Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Billy Wilder's classic noirish Hollywood satire sees Gloria Swanson give a depiction of madness in both style and look and as much a movie monster as anything created by Karloff or Lugosi. Coming across as a deranged bride of Frankenstein in a once seen never forgotten performance as a fading silent movie star discarded by the new generation of talkies and left alone to rot in her Sunset Boulevard mansion. William Holden plays the struggling screen writer ensnared in her exquisitely woven trap, valiantly trying to make a clean break from his unlocked prison.
Expertly directed, acted and written, this was a first time viewing for me.
Superb stuff.
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