When Gloria Swanson starred in ‘Sunset Boulevard’ in 1950, it was heralded as one of the greatest comebacks in movie history. 25 years earlier, as a silent film star, she had been one of the best known women in the world, not only treated like royalty, but created a sensation by marrying the Marquis de la Falaise de la Coudraye, part of Hennessy. baby of the family, and member of one of the noble families of France. When Gloria and her husband returned to the United States after their wedding, they were offered duct tape shows through New York and Los Angeles and treated like genuine royalty. Gloria’s career was at its peak. She was the highest paid woman in cinema and a fashion icon for women around the world.
But her films did not fare well with the advent of sound in 1929, and her extravagant lifestyle, once the envy of women around the world, irritated the sensibilities of a world suffering from the indignities and deprivations of the Great. Depression. In the early 1930s he did four Talkies in quick succession, “What a widow!” in 1930, ‘Indiscreet’ the following year, ‘Perfect Understanding’ in 1933 and ‘Music in the Air’ in 1934, but they all failed. Audiences no longer flocked to her films, and as her career declined, Gloria voluntarily withdrew. In 1941, after 7 years off screen, he appeared in another film, the musical ‘Father Takes A Wife’, which was heavily touted as his comeback film, but did not do well at the box office and was criticized by the press. review. Gloria returned to her self-imposed film retirement although she continued to appear on stage and also began to test the new medium of television.
So, in the late 1940s, little had been heard of Gloria Swanson for twenty years. An entire generation of moviegoers had grown up without seeing one of his movies or knowing the impact it once had. All of that was about to be changed by one man: director Billy Wilder and his masterful film “Sunset Boulevard.”
Gloria plays silent film star Norma Desmond, whose career is over but who lives her life dreaming of a successful comeback. She meets a young screenwriter, Joe Gillis, played by William Holden, and falls in love with him, but his delusions take hold of her and she loses contact with reality. Swanson’s performance is quite brilliant and some of his lines have become showbiz legends, such as “I’m big; it’s the pictures that got small,” “We didn’t need dialogue, we had faces,” and “Okay, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up. “
“Sunset Boulevard” is ranked number 12 on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 greatest films of all time and is considered by many critics to be one of the best films ever made. Gloria Swanson’s powerful performance earned her a third Best Actress Oscar nomination and it is as Norma Desmond that we remember her today, not for her previous accomplishments and fame. He did what Norma Desmond couldn’t do. Gloria Swanson returned.
