“I am big. It’s the pictures that got small” “All right Mr. DeMille. I’m ready for my close-up.”

Ahh yes…two of the all time great movie lines. Written and directed by Billy Wilder, he is without a doubt, one of the greatest directors. This is a pitch-black satire about the under side of Hollywood no one sees. A poison dart aimed at the heart of Hollywood insiders. It’s a story of 3 has-beens and hits very close to home for the main stars. Gloria Swanson and Eric Von Stroheim, both stars of the silent era, were finished when talkies came in. And William Holden’s career was stalled by the time of this movie. He made his mark over 10 years before in a film titled “Golden Boy.” Ever since that film, his career floundered with boy-next-door roles or as Mr. Holden once sarcastically put it - “Nice Willie” roles. It’s funny how art imitates life. However, the movie was initially intended for Mae West, or Mary Pickford or Pola Negri in the Norma Desmond role and Montgomery Clift as Joe Gillis. No offense to Ms. West but can you imagine her dispensing double entendres and sexual innuendos in this role. I shudder to think. The movie opens with one of the most famous scenes in film history but it was not the original beginning. Did you know that the original opening scene was cut because test audiences were laughing? The scene in question had Mr. Holden on a slab in the morgue with voice-overs of him in conversation with the other cadavers. It was suppose to be funny but not ha-ha funny. There is one other tidbit. The silent movie that shows Norma in her younger days is an actual Gloria Swanson film titled “Queen Kelly.” It is rumored that this film destroyed her career. It was directed by…you guessed it…Eric Von Stroheim. Could this film have been any more Hollywood?



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