Sunset Boulevard is a American black comedy [ 1 ] [ 2 ] film noir [ 3 ] directed by Billy Wilder and co-written by Wilder, Charles Brackett and D. Marshman Jr. It is named after a major street that runs through Hollywood. The film stars William Holden as Joe Gillis, a struggling screenwriter , and Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, a former silent-film star who draws him into her deranged fantasy world, where she dreams of making a triumphant return to the screen.
Director Cecil B. DeMille and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper play themselves, and the film includes cameo appearances by silent-film stars Buster Keaton , H. Warner , and Anna Q. Praised by many critics when first released, Sunset Boulevard was nominated for 11 Academy Awards including nominations in all four acting categories and won three.
It is often ranked among the greatest movies ever made. As it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the U. Library of Congress in , Sunset Boulevard was included in the first group of films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
In , it was 16th on their 10th Anniversary list. At a mansion on Sunset Boulevard , police officers and photographers discover the body of Joe Gillis floating face down in the swimming pool. In a flashback , Joe relates the events leading to his death. Six months earlier, Joe is a down-on-his-luck screenwriter trying to interest Paramount Pictures in a story he submitted.
Script reader Betty Schaefer harshly critiques it, unaware that Joe is listening. Later, while fleeing from repo men seeking his car, Joe turns into the driveway of a seemingly deserted mansion inhabited by forgotten silent film star Norma Desmond.
