Sunset Boulevard
A desperate screenwriter teams up with a delusional former silent‑film star to finish her comeback script, only to discover that her obsessive quest for fame threatens to destroy them both.
“A Hollywood Story.”
Synopsis
A struggling screenwriter is hired to write a screenplay for a former silent film star who has fallen out of favor and faded into obscurity in Hollywood.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 132+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Arthur P SchmidtShot by John F SeitzScored by Franz WaxmanCostumes by Edith Head
Box Office
1950 · Box office
✅ Made its money back — grossed 2.9× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$5.0M
Re-release box office
- 2018666 theaters
- $469K($617K today)
Domestic gross earned in theatrical re-release, by year · adjusted for inflation
Full synopsis
Versions & cuts
- cut· 104 min
Also known as
- Boulevard der Dämmerungde
- Boulevard der Dämmerung - Sunset Boulevardde
- Sunset Boulevard - Boulevard der Dämmerungde
- (Flemish)De laan der schimmen
- Sunset Blvd.en
- Sunset Boulevarden
- Boulevard du crépusculefr
- Viale del tramontoit
Release dates around the world5 countries · showhide
- TürkiyeAug 4, 1950
- United StatesAug 10, 1950
- United KingdomAug 17, 1950
- CanadaAug 18, 1950
- AustraliaSep 29, 1950
Companies
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Cast & Crew
132 unique people credited
Top billed cast
William Holden
as Joe Gillis
William Holden Nm0000034
as Joe Gillis
Gloria Swanson
as Norma Desmond
Erich Von Stroheim
as Max Von Mayerling
Nancy Olson
as Betty Schaefer
Fred Clark
as Sheldrake
Lloyd Gough
as Morino
Jack Webb
as Artie Green
Franklyn Farnum
as Undertaker
Larry J Blake
as 1st Finance Man
Charles Dayton
as 2nd Finance Man
Cecil B Demille
as Cecil B. DeMille
Supporting cast
66Hedda Hopper
as Hedda Hopper
Buster Keaton
as Buster Keaton
Anna Q Nilsson
as Anna Q. Nilsson
H B Warner
as H. B. Warner
Ray Evans
as Ray Evans
Jay Livingston
as Jay Livingston
Fred Aldrich
as Cop Who Drags Joe's Body from Pool
Joel Allen
as Prop Man #2
Gertrude Astor
as Courtier
Anne Bauchens
as Editor
Edward Biby
as Restaurant Patron
Danny Borzage
as Accordionist
Paul Bradley
as Man at Paramount Gate
Ralph Brooks
as Party Guest
Ken Christy
as Homicide Captain
Ruth Clifford
as Sheldrake's Secretary
John Cortay
as Mac - Young Gate Guard at Paramount Studios
Archie R Dalzell
as Camera Operator
Doris Dawson
as Actress
Eddie Dew
as Assistant Coroner
Peter Drynan
as Tailor
Julia Faye
as Hisham
Al Ferguson
as Phone Standby
Bess Flowers
as Undetermined Role
Gerry Ganzer
as Connie - Betty's Roommate
Rudy Germane
as Detective
Kenneth Gibson
as Salesman at Men's Shop
James Gonzalez
as Actor
Joe Gray
as Undetermined Role
Sanford E Greenwald
as Newsreel Cameraman
Creighton Hale
as Creighton Hale
Chuck Hamilton
as Grip on DeMille Set
James Hawley
as Camera Assistant
Len Hendry
as Police Sergeant
E Mason Hopper
as Doctor
Stan Johnson
as First Assistant Director
Tiny Jones
as Little Woman Outside Paramount Gate
Howard Joslin
as Police Lieutenant
Arthur Lane
as Camera Operator
Perc Launders
as Violinist at Norma's New Year's Eve Party
Alan Marston
as Reporter
William Meader
as Party Guest
Gertrude Messinger
as Hairdresser
Harold Miller
as Man on Golf Course
John Skins Miller
as Hog-eye - Electrician
Lee Miller
as Dancing Party Guest, Paramount Studio Employee
Ralph Montgomery
as Prop Man #1
Bert Moorhouse
as Gordon Cole
Jay Morley
as Fat Man
Bernice Mosk
as Berenice
Howard Negley
as Police Captain
Ottola Nesmith
as Undetermined Role
Eva Novak
as Courtier
Frank O Connor
as Courtier
Robert Emmett O Connor
as Jonesy - Older Paramount Gate Guard
Jack Perrin
as Detective
Virginia L Randolph
as Courtier
Bill Sheehan
as Second Assistant Director
Sidney Skolsky
as Sidney Skolsky
Emmett Smith
as Black Man
Roy Thompson
as Rudy - Shoeshine Boy
Archie Twitchell
as Salesman at Men's Shop
Yvette Vickers
as Giggling Girl on Phone at Party
Edward Wahrman
as Camera Assistant
Jack Warden
as Party Guest
Henry Wilcoxon
as Actor on DeMille's 'Samson & Delilah' Set
Directors
1Writers
3Producers
1Other crew
56Albert Montigny
1er Financier / 1º Cobrador de impuestos / 1° Embargador
Hans Dreier
Art Directors
John Meehan Nm0576048
Art Directors
Jean Daurand
Artie Green
Charles C Coleman
assistant director (as C.C. Coleman Jr.)
Frank Bracht
assistant editor (uncredited)
Raymonde Reynard
Betty Schaefer
Harlow Stengel
camera assistant (uncredited)
Otto Pierce
camera operator (uncredited)
Jean Mauclair
Cecil B. DeMille
John F Seitz
Cinematographer, director of photography
Franz Waxman
Composer, musical director
Parents Guide
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