This gripping and chilling film noir is visually stunning and superbly made, scripted and acted – particulary from the star of the movie, Gloria Swanson who puts in a terrific performance that will enthral and terrify you.

Swanson plays Norma Desmond, a faded Hollywood star who has failed to make the transition from silent movies to talkies. A chance encounter with desperate for work script writer Joe Gillis (William Holden) offers the pair a relationship of mutual benefit when Desmond hires Gillis to write the script for her big comeback movie. Openly challenging the darkest side of Hollywood, the resulting path of the plot is a fascinating one which was in many ways reflected in real life. Cecil B. DeMille and Hedda Hopper play themselves and Eric Von Stronheim, who plays the butler, directed Swanson in real life. I would recommend you read the Wikipedia article on this movie after you have seen it to really enhance the viewing of this stunning masterpiece by the same director and cinematographer who brought us the seminal Double Indemnity.