Mary Astor as Norma Desmond

[Almira]

Posted: 1/21/13 at 1:09am

I knew a teleplay version of SUNSET BLVD had been made, but never thought I'd see any of it.. Thankfully someone posted a clip.

Enjoy..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqqGiyMcNVs

Updated On: 1/21/13 at 01:09 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 1/21/13 at 6:26am

Fascinating ... and not very good. I don't mind at all that she's different than Gloria Swanson. I mind that she doesn't seem to give a crap about anything she's saying.

Updated On: 1/21/13 at 06:26 AM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 1/21/13 at 11:02am

I don't know that I'd agree she doesn't give a crap. I just think she's wrong for the part.

Maybe my love for Mary Astor blinds me, but I think she just doesn't have the theatricality for Norma. But I've always thought she was underrated as an actor.

Either way, yes, fascinating! Thanks for posting.

[Almira]

Posted: 1/21/13 at 11:31am

You're welcome.

Have you ever heard any of those abbreviated radio plays of then current films? They usually featured a star not in the actual film, but one just as notable.

I find in those radio plays the actors aren't as invested as I'm accustomed to seeing them. They seem to do just dash off a performance. I put Astor's Norma Desmond in that category. There are glimmers of what might be a commanding yet nuanced performance, but you figure she needed Billy Wilder guiding her.

You figure too that at the time television was still considered a second rate medium. She probably had a little fun, cashed the check, went home, and forgot about it.

Of course the real fun is watching a great actor take on a great role associated with someone else. We get a lot of that in the theatre, but oh so rarely in film.

Updated On: 1/21/13 at 11:31 AM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 1/21/13 at 11:36am

Yes, I love those! Tallulah as Margo Channing is something else.

[Almira]

Posted: 1/21/13 at 11:38am

Exactly!

Rosalind Russell in NINOTCHKA.

So much fun.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 1/21/13 at 11:41am

And by "something else," I mean it's Tallulah.

[carolineorchange21]

Posted: 1/21/13 at 12:12pm

I still get chills from Agnes Moorehead's 'Sorry Wrong Number'

[PalJoey]

Posted: 1/21/13 at 1:05pm

And if you listen to Judy Garland's Lady in the Dark, you get to hear her sing "My Ship" but not "The Saga of Jenny."