William Holden gave voice to Gillis, who represented that hero of the movie business who nevertheless is relegated to the bottom rung - namely a scriptwriter. Failing to crack the nut that is Hollywood, fate took a strange turn when he stumbled upon the mansion of the faded screen diva to end all divas... Gloria Swanson's Norma Desmond. Gillis thought he could dupe the crazy old dame into giving him an easy ride as scribe on her bloated and clearly doomed Salome picture. He didn't reckon on Desmond being a kookier customer than he gave her credit for, and as we know from the legendary opening sequence, he's narrating this black comedy from face down in a swimming pool. And he isn't doing the backstroke! Writer/director Billy Wilder crafted perhaps the ultimate cautionary tale of Tinseltown in 1950, with Swanson's delivery of "Alright Mr. DeMille I'm ready for my close up" passing into the lingo as a moment of pure filmic insanity.
I am a journalist and comedian who enjoys American movies of the 70s, Amicus horror compendiums, Doctor Who, Twin Peaks, Naomi Watts and sitting down. My short fiction has been published as part of the Iris Wildthyme range from Obverse Books.
