Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Although Buster has basically a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in this movie, the film is good enough this time around that it doesn’t matter too much.  Sure, it has its moments where Teh Drama!!! reaches critical levels, but the film’s a classic for a reason.  Lots of neat stuff going on here.

Joe, a down-on-his-luck screenwriter, is trying to keep his car away from repossessors when he stumbles upon a ramshackle old-Hollywood mansion.  There, crumbling away amid the grandiose architecture, is Norma Desmond, a great star of the ‘20s who’s faded into obscurity but is planning her comeback with obsessive detail.  While Norma initially hires Joe as a script doctor for the opus she wants to star in, the two quickly become embroiled in an intense relationship.  As Norma clings more and more tightly to Joe and to her own delusions, Joe becomes more desperate to break away but doesn’t know how to cut his ties.

It’s no surprise for me to say this is a great movie.  I love so much of it.  I’m kind of a sucker for stories about former celebrities who are present-day recluses, and I like the view of the silent-movie era from the perspective of the ‘50s.  Throw in a gripping story, a tragic literary angle (the first time I saw the film, I thought “Miss Havisham” about two seconds before Joe says it,) and some engrossing characters, and you’ve got yourself a winner.

There’s a definite noir feel here, which contributes to the suspenseful atmosphere and the sort of… gothic ennui?  …of the proceedings.  Even as Joe gets pulled further down the rabbit hole and things get more disturbing with Norma, there’s something about his monotone and yet somehow matter-of-fact poetic voiceovers that really put a fascinating spin on it.  And apart from the Joe-and-Norma of it all, I really enjoy Betty as a character, both on her own and as an artistic foil for Joe.  That, and the scene with Cecil B. DeMille is fantastic.

Like I said, very little Buster here.  He’s technically playing himself in an incredibly brief cameo, although he’s never specifically identified – he’s just one of a handful of old guard “from the silent days” who occasionally join Norma at her mansion for bridge.  He has maybe one line, and his whole part is pretty much just one shot of him playing bridge.  Sooooooooo… not much to write home about.  Apparently, though, Buster was pleased enough with it – he was an avid bridge player, and this cameo was probably the easiest, most recreational film role he ever had.  Just sit around playing bridge without so much as a single tumble onto his neck?  A fellow could get used to that.

Warnings

Brief violence, drinking/smoking, and thematic elements (including discussion of suicide.)