Los Angeles has been rebuilt three times since the dawn of the 20th century. At the Los Angeles County Museum, two large photographs hanging side by side tell this story of transformation. One shows an aerial view from the museum to the distant hills of what is now Bel Air around 1920 – a vast open plain dotted with farms and pumpjacks. The adjacent photo, taken less than a decade later, reveals the same vista filled with housing. Many of those houses were later replaced by low-rise commercial buildings, which were subsequently torn down to accommodate new office towers and retail centers.
The movie industry's origins reflect this pattern of reinvention. It began in a cluster of makeshift studios in an area then known as Edendale, now comprising Echo Park, Silver Lake and Los Feliz. The name Edendale has faded into obscurity, though traces remain. My brother once lived on Duane Street in the heart of old Edendale. He took me around the corner to show me a large self-storage facility – once the site of filmmaking pioneer Mack Sennett's bustling studio. These personal connections to Hollywood's past are becoming increasingly rare, as the industry itself moved first to Hollywood and then across the mountains. Today, only Paramount remains near the heart of old Hollywood, its iconic Bronson gate, built in 1926, standing as a sentinel between past and present – a connection immortalized in "Sunset Boulevard."
Like the buildings that were repeatedly replaced, so too were the stars, directors, producers and others who founded the movie industry. For the audience of "Sunset Boulevard" in 1950, ancient history meant the pre-talking pictures era of 1927-1929. The transition to sound swept away most of the industry's early pioneers, creating a stark divide between silent and sound eras that few managed to cross successfully. It's remarkable to consider that even in 1950, when the movie premiered, there was little memory of that vibrant silent era just 25 years earlier.
"Sunset Boulevard" explores themes of people trapped in their pasts, living each moment in literal and figurative reruns. But it delves deeper, examining the loss of history and the challenge of surviving in a transformed world where tradition holds meaning only ironically – as demonstrated by the film itself. The movie captures a peculiar moment in Hollywood's history, when the industry was old enough to have a past worth mourning but young enough that this past was still within living memory.
The movie's physical landmarks have suffered similar fates as their fictional counterparts. Schwab's Pharmacy, portrayed in the film as the cradle for new talent, was demolished in 1988 to make way for a shopping center – another piece of Hollywood history sacrificed to progress. The grand mansion that served as Norma Desmond's residence, built in the 1920s on Wilshire Boulevard in Larchmont and later owned by billionaire J. Paul Getty's former wife, was razed in 1957 for an office building, rumored to be the headquarters of Getty Oil. Before its demolition, the house had also appeared in "Rebel Without a Cause," making it a silent witness to multiple eras of Hollywood filmmaking.
The film's meta-narrative extends to its inspired casting. Gloria Swanson, who portrays Norma Desmond, mirrors her character's early career with uncanny precision. Like Norma, Swanson's first picture was with movie impresario Cecil B. DeMille, with whom she made six films. Even more fascinating is Erich von Stroheim, who plays Norma's faithful butler Max (revealed to be a former director). Von Stroheim had directed Swanson in real life before being fired from "Queen Kelly" – a film ironically featured in "Sunset Boulevard," creating layers of meaning that blur the line between fiction and reality.
Director Billy Wilder brought an outsider's perspective to this tale of Hollywood's evolution. Arriving from Germany in 1934 at age 28, he missed the silent era entirely. His first feature, "The Major and the Minor," wasn't released until 1942. Wilder's long life – he died in 2002 at 95 – allowed him to witness even more transformations of the industry he so incisively captured, becoming himself a bridge between different eras of filmmaking.
Sunset Boulevard itself remains one of the few enduring links to Los Angeles' past. Built partially along a 1780s cattle trail, it stretches from Alameda Street in what is now Chinatown (the location of the final scene in "Chinatown") to the ocean, a living testament to the city's history. Recent films continue to explore similar themes of fame and obsolescence – the recent "Maria," about opera singer Maria Callas' final days, echoes many of Norma Desmond's struggles, suggesting these stories of faded glory continue to resonate.
For those interested in exploring more films about filmmaking, "The Player," the first two versions of "A Star is Born," "Singin' in the Rain" and the Coen Brothers' "Hail, Caesar!" offer varied perspectives on Hollywood's self-reflection. For glimpses of Los Angeles' architectural and urban history, "Chinatown" and "L.A. Confidential" provide vivid portraits of the city's bygone eras, capturing the same sense of loss and transformation that makes "Sunset Boulevard" so compelling.
"Sunset Boulevard" will be shown on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Woodmere art museum. Admission is free; donations are welcome and appreciated.
