Paramount; 1950; dir: Billy Wilder; cast: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olsen and cameos by silent film stars Buster Keaton, Hedda Hopper, H.B. Warner and legendary director Cecil B. DeMille. Vintage original 27 x 41 in. (68.6 x 104.1 cm.) U.S. one-sheet poster, Style B, unfolded, linen-backed, near mint condition. Director Billy Wilder's dark Hollywood story of Silent Film queen Norma Desmond's gradual decline into madness is considered one of the greatest films on Hollywood and is a true masterpiece of American cinema. Nominated for 11 Academy Awards including "Best Picture," the film garnered three Oscars for "Best Screenplay", "Best Musical Score" and "Best Art Direction." The artwork for this Style B one-sheet has become iconic and features a twisted strip of 35mm motion picture film containing the film's title being pulled into a knot. The deep red background beautifully compliments the black strip of film. This one-sheet is in near mint condition with almost no restoration, as there is only the smallest bit of expert touch-up at the middle and lower crossfolds only. The colors are extremely fresh and vibrant and feature a rich, bold red background with absolutely no fading.
The alternate Style A one-sheet now exceeds $10,000 and rarely comes up for sale. This beautiful Style B one-sheet has also become quite scarce and is a more affordable alternative to acquire an original U.S. poster from this highly sought-after title. The one-sheet offered here is in the best condition of any example that we have ever seen.
Sunset Boulevard is a 1950 American film noir directed and co-written by Billy Wilder. It was named after the boulevard that runs through Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, California. It stars William Holden as down-on-his-luck screenwriter Joe Gillis, and Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, a faded movie star who draws Gillis into her fantasy world in which she dreams of making a triumphant return to the screen. Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Lloyd Gough and Jack Webb play supporting roles. Director Cecil B. DeMille and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper play themselves, and the film includes cameo appearances by leading silent film figures Buster Keaton, H. B. Warner and Anna Q. Nilsson.
Praised by many critics when first released, Sunset Boulevard was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won three. It is widely accepted as a classic, often cited as one of the most noteworthy films of American cinema. Deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the U.S. Library of Congress in 1989, Sunset Boulevard was included in the first group of films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. In 1998, it was ranked number twelve on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 best American films of the 20th century, dropping, however, to number 16 on the 10th Anniversary edition published in 2007.
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