How others will see it. Many film scholars regard Sunset Blvd. as one of the best films ever made. It also provides unpleasant "truths" about Hollywood. It contains one of the most famous classic screen lines, "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."
And since Sunset Blvd. is actually a pretty good movie, it's no wonder it remains held in high regard to this day. Most who are familiar with it, cherish it. Those who haven't seen it, but have heard about it, are unlikely to be disappointed. Only those indifferent to classic cinema in general, and film history in particular, will quickly bypass it in favor of more modern and fast-paced fare.
How I felt about it. I concede that Sunset Blvd. is a good movie. However, I believe its place in the classic film hierarchy is overstated.
The problem, of course, is with Gloria Swanson's character. Imagine how different the story would be if the genders were reversed. Then the aging film star would become amoral rather than insane, and the companion would either be a golddigger or an innocent victim.
Swanson is cagey enough to track down Holden's hottie little Miss Perfect and inform her that her paramour is little more than a gigolo. But, she's looney enough to believe that the Hollywood of 1950 wants to make silent films starring fifty year old women in sex kitten roles.
Desmond is a manipulative, willful, and self-involved monster. But is she a credible character, or a stereotype of a conceited, unbalanced older woman? She's Betty Davis, without the shrewdness that accepts changing roles to continue her career. But shrewdness and eventual acceptance come with age. Desmond is more like Cruella Da Vil, the Disney cartoon character out to turn puppy dogs into catwalk fashion. The shoe doesn't fit.
Beyond that, we have William Holden, the real star of the movie, wallowing in self-contempt throughout when not giving into a persistent impulse to seduce Nancy Olson. This impulse is only occasionally interrupted by guilt-induced comments to her about Jack Webb's magnificent personality.
Allegedly, Montgomery Clift signed (and broke) a contract to play Holden's role. It is only speculation whether the deceptively earnest Clift (as in The Heiress and A Place in the Sun) would be an improvement over sour Holden, particularly in the frequent voice-overs.
The lesson here is that if one of life's chapters has passed you by, accept the outcome with grace and move along. The significance of this particular dose of common sense appears overstated.