Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Sunset Boulevard
References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
Gloria Swanson, looking up with a dramatic expression, stands close to William Holden, who faces her in a suit, in a scene from the film Sunset Boulevard. Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond descends a staircase, arm raised dramatically, surrounded by police, photographers, and reporters in the final scene of Sunset Boulevard. Cecil B. DeMille, right, leans in to speak with Gloria Swanson, dressed in a feathered hat and fur stole, on the set of Sunset Boulevard, with film crew visible in the background.
Quizzes
Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).
Oscar-Worthy Movie Trivia
Publicity still with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman from the motion picture film "Casablanca" (1942); directed by Michael Curtiz. (cinema, movies)
Best Picture Movie Quote Quiz
Illustration of movie theater popcorn bucket, cinema ticket, clapboard, and film reel. (movies, hollywood, pop culture, 3D render)
Hollywood What If Quiz
USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood
Pop Culture Quiz
Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, with her dog, Toto, from the motion picture film The Wizard of Oz (1939); directed by Mervyn LeRay. (cinema, movies)
Classic Closing Lines
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
print Print
Please select which sections you would like to print:
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Gloria Swanson, looking up with a dramatic expression, stands close to William Holden, who faces her in a suit, in a scene from the film Sunset Boulevard.
Sunset Boulevard Gloria Swanson and William Holden in Sunset Boulevard (1950), directed by Billy Wilder.

Sunset Boulevard

film by Wilder [1950]
Written by
Lee Pfeiffer
Author/co-author of numerous books about the cinema and is regarded as one of the foremost James Bond scholars. His book The Essential Bond: An Authorized Guide to the World of 007 (written with...
Lee Pfeiffer
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Sunset Boulevard, American film noir, released in 1950, that is often cited as one of Hollywood’s greatest films, especially noted for Gloria Swanson’s portrayal of a fading silent-film star. The movie is named after the iconic street that runs through Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, Calif. Deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” to America’s film heritage, it was among the first films selected in 1989 for inclusion in the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry.

(Read Lillian Gish’s 1929 Britannica essay on silent film.)

A sharp critique of the film industry, Sunset Boulevard centres on the delusional aging film queen Norma Desmond (played by Swanson), who lives in a ramshackle mansion with her butler and former husband (Erich von Stroheim) while planning a doomed comeback. When Desmond takes on frustrated young screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) as her lover, his attraction to a younger woman and his disgust with his own inability to leave the pampered life Desmond offers him culminates in murder.

Illustration of movie theater popcorn bucket, cinema ticket, clapboard, and film reel. (movies, hollywood, pop culture, 3D render)
Britannica Quiz
Hollywood What If Quiz

(Read Martin Scorsese’s Britannica essay on film preservation.)

Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond descends a staircase, arm raised dramatically, surrounded by police, photographers, and reporters in the final scene of Sunset Boulevard.
Gloria SwansonGloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (1950).

With Sunset Boulevard, Swanson, a real-life silent-screen star, actually made a comeback, something her character is unable to achieve. Although Swanson was only 50 years old at the time, she was made to appear much older in the film. Her striking appearance and dramatic delivery, Holden’s much-acclaimed performance as her ambivalent gigolo, and the performance of famed German silent-film director Stroheim all contribute to the film’s status as a masterpiece of cinema. Also noteworthy is the direction by Billy Wilder, who cowrote the script. Director Cecil B. DeMille, who frequently worked with Swanson in her heyday, appears as himself in the film.

Production notes and credits

  • Director: Billy Wilder
  • Writers: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, and D.M. Marshman, Jr.
  • Running time: 110 minutes

Cast

  • Gloria Swanson (Norma Desmond)
  • William Holden (Joe Gillis)
  • Erich von Stroheim (Max Von Mayerling)
  • Nancy Olson (Betty Schaefer)

Academy Award nominations (* denotes win)

  • Picture
  • Director
  • Lead actor (William Holden)
  • Lead actress (Gloria Swanson)
  • Supporting actor (Erich von Stroheim)
  • Supporting actress (Nancy Olson)
  • Art direction–set decoration (black and white)*
  • Screenplay*
  • Score*
  • Editing
  • Cinematography (black and white)
Lee Pfeiffer