Sunset Boulevard Trivia Quiz

Answer: William Holden

Born in Illinois as William Beedle, Holden played Joe Gillis. He was well known for his roles in "Bridge on the River Kwai", "Stalag 17" and more recently, as step-father of the devil in "Damien: Omen II".

Answer: screenwriter

Gillis was down on his luck and hadn't had one of his scripts bought in a long time. So, he was behind on his bills which was why he found himself with Norma.

Answer: his car had a flat tire

Gillis was trying to outrun some men who wanted to repossess his car. His car blew a tire and Gillis pulled into the driveway of what appeared to be an abandoned house. It turned out to be the rather rundown home of former silent-movie star, Norma Desmond.

Answer: Max, the butler

Max, played by Erich von Stroheim, turned out to have been one of Norma's ex-husbands. He took good care of her, despite her eccentricities, and was even a bit sympathetic toward Gillis.

Answer: Her screenplay for a "comeback" movie

Joe was a down-on-his-luck screenwriter - the perfect match for Norma's desire for a "comeback" (she preferred the term, "return") movie role. Norma had written a tediously long screenplay for a movie about "Salome" and hoped Joe could clean it up for her. She was not very happy with most of his efforts to streamline it, however.

Answer: He was behind on his car payments.

Joe hadn't sold a script or story in so long that he was three months behind on his car payments. Some "collectors" wanted the keys to it, but Joe convinced them that he had lent the car to a friend and it wasn't around. Of course, that was a lie.

Answer: Joe Gillis

The movie started off with Joe's body, face down in a pool, having been shot by Norma. Of course at that time we, the viewing audience, were unaware of just who was dead.

Answer: To rent her unique car

Norma owned a very unique automobile, an Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8 that the studio was interested in using for a movie. Having missed them, Ms Desmond believed the calls must have been about her getting a role in a new movie.

Answer: Jack Webb

Jack Webb, most famous for his role as Sergeant Friday in television's "Dragnet", played Artie, the boyfriend of Betty Schaefer, the young woman with whom Gillis became involved. Artie was much more of an affable character than the rather stiff Joe Friday.

Answer: Mr. DeMille

Cecil B. DeMille actually had a significant role in the film, and wasn't (in my opinion) half-bad as an actor! DeMille's character was quite sympathetic toward Norma, and became rather furious to learn that the studio had unwittingly misled her when trying to rent her car.

The final scene of the movie, as she was being led away by the police for killing Joe, had Norma enthusiastically approaching the press cameras and lights, believing they were actually studio cameras there for her movie close-up. Poor Norma!