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Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder's acerbic, cynical take on the cruel fleetness of fame and fortune in the city of myth and dreams, premieres in New York. Written by Wilder, Charles Brackett and D.M Marshman Jr., William Holden stars as Joe Gillis, a struggling, down-at-heel screenwriter who goes down the proverbial rabbit hole one day when, in an effort to shake some repo men off his tail, he pulls into the grounds of a sprawling, unkempt Hollywood mansion occupied by an eccentric, once famous silent movie star and her grim-faced chauffeur/minder. A towering, ageless classic with the remarkable Gloria Swanson in full tour-de-force mode as the enigmatic Norma Desmond, alongside the imposing, imperious Erich von Stroheim. The film wins Academy Awards for Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction and Best Score (Franz Waxman).
