Long before Andrew Lloyd-Webber, and long before Glenn Close's iconic portrayal on Broadway (which this reviewer was fortunate enough to see!) there was this, a film from 1950, upon which the Musical is based.
I had watched the film in my teens, years before Lloyd-Webber even had the idea of writing the Musical, but hadn't seen it since. However I have seen the Musical many time since and so, I was now more than curious to see how I would react to watching the film now, in later life, with the Muscial close to my heart and psyche.
The story follows Joe Gillis (William Holden), an out-of-work screenwriter who tries to escape the car repossesion-men by driving up a deserted driveway on Sunset Boulevard, only to find that this decision is the worst he has ever made. It is the home of silent film star Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) and her devoted and po-faced butler, Max Von Meyerling (played by the inimitable Erich Von Stroheim; himself a notable film director who had directed Swanson). Her days as a movie star are over as she has been unable to make the transition from silent cinema to 'talkies', and this rejection from Hollywood has turned her into an obsessive recluse of deranged proportion. She hires Joe (he desperately needs the money) to help her with a dire script she is writing for her screen 'comeback'. He is to stay in the grounds of the mansion and she keeps him as her 'toy boy' lavishing him with the kind of affection one would normally give to a pet! He, however finds her world far too stifling and boring and despite her forbidding him to do so, he regularly leaves the house and visits Betty Schaefer (Nancy Olsen), with whom he has struck up quite a relationship, both as writing partner and 'lover'. This leads to Norma's jealousy taking control, and we see a very tragic end for all, of truly Shakespearean proportion.
The film is peppered with cameos from the silent era and early talkies, including the talented Jack Webb as Artie Green, the great Cecil B DeMille as himself, and even an appearance from Buster Keaton!
Diected and co-written by Billy Wilder, produced and co-written by Charles Brackett, this is as shocking and as bleak now as ever, and grips you at every turn, despite knowing the end right at the beginning of the film (as Lloyd-Webber did the same for the musical too) we still sit on the edge of our seats and marvel at a style of acting which is lamentably no longer with us; but actors and actresses of this calibre will never fade from our memories, even if the modern breed are not trained this way any more.
Every bit as dark and gripping as ever; an absolute classic film of what could possibly be ascribed to the 'Noir' genre. Superb, tight direction, with excellent camera-work / cinematography (John F. Seitz) (especially for 1950!), and of course I couldn't get away without mentioning the music. I must admit, I was almost sad when I didn't hear the Lloyd-Webber score underneath the acting, but Franz Waxman's music is every bit as enigmatic and emotive, adding greatly to the overall feel of this bleak, black and white masterpiece. And the acting is simply out of this world.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 15/9/19
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