Films & Events
Sunset Boulevard
Whenever Sunset Boulevard is presented on the big screen, it is a must-see event, particularly when the screening features an in-person introduction by TCM’s host Robert Osborne. When the film was released in 1950, Billy Wilder’s masterpiece challenged a number of the accepted conventions of contemporary American cinema—nowhere more so than at the beginning, when the amoral screenwriter Joe Gillis, found floating dead in a swimming pool, proceeds to narrate the film’s events. Another innovation came with the casting of Gloria Swanson in the role of Norma Desmond, and of German director Erich von Stroheim as Desmond's former director, ex-husband, and current butler. Both gave richly nuanced performances that drew greatly upon their past experiences in the industry, which imbues their scenes with an eerie authenticity. However, it is Sunset Boulevard’s haunting story in which Gillis unwisely undertakes the job of helping the narcissistic Norma Desmond in writing her big comeback vehicle that still captivates film lovers of all generations. Filmed at the moment when the powerful Hollywood studio system was starting to crumble, Sunset Boulevard’s gothic depiction of Golden-Era Hollywood remains unrivaled. TCM's Robert Osborne will introduce the screening
Cast & Crew
Director: Billy Wilder
Producer: Charles Brackett
Editor: Arthur Schmidt
Screenwriter: D.M. Marshman Jr., Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett
Cinematographer: John F. Seitz
Music: Franz Waxman
Principal Cast: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson
Filmography: Buddy Buddy (1981 ); Fedora (1978 ); The Front Page (1974 ); Avanti! (1972 ); The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970 ); The Fortune Cookie (1966 ); Kiss Me Stupid (1964 ); Irma la Douce (1963 ); One Two Three (1961 ); The Apartment (1960 ); Some Like It Hot (1959 ); Witness for the Prosecution (1957 ); The Spirit of St. Louis (1957 ); The Seven Year Itch (1955 ); Sabrina (1954 ); Stalag
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