[ The Chateau ]
"This is my life. There is nothing else. Just us. And the Cameras. And all those wonderful people out there in the dark..."
Starring William Holden as Joe Gillis and Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, Sunset Boulevard originally began with Joe's corpse lying in the morgue, and talking with the other corpses around him (which, in fact, puts me in mind of an Emily Dickinson poem... but that's neither here nor there... well, no, actually... I tell a lie - it is there... you can find the poem at the end of the link). Unfortunately, in the prerelease screenings, the audiences found this uproariously funny. I suppose Billy Wilder must have felt that such humor was misplaced.
Yet, I would argue that there is humor in Sunset Boulevard, albeit humor of a very dark sort. It is not something that is funny in a Rabelasian or Baktinian sense, I admit. It is, instead, very grim, slightly jeering and rather morbid. But, I love it (which doesn't say too much for me, I suppose).
I also really love the way that Wilder managed to recreate and modernize the Victorian Gothicism of some nineteenth century British fiction, transposing it onto what was then modern-day California. The lurking pallazo, the grim, sad-faced attendant, the heavy draperies, the dead monkey in a child's coffin and the enormous pipe organ - not to mention Norma's cloying imperiousness and deranged obsession with her past glory. All these combine to evoke the dark, foreboding setting into which our "average" Joe unsuspectingly walks. Yet, perhaps not as unsuspecting as he seems, for it is he, during his voice over, who compares the pallazzo to Dickens' Mrs. Havisham, from Great Expectations.
All sorts of metaphors suggest themselves in relation to the film, from the tiresome cliche of the protagonist walking, like an unsuspecting insect, into a web of deceit, madness and oppressive jealousy, to more complex and intriguing allusions to Ancient Greek and Roman mythologies.
At any rate, if any fellow fans of the movie (or of other old movies, for that matter...) happen to stumble upon this page, I'd love to hear from you. Do drop me a line!
In the time since I put this page up, a fellow named Michael got in touch with me, bringing up an interesting addendum to the whole corpus of Sunset Boulevard lore. David Lynch has also got some measure of an affinity for the film. Twin Peaks (another show which exerts a certain dreamy fascination upon my consciousness) is apparently peppered with allusions to Sunset. The most noticeable of these manifests in the name of Agent Cooper's boss - Gordon Cole, played by Lynch himself. Thanks, Michael, for that. I love intertextuality, and shards of info like that (pathetic as it sounds) actually make my day... (depending on what sort of a day it has been, of course).
I've heard from a number of other folks as well: I really am happy to get any news you can provide--or if you just want to say hi.... For those of you who have written--I don't always check my email as often as I should. I haven't replied to any of said email in ages, since I've been pretty much swamped. This is the first time in about a year that I have actually updated this page!
But, back on topic. More about that utterly stunning film Sunset Boulevard. Many folk have asked if this is a true story. Well, so far as I have been able to determine, it is not. But do not give up so easily, my friends. Here are a few parallels between the film and the actors who "played" the roles within it. Many of these have been supplied by Lynn:
First, there is the fact that georgeous
Gloria was, in fact, a silent film star whose career was truncated by the advent of the
"talkies." Given that so many of the first female stars who could talk were in
the screechily coluratura range, no wonder Gloria's harshly imperious tones did not make
much progress. Given this tidbit, I find it mildly ironic that there is now a musical of
it in which a character who denegrates the phenomenon of the "talkies" must
moderate her tones and actually sing. But perhaps this is simply some sort of
very self aware, ironically PostModern twist on the film. After all, some of Gloria's
declamations were close to being recitatives--possibly even low-pitched arias.
Next. Max von Mayerling was played by Eric
von Stroheim (omigawwwd....the parallels are there already! I can just see them
seething at me from all sides! ). He did, indeed, direct many of Gloria's early
films, some of which went crazily overbudget. He was, in fact, kicked off of one such
project and enormous swatches of celluloid were left on the cutting room floor. Some of
those, however....never before seen... appeared in Sunset Boulevard, in the scene where
Joe and Norma are watching the film in her living room. The clips are from the film
"Queen Kelley", which I have not seen.
The film is also filled with cameo
appearences from personages (and personae!!!) as diverse as Buster Keaton, Hedda Hopper
and Cecil B. DeMille himself! There are other fun facts at my fingertips but they elude my
actual recollection, so they must stay encased in the flesh at the ends of my fingers for
the nonce.
Mickey pointed out to me that the film that
de Mille is working on at the set is Samson and Delilah. Further biblical references--and,
like Salome, Samson and Delilah is also a story about desire and betrayal.
For those who are curious, the film that
Norma and Joe watch in her living room is bits of the legendary "Queen Kelley",
a film that von Stroheim and Swanson worked on together during their respective silent
careers.
Hey, here's a cool site for those
of you who have questions about the production! See, my site here tends to be filled with
quirky but not altogether useful information on the film. The site at the end of this link on
the other hand, is a goldmine of useful information. This person has done his or her
research, cited the books referenced--everything you could want!
If anyone else has such juicy tidbits to feed my wierd and arguably pitiable obsession
with this bizarre, compelling and reasonant film.... please, throw them into the pit . They will be snapped
up with great voracity, I assure you.
If you are too bashful to email me directly (though you are welcome to do so), but still wish to have your say, you may feel free to sign my guestbook Guestbook if you wish. View Guestbook
OR.... if you really want to hear a bit more about Noir as in film--the genre,
the joys and the griefs--here are a few of my faves, taken from
the annals and the cannons (don't even think of the nasty puns which such
terminology suggests--you'll offend my delicate sensibilities) of film history (both
recent and distant).
...since May 23, 1999