Sunset Boulevard (1950): William Holden and Gloria Swanson

     One of the greatest films ever made, Sunset Boulevard (1950) contains all the elements needed for success. An air-tight script, expert direction, great cinematography and perfect casting (particularly with Gloria Swanson and Erich Von Stroheim) all fall into place and form a cinematic masterpiece. Controversial in it's depiction of Hollywood business and it's habit of using up talent and throwing it away, it is both an interesting time capsule and still holds relevance today.

     William Holden plays Joe Gillis, a down-and-out Hollywood screenwriter. While running from creditors and repossession agents, he gets a flat tire and pulls into the garage of an old dilapidated mansion. Turns out it is the home of Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) a has-been former silent movie star that hasn't accepted the fact that her career is over, still seeing the cameras that have long since stopped rolling. 

Sunset Boulevard. 1950: Gloria Swanson

     Still living in the past, she revels in her "stardom" and imagined adulation (encouraged by her butler, played by Erich Von Stroheim). 

Sunset Boulevard. 1950: Gloria Swanson

     In need of a job, Gillis reluctantly accepts her offer to have him edit her tediously bad screenplay. Thinking it'll be easy money, he strings her along and takes the free ride. 

Sunset Boulevard. 1950: Gloria Swanson and William Holden

     It is quickly realized that Desmond's interest in Gillis is more than professional, and he stays partly out of necessity, partly out of luxury and partly out of guilt (as she is constantly threatening suicide).

Sunset Boulevard. 1950: Gloria Swanson and William Holden

      Meanwhile, true artistic ambitions to write and love mix when Gillis teams up with a pretty, young aspiring writer... 

Sunset Boulevard. 1950: William Holden

     Desmond will not react well to this...

Sunset Boulevard. 1950: William Holden

Sunset Boulevard. 1950: Gloria Swanson

Sunset Boulevard. 1950: Gloria Swanson and William Holden

Beyond the Rocks (1922): Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

     For decades, with the exception of a one-minute portion, Beyond the Rocks (1922) was considered to be a lost film. It was a particularly tragic loss because the film portrayed the only time Silent greats Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson were paired together on screen. Miraculously, and with great applause from Film Historians, a nearly-complete print was found in an old rusty pile of film canisters in the Netherlands in 2003. Beyond the Rocks was restored by the Nederlands Filmmuseum, and was re-released in 2005... 83 years after it's initial debut.

     Theodora's (Gloria Swanson) father, Captain Fitzgerald, is in need of money. Theodora resolves to marry a rich man in order to ensure her family's well-being. When Theodora falls overboard from her rowboat, she is rescued by the wealthy Lord Hector Bracondale (Rudolph Valentino). The two part ways, as Bracondale is "not the marrying kind"... 

Beyond the Rocks: Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

     Theodora marries a rich old man that she does not love, and on her honeymoon, fate intervenes again. Theodora falls during a mountain climbing excursion, and by coincidence, Hector is there to rescue her again... 

Beyond the Rocks: Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

     They part ways once more, but reconnect in Paris. This time, they acknowledge their mutual love, and begin an affair... 

Beyond the Rocks: Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

Beyond the Rocks: Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

     they even fantasize about their love existing in the past... 

Beyond the Rocks: Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

     But Theodora has made a vow to her husband, and is unsure whether or not her love for Hector is cause enough to break it...

Beyond the Rocks: Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

Beyond the Rocks: Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson

a scene from "Beyond the Rocks" (1922)