"Sunset Boulevard" Tunes Trivia Quiz

Answer: "Let's Have Lunch"

Joe opens the show with this line. He has been murdered, but serves as the narrator throughout the show. He says, "If you want to know the real facts, you've come to the right place."

Answer: "Surrender"

Joe flees from some bill collectors and finds himself at a beautiful mansion, where lives the silent movie star Norma Desmond. She's in her fifties now and forgotten by her fans, but she's completely oblivious to this. She asks Joe to help her edit a screenplay she's written.

It's a truly horrendous script, but Joe agrees to stay on and help because the salary he'll get for this will help pull him out of debt.

Answer: "The Greatest Star of All"

Joe discusses Norma's pathetic delusions with her butler, Max. Max begins talking about Norma's fame in the past - how men would literally kill themselves to touch her.

Answer: "The Greatest Star of All"

Joe begins to grow weary of the job he has editing Norma's screenplay. It takes several weeks, and in the meantime Norma lavishes him with expensive gifts. He tries to tell her he's not interested in such a relationship, but she doesn't listen.

Answer: "The Perfect Year"

Norma throws a New Year's party with Joe as the only guest. When he finds this out, he's a bit wary, and then Norma announces she's in love with him. Joe tries to let her down easy, by saying he's not the kind of guy she should get involved with. She slaps him and runs upstairs sobbing, so Joe, unsure what to do, leaves the house and goes to a friend's New Year's party instead.

While he's there, he calls Max and discovers that Norma has tried to slit her wrists. Joe immediately returns back to the house and, overwhelmed with pity, agrees to stay with Norma for a while longer.

Answer: "New Ways to Dream"

Norma pays a visit to Hollywood to ask about her script, and the people who have been working there long enough to remember her come crowding around, greeting her. This convinces her that she's not forgotten, and that her script is going to be produced simply because she is in it.

Answer: "Too Much in Love to Care"

Joe, in the meantime, has been working on a screenplay with a young girl named Betty Schaefer, and in this song they discover they're in love with each other.

Answer: "Sunset Boulevard"

Norma finds out about Betty and calls her up, saying, "You do know a Mr. Gillis? Well, exactly how much do you know about him?" Joe finds her doing this, grabs the phone, and tells Betty to come over to the house and ask him herself. She does, and he admits that he's liked the comforts that money can give him. Betty leaves the house in tears since she can't persuade him to come with her. Norma thanks Joe tearfully, but he silently goes up to his room, packs his things, and starts to leave. Norma tries to persuade him not to, saying she needs him desperately, but he only tells her the truth - that her fans have forgotten about her and Hollywood is never going to produce her horrible script. Norma calmly picks up a gun and shoots him on his way out.

Answer: "The Greatest Star of All"

The scene changes to the next morning, as police and reporters surround Norma's house, investigating the murder. Norma herself is wandering around, dazed and confused, singing softly to herself.

Answer: "With One Look"

Max tells the dazed Norma that she is back in the studio, ready to make a picture. She descends the stairs, slowly, majestically, and makes a heartfelt speech, saying that movies are her life, and always will be, and she will never leave them again. She closes the show with a reprise of "With One Look."