Age: 74 years
GRS Rating: 5 of 5

Notable Cast:

William Holden Gloria Swanson

Duration: 1 hr, 50 min
Infractions: None.

Comments: An impoverished screen writer is running from creditors when his car tire develops a puncture. He takes refuge in a seemingly-abandoned mansion on Sunset Blvd in West LA, hiding the car in a disused garage. He is welcomed into the mansion, which is occupied, by a singular servant and his mistress. When the aging, female silent-movie star greets him, the screen writer plays up his importance. At once, she elicits his help to write her screenplay. He begins to wonder if he's exchanging one prison for another.

This film does a good job presenting the disappointment of silent-film actors, who were abandoned when the talkies became popular. Also, it reminds us just how difficult it was to be a screen writer in those days. Enjoyable film.