanted Hedy Lamarr to sit in for a cameo, but she wanted $25,000. When Joe and Norma sit down to watch one of her old movies, Joe pulls out a cigarette and places the bottom end in his mouth. They stayed that way even if the pictures got small. The old movies needed neither color nor dialogue. As DeMille was directing Lamarr at the time in Samson and Delilah (1949), this would have been no problem. He received an eight-month suspended sentence for vehicular manslaughter. Brenda Marshall, Holden's wife since 1941, was visiting the set when Holden and Nancy Olson had their kissing scene. For the opening shot of Joe Gillis floating face-down in the swimming pool, Billy Wilder wanted a shot from below that would show both the body and the police and photographers standing at the pool's edge looking down. The Mrs. Getty divorced her millionaire husband and received custody of the house; it was she who rented it to Paramount for the filming. It gives them an opportunity to write really good acceptances speeches. . Hack screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) accidentally falls in with faded screen legend Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson). To everyone's surprise, Judy Holliday won the Best Actress Oscar in 1951 for Born Yesterday (1950), beating Gloria Swanson in this film, and Bette Davis in All About Eve (1950). The structure in the film required a tennis court, or rather the ghost of a tennis court, with faded markings and a sagging net. Gloria Swanson and Nancy Olson also co-starred in Airport 1975 together. White, pink, or maybe bright flaming red. She was disappointed to see that all the parts she was offered subsequently were watered-down versions of Norma Desmond. Schwab's was torn down in 1988 to make way for a movie theater and a shopping center. 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 body was found by Henry Peavey, who took over for convicted embezzler Edward F. Sands as Taylors valet. There was a maharajah who came all the way from India to beg one of her silk stockings. [47], President Ronald Reagan released a statement: "I have a great feeling of grief. In fact, such was the buzz about the film during production that the viewing of the dailies became one of the hottest tickets on the lot. The film was the favorite of Sci-Fi author J.G. William Haines, along with fellow silent screen veterans Buster Keaton and Anna Q. Nilsson, was approached to play one of Gloria Swanson's bridge partners. 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. The young actor also got to work with George Raft and Humphrey Bogart in the gangsters on parole movie,Invisible Stripes. Hedda Hopper: at the top of the stairwell as Norma descends toward the cameras. (1950) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Billy Wilder Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) verified as complete Produced by Charles Brackett . The house was owned by the J. Paul Getty family. 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. Although they don't have a scene together in this film, Hedda Hopper and Buster Keaton had worked together in the 1932 comedy Speak Easily (1932), both were among the many stars appearing in the 1931 two-reeler The Stolen Jools (1931), and they both appeared in a 1958 episode of The Garry Moore Show (1958) that also featured Carol Burnett, who years later would spoof the Norma Desmond character regularly on her own variety show. 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? In 1973, Holden starred with Kay Lenz in a movie directed by Clint Eastwood called Breezy, which was considered a box-office flop. In the film Gloria is seen playing cards with three silent film stars: Buster Keaton, H.B. The murder made it to the late editions, radio, and television because one of the biggest old-time stars was involved. We were close friends for many years. However, he knew that her arch-rival Hedda Hopper had trained as an actress and would therefore be more convincing onscreen. Wilder used real names like Darryl Zanuck, Tyrone Power, and Alan Ladd. The latter was shot in Africa and sparked Holden's fascination with the continent that was to last for the rest of his life. 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). Norma Desmond: I *am* big. Sometimes its interesting to see just how bad, bad writing can be. Marlon Brando was considered, but the producers thought he was too much of an unknown as a film actor. Gene Kelly was then approached, but MGM refused to loan him out. Neither did Toward the Unknown (1957), the one film Holden produced himself. of quiet desperation at the end of a relationship when nothing's really making sense and I sort of had the image of William Holden at the beginning of Sunset Blvd. There are several references to Gloria Swanson's actual career in the film. [45], According to the Los Angeles County Coroner's autopsy report, Holden bled to death in his apartment in Santa Monica, California, on November 12, 1981, after lacerating his forehead from slipping on a rug while intoxicated and hitting a bedside table. These include Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, Rudolph Valentino, Rod La Rocque, Vilma Bnky, Mabel Normand, Marie Prevost, Pearl White, and Douglas Fairbanks. The first of four films in which William Holden and Nancy Olson appeared. Holden, who was at this point dependent on alcohol, said, "I really was in love with Audrey, but she wouldn't marry me. 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. 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. But also much funnier. And like the title, Holden seemed to have the looks and muscular build Hollywood craved. Also in 1969, Holden starred in director Terence Young's family film L'Arbre de Nol, co-starring Italian actress Virna Lisi and French actor Bourvil, based on the novel of the same name by Michel Bataille. Both Keaton and Hopper died the same day, on February 1, 1966, at the ages of 70 and 80 respectively, both in Los Angeles. +10 More . Well, they kissed, and kissed, and kept kissing, and the crew began to snicker, and finally Marshall's voice rang out: "Cut, dammit!" Im not giving anything away here. 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. It's the *pictures* that got small. Wilder told the actors to kibbutz and let him shuffle. was voted #6 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by "Premiere" magazine in 2007. Brackett and Wilder worked together on more than a dozen movies including The Lost Weekend. When Peavey heard the moans I am the ghost of William Desmond Taylor. They reportedly began a two-year affair, which is alleged to have ended due to Holden's alcoholism. It is because of Sunset Blvd., for certain, that my mind could ever go there. Peavey reportedly wore flashy golf clothes but didnt own golf clubs and had been arrested for social vagrancy and booked on lewd and dissolute charges just a few nights before the murder. William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 - November 12, 1981) was an American actor and murderer, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. This was the actual set of Samson and Delilah (1949), which de Mille was making at the time. Sunset Boulevard turns the tables on film noir by casting Joe in the oldest role on the books. So they opened their big mouths and out came talk. His death certificate makes no mention of cancer. Her Stockholm Syndrome is positively infectious. A new 4K high-definition scan was done in 2008 for the film's release on Blu-ray disc. Brackett thought it was too mean while Wilder felt it was necessary. The stars read the stars. Holden, just 63 when he died, had most recently appeared in the Blake Edwards' film "S.O.B." William Holden Net Worth 2023: Age, Height, Weight, Wife, Kids, Bio Sunset Boulevard now begins with police cars racing to Norma Desmond's house, where a dead body is floating in the pool. He stayed true to his word. 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." Florabel Muir, the New York Daily News Hollywood correspondent, thought Peavey was the murderer and tried to ambush him into a confession. Holden paid it forward, becoming Hepburns guardian angel.. "I know how it's going to be," Holden said (per The Huntsville Item). Only 950 were made from 1924 to 1931. Who didnt then? Her character's age was 22 but she was 21 at the time of filming. Holman was reportedly worried the film would parody their relationship and told Clift she would commit suicide if he played the role. The audience left 20 years ago. But even to show a chair with her name on it, Lamarr wanted $10,000. [22] The golden run at the box office continued with Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), from a best-selling novel, with Jennifer Jones, and Picnic (1955), as a drifter, in an adaptation of the William Inge play with Kim Novak. She looks like a mannequin of a . 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. The director turned actor was still able to steer the expensive Italian car into the Paramount gate. Although Sheldrake's musings on a film about the story of a female baseball player was seen as humorous, the movie "A League of Their Own" would do just that 42 years later. The original nitrate negatives for the film have long disappeared. To publicize the film, Paramount sent Gloria Swanson on a cross-country tour, paying her $1,000 a week for her services. This film is in the Official Top 250 Narrative Feature Films on Letterboxd. He would slay, "I have no idea! William Haines turned down an offer to appear in the film but attended the Hollywood premiere with Joan Crawford. When Powers returned to California, she went to his penthouse apartment in Santa Monica but couldn't get in. Sunset Boulevard (DVD, 2017) UK Region 2 release with extras. At one point Norma mistakes Joe for a funeral director and asks for her coffin to be white, as well as specially lined with satin. Swanson herself reportedly asked him to do it. This was a first for Gloria Swanson, but proved a big boon in helping her develop her character's descent into madness. They eventually worked together on several films and became close friends. Men bribed her hairdresser to get a lock of her hair. on the corner of Crenshaw and Irving. read more: Key Largo, Lauren Bacall, and the Definitive Post-War Film. . He was a genuine star. Gillis: "Yes I was murdered." But along with the accolades came a dependence on alcohol that would play a major role in his tragic end. director of photography Film Editing by Arthur P. Schmidt . [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. Marshman Jr. Sunset Boulevard was the last time Brackett and Wilder collaborated on a film. Buscar Amazon.com.mx. It's the pictures that got small" was #91. He was also one of many stars in Feldman's Casino Royale (1967). He followed it with Damien: Omen II (1978) and had a cameo in Escape to Athena (1978), which co-starred his real-life love interest Stefanie Powers. Billy Wilder was frustrated with people assuming that the ending was meant to be ambiguous and asking him what happens to Norma after the final dissolve. Eventually it wasn't Wilder who shouted "Cut!" When Gloria Swanson finished Norma's final scene, the mad staircase descent, she burst into tears and the crew applauded. Or shall I call my servant? Sunset Boulevard, William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim Billy Wilder went into production with only 61 pages of script finished, so he had to shoot more or less in chronological order. But in 1957, Paramount formally asked Desmond to stop, the studio bosses having decided not to grant permission after all. But it could just as well have been Joes headquarters, Schwabs Drug Store, a kind of combination office, coffee clutch, and waiting room where actors and writers wait for the gravy train. He always wished that I would get an Oscar. When she received her Honorary Oscar at the 1982 Academy Award ceremony, Holden had died in an accident just a few months prior. In 1998 the American Film Institute selected this as the 12th greatest film of the 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time. Norma's "gondola bed" was originally white, and was featured in Twentieth Century (1934) with Carole Lombard and John Barrymore. 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. Sunset Boulevard DVD (2007) William Holden, Wilder (DIR) cert PG Amazing Value. Billy Wilder was one of the ultimate Hollywood insiders and he grew with film. In real life, when Swanson and DeMille had worked together, that was what they always called each other. Microphones would catch the last gurgles, and Technicolor would photograph the red, swollen tongues. It always will be! In the movie, an aide tells Cecil B. DeMille "Gordon Cole has been trying to reach you". This can be deduced from the fact that when he pulls one out of the pack he turns the bottom end up to his mouth. 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. [35] Holden starred in The Earthling,[36] as a loner dying of cancer at the Australian outback and accompanying an orphan boy (Ricky Schroder). His height was 1.8 m tall and weighed 89 kg. LAS COSAS DEL QUERER", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sunset_Boulevard_(film)&oldid=1142173541, Best Overall New Extra Features Library Release. It was this astonishing footage that rekindled interest in the film. Free shipping for many products! But like so many of the female actors of the era, Holden soon realized it was his physical attributes and not his acting ability that the studio cared about. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett's 17th and final screenplay collaboration. Throughout Hollywood history many film stars, and/or single films, were responsible for saving ailing studios. 10060 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, California, USA. A second film with Seaton did not do as well, The Proud and Profane (1956), where Holden played the role with a moustache. This is an old film which has been made into a musical. After living in the home for a year he moved, and the house sat vacant for a little over a decade, earning the moniker "The Phantom House" in the process. The only Best Picture Oscar nominee of the year to be also nominated for Original Screenplay. Free Postage. [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]. New York-born novelist and screenwriter Brackett was head of the Screen Actors Guild in the late 1930s, and president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1949 to 1955. Holden had another hit with The World of Suzie Wong (1960) with Nancy Kwan, which was shot in Hong Kong. Everyone had a good laugh, though the record doesn't reflect whether Marshall joined in. Sunset Boulevard (1950) 1950, 1h 50min - Drama Gloria Swanson, as Norma Desmond, an aging silent-film queen, and William Holden, as the struggling young screenwriter who is held in thrall by her madness, created two of the screen's most memorable characters in "Sunset Boulevard." The general consensus was that the two titans had canceled each other out, leaving the field clear for Holliday. With unofficial permission from Paramount, she worked for a few years with writer Dickson Hughes and actor Richard Stapley developing a show called Starring Norma Desmond (later changed to Boulevard). She refuses to believe that she's no longer remembered and will never make another movie. The first-floor set of Norma Desmond's mansion was also used in the western comedy Fancy Pants (1950) starring Bob Hope and Lucille Ball, giving fans a chance to see it in full color. Peavey died in a San Francisco asylum, where he was being treated for syphilis-related dementia, in 1931. Gloria Swanson and Nancy Olson also appeared in Airport 1975. The undertaker, who appears for a few seconds early on with the white casket for Norma's deceased pet chimp, was veteran actor Franklyn Farnum, who played extras in over 1,000 films during his lengthy but unsung career. For Swanson, whose career was already being threatened by the advent of talkies, Queen Kelly was another blow. "I left countless messages but received no answer." But Hollywood press has always had clout. Those offices later became the home of the "Star Trek" art department. Read and download theDen of Geek SDCC 2019 Special Edition Magazineright here! But along with the accolades came a dependence on alcohol that would play a major role in his tragic end. He called it "that goddamned butler role" for the remaining seven years of his life. [4] They had two sons, Peter and Scott. We had faces" was #13. Among the many past associations embedded in Sunset Blvd. The only extant film elements were 35mm inter-positives struck in 1952, which had undergone a great deal of decay. Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder retained the term of endearment for the scene in which DeMille greets Norma Desmond at the door of the sound stage. I didn't know. The exteriors of Norma Desmond's home on Sunset Boulevard were filmed at 641 South Irving Boulevard. After Salome, she planned to make another picture and another picture. He was perfection on and off-screen. Holden was a bit of an anti-hero, or at least a very flawed hero. Brackett was a New York-born novelist and screenwriter, head of the Screen Actors Guild in the late 1930s, and president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from 1949 to 1955 (during which time he won two screenwriting Oscarsgood news for conspiracy theorists). He stayed at Paramount for The Remarkable Andrew (1942) with Brian Donlevy, then made Meet the Stewarts (1943) at Columbia. [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. 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. (1950) in my head, and I'd always sort of related to that character floating in . The only addition was the swimming pool, which wasn't equipped with a means of circulating the water so it was useless after filming. 10 films that began filming without a finished script, Donald Trumps Bad Romance with Hollywood Began Before Parasite, Shazam! Sunset Boulevard told an old familiar story. 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." Holden starred in the 20th Century Fox film Apartment for Peggy (1948). Principal photography took place from 11 April to 18 June 1949. 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. 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. His family moved to South Pasadena when he was three. Joe Gillis' typewriter is a portable manual Remington Rand Noiseless Model 7. Other actresses considered for Norma Desmond were Mae West (who wanted to rewrite the dialogue), Mae Murray, and Mary Pickford. Blu-ray features and commentary The interiors of Norma's decaying mansion were actually a set at Paramount Studios. William Holden, Gloria Swanson and 'Sunset Boulevard' at the Metropolitan Holden was still an unknown actor when he made Golden Boy, while Stanwyck was already a film star. True to character, Von Stroheim refused to leave Paris to attend the Academy Awards ceremony, and declared that his nomination for best supporting actor should've been for best actor. A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return. He is the TV Editor at Entertainment. She said it was a blackmail scheme gone wrong. The silent comedian had a reputation as one of Hollywoods best bridge players. Besides Tyrone Power, other stars mentioned when Joe Gillis is pitching his "baseball" picture to the producer are Alan Ladd, William Demarest and Betty Hutton. Yeah. His body was found four days later. Ironically, the last films that Gloria Swanson made for Paramount were not at this famous facility. Joe could have slept with Norma and loved Betty, and owned the pool that would be his final resting place. That movie, however, departs from the trope by making both actress and stranger much younger. Clift's biographers say it was because he had a strong following among older women, who wrote him letters describing how they'd like to mother him, and he didn't want to encourage such behavior. It was not particularly successful. Just us and the cameras, and those wonderful people out there in the dark! Norma Desmond didnt need dialogue, she can say whatever she wants with her eyes.
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