The USPS recently issued a set of four stamps honoring great
film directors and the films for which they are most remembered. The four
selected are: John Ford (The Searchers), John Huston (The Maltese Falcon),
Frank Capra (It Happened One Night), and Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot). We
shall explore the lives and work of these directors. In this post LR Simon
discusses Sunset Boulevard (1950).
When we first see William Holden’s Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard, his body is floating face-down in a swimming pool. The deceased
Gillis narrates the story of his own demise, a device that is difficult to do
at all well. Director Billy Wilder pulls it off in his 1950 classic, usually
listed as one of his best films, and one of the best films about Hollywood ever
made.
In Sunset Boulevard, aging silent film star Norma Desmond
(Gloria Swanson) dreams of a comeback and hires struggling screenwriter Gillis
to edit her screenplay. Gillis believes the script is bad, but editing a bad
script is preferable to moving back to Ohio. Desmond’s fragile state of mind
and her equally fragile ego keep Gillis not only in Desmond’s employ, but also
in her mansion.
Many details distinguish Sunset Boulevard from other films
of the early 1950s, including the romanceless romance between Gillis and the
significantly older Desmond, as well as the fact that so few of the characters
are likeable. Wilder ensures that the audience will understand or sympathize
with the characters, who throughout the film engage in damaging or
self-destructive behaviors; the director then serves up one of the great
unhappy film endings.
Film students and writers in every medium should watch
Sunset Boulevard as an example of how to do (almost) everything you’re not
supposed to do as a writer.
References and Recommended Reading
