Sunset Boulevard

sunset boulevard trailer
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I recently got the DVD for this classic film. I first saw it in the mid or late 1970s, and have few memories of it, save for the cameo appearance by Buster Keaton in a single scene.

I probably saw it on a late night film series, like the Million Dollar Movie, and, in those days, had no real idea whether or not films were good or bad, just whether or not it held my interest. Other than the moment with the Great Stone Face, I recalled next to nothing of the film.

But, Billy Wilder films are always pretty good, if not particularly deep. My favorite film is the Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau film, The Fortune Cookie.

Gloria Swanson is a name I only recalled from a few dramatic silent films, but the truth is that most of the best silents were comedies. Thus, little of her earlier career sticks with me.

William Holden, as the male lead, of course, was one of the solid leading men of the 1950s. My favorite role of his was in The Bridge On The River Kwai.

Then there was Erich Von Stroheim, and I cannot recall seeing any of the silent films he directed, although he was interesting in Jean Renoir's Grand Illusion.

So, I look forward to rewatching this old film, and seeing how it stacks up to the film that beat it out for the Oscar in 1950, All About Eve. While Wilder was a pretty good screenwriter, Joe Mankiewicz was tops in that era.