Joe Gillis, a young Hollywood screenwriter, unemployed and in trouble, stumbles upon the villa of Norma Desmond, a forgotten former silent film star who lives in self-imposed isolation with her faithful butler Max von Mayerling, immersed in a cult of self-absorption. Burdened by debt, Joe hires Norma to write her a script, but soon finds himself trapped in her madness.
Dark, almost ghostly atmospheres convey the sense of decadence of the great protagonists of silent cinema, fallen from grace with the advent of sound, in a dangerous black and white that underlies a constant anguish. This is not just a noir or a traditional drama, it is not a fantasy, it is simply Sunset Boulevard, one of the undisputed masterpieces of classic American cinema. The film received 9 nominations and won two Oscars: for the screenplay (Wilder, Charles Brackett, D. M. Marshman Jr.) and for the soundtrack (Franz Waxman).
