this is a GREAT movie. I read somewhere that Norma Desmond's name was taken from Mabel Normand (one of the first female screenwriters/producers/performers, in the 1920s) and a rich man who was accused of shooting another man involved with Mabel Normand.

or something like that.

As PERFECT as this film is, I find it somewhat harrowing to watch, if only because, like everyone else here, I fancy myself a scriptwriter wanna-be and this film slices and dices that lifestyle so completely.

I even find films like The Player and Swimming With Sharks easier to digest than watching William Holden flail and struggle in such utter desperation.

Because, let's face it, that could just as easily be any one of us floating face-down in Ms. Desmond's swimming pool, eh?

SUNSET BOULEVARD is the best movie about the film industry ever made. Superb.