A classic piece of film noir, Sunset Boulevard is the tale of the eerily deranged Norma Desmond, a silent film star jilted from stardom by the arrival of the talking picture. Prominently, the film is a statement on the resulting rejection of silent film stars when they became obsolete to the industry. However, underneath this base interpretation lies the possible idea that Norma Desmond is meant to be interpreted as a metaphoric vampire. The details of this connection lie in her similarities to vampires, specifically Nosferatu, her predatory nature as explored in the film�s costume and plot, and her obsession with immortality.
Sunset Boulevard can be considered "film noir." That is, it embraces many of the qualities of this movement such as "low-key lighting . . . claustrophobic framing; romantic, voice-over narration; and a complex narrative structure, characterized by flashbacks." [Belton, John. American Cinema/American Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994. p 188] Specifically, the voice-over narration opens the film on a supernatural note. From the first the audience is aware that the film is being narrated by a spirit whose drowned body is floating in a pool, shown right on screen. The omniscient voice-over this spirit conducts throughout the film also serves to give the audience a feeling of dreading curiosity, as this spirit is aware of the complex situation that led to his own demise. Additionally, the overall look and feel of the film is "noir," and the writer/director Billy Wilder also wrote and directed other classic film noirs such as Double Indemnity.
This dark feeling is the perfect atmosphere in which to create a vampire film. The foremost connection to vampires is Norma Desmond's striking similarities to Count Orlock of the 1921 German film Nosferatu. Of course, Nosferatu was silent and as such it bears a close connection to Norma's staunch view that silent film far exceeds the talking picture. The first clue to this connection is the dilapidated old house that Norma owns. Inside, the high-ceilinged rooms are decorated in a very gothic style, not unlike the d�cor of Count Orlock's castle. In this "castle" Norma moves in the very manner that Orlock does. Her wide-open eyes are fixed and shift slowly when they do move. She bears her teeth at all times, as Orlock could not help but doing, and her hands often appear to resemble claws like the long-fingered Orlock. She also walks in the very style that Max Schreck uses for the character, a slow, unnatural, almost floating pace. The very mood Swanson emits for the character exactly matches that of this silent, mythical vampire.
Count Orlock, like Norma Desmond, is a character of great wealth who seems to possess some fortune. Norma has a lot of money; she has enough money to keep Joe Ginnis, the writer, under her control and in her home. Additionally, in both films the first refreshment offered to the victim is wine, which is meant to put the victim off-guard as well as feel welcome despite the forbidding atmosphere of both houses. In Nosferatu business dealings are what draw Professor Bulwar (the equivalent to Van Helsing in Stoker�s Dracula) into Orlock's castle in the first place, not unlike Joe who is drawn to Desmond's castle by his own financial problems. However, the immediate victim is not the first for either Desmond or Orlock. Similar to Orlock's slave Knock (or Renfield in Stoker�s original rendition), Max, Norma Desmond's first husband lives as a highly-dedicated butler even though he was a director who seems that he would be able to afford his own home and butler. Both Max and Knock are locked into slave-like service by these vampiric masters and aid their masters in securing newer victims. [Additionally, in his article "Vampires in Film and Television," Leonard G. Heldreth comments that the elegance and wealth so often associated with vampires in film can be attributed to Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula: "Bela Lugosi [establishes the] cinematic vampire's dress, intonation, seductive foreign style, and modus operandi." Desmond's wealth, elaborate dress and aloofness can also be traced to Lugosi's portrayal of the vampire.]
Desmond's similarity to vampires does not end at Orlock, however. The film has a strong concentration on the evening hours. The title alone suggests an emphasis on the importance of sunset. Norma Desmond lives on Sunset Boulevard not only because of the figurative "setting" of her acting career and youth, but also because of the significance of sunset to a vampire. Hence, the house is a safe place for a vampire, a dark place where the sun is out of sight, or shunned by heavy velvet curtains. Much of the action in the film occurs at night, and when Desmond does go out into the sunshine it is only with huge dark sunglasses and a broad-brimmed or veiled hat. In addition to the dark headwear, the rest of Norma's dress is dark as well.
Norma Desmond is the essence of a predator. She is often clad in leopard print, and even her car is leopard printed (for when she is "on the prowl" so to speak). The audience learns that Ms. Desmond has been married three times, but the whereabouts of these ex-husbands, aside from Max, is somewhat ambiguous. With Joe apparently her fourth "victim" in this sequence, it would appear that Norma, like most vampires, preys on the youth of her victims. Once she has absorbed enough of their vitality, she discards them and feels once again young. This is exactly what she does to Joe. Besides being much younger than she, Joe is the perfect victim for Norma. He is weak, financially and morally, and has no other option than to go along with her twisted agenda. She draws him into her home, offers him wine, and persuades him to stay for awhile. The "blood" she takes from him is not literal, but rather, the revision of the script she believes will mark her comeback to the screen. To Norma Desmond, youth is equivalent with her film career, which has been dead some thirty-three years. [In the article "Primal Urges and Civilized Sensibilities," the authors comment that "vampires in general . . . represent a form of sexuality that contrasts with socially acceptable expressions of sexuality." Norma's sexual behaviour toward Joe is exceedingly antisocial, as she is so desperate to feed on his youth that she locks him in her house. This predatory sexual behaviour is again indicative of a vampire.]
Once she has procured this life-juice, she undergoes a physical transformation to youth. DeMille doesn't have the heart to tell her that the script will never be put to film, and as such takes to preparing for her re-found youth. We see a montage of her efforts to make herself young again through skin treatments, steambaths, and massage. Throughout this grueling process she continues to draw on Joe's life, but now through his virility than his talents as a writer. Norma's predatory nature is not fully recognized until at exactly midnight, New Year�s Eve, exactly the middle of any vampire's "day" she closes in on Joe, preparing to take him full victim. Once Joe tires of Norma's demented possessiveness of him, he begins packing. At this point she closes in on the kill, shooting him and becoming completely reborn. Only through her murder of Joe is she finally able to make the comeback that she desperately needs to stay alive.
Oblivious to reporters, she prepares herself for her rebirth as an actress as the body of the dead writer floats in her Hollywood swimming pool. The murder has brought both the cameras and a director, Max, back to Norma Desmond's life. As she eerily glides down the staircase, her eyes hungry, her teeth bared, the camera follows her as it did in her youth. As we hear her say her haunting, "I am ready for my closeup, Mr. DeMille," we see a woman who is possessed with the idea of immortality. This is supplemented by her comment that �Stars never age, stars are eternal.� [Interestingly, the Hollywood Walk of Fame (�Where the stars are immortalized�) runs on Vine Street from Yucca Street to Sunset Boulevard.] And once the sun rises again we see Norma decaying, turning into dust as insanity envelopes her for her macabre final close-up.
Sunset Boulevard speaks larger than itself, however. While a specific character is the focus of these vampiric tendencies, audience members can relate many of these qualities to themselves. As a part of a society that places such heavy emphasis on youth, sexual companionship and life after death, at some point we all resort to the characteristics of the vampire, be it through a facelift or possessive control of a relationship. In spite of this, the vampire myth is too exotic to be accepted as a part of the everyday life of a normal person in society, hence the application to a character who is also somewhat mythical, but closer to mortal�the movie star. In short, Sunset Boulevard uses imagery from an old myth to show the audience its own demented nature.
Works Consulted
1. Belton, John. American Cinema/American Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994.
2. Heldreth, Leonard G. �Vampires in Film and Television.� Bowling Green, OH: Journal of Popular Film & Television, Summer 99, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p2.
3. Nosferatu. Count Orlock/Nosferatu, Max Schreck; Dir. E.W. Murnau, Germany 1922.
4. Sunset Boulevard. Norma Desmond, Gloria Swanson; Dir. Billy Wilder. Paramount, 1950.
5. Wyman, Leah M; George N. Dionisopulos. �Primal Urges and Civilized Sensibilities: The Rhetoric of Gendered Archetypes, Seduction, and Resistance in Bram Stoker�s Dracula.� Bowling Green, OH: Journal of Popular Film and Television, Summer99, Vol 27, Issue 2, p32.