| Photos (see all 52 | slideshow) | Videos (see all 5) |
| William Holden | ... | Joseph C. 'Joe' Gillis | |
| Gloria Swanson | ... | Norma Desmond | |
| Erich von Stroheim | ... | Max Von Mayerling | |
| Nancy Olson | ... | Betty Schaefer | |
| Fred Clark | ... | Sheldrake | |
| Lloyd Gough | ... | Morino | |
| Jack Webb | ... | Artie Green | |
| Franklyn Farnum | ... | Undertaker - Chimp's Funeral | |
| Larry J. Blake | ... | First Finance Man (as Larry Blake) | |
| Charles Dayton | ... | Second Finance Man | |
| Cecil B. DeMille | ... | Himself | |
| Hedda Hopper | ... | Herself | |
| Buster Keaton | ... | Himself - Bridge Player | |
| Anna Q. Nilsson | ... | Herself - Bridge Player | |
| H.B. Warner | ... | Himself - Bridge Player | |
| Ray Evans | ... | Himself | |
| Jay Livingston | ... | Himself | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Fred Aldrich | ... | Cop Who Drags Joe's Body from Pool (uncredited) | |
| Joel Allen | ... | Prop Man #2 (uncredited) | |
| Gertrude Astor | ... | Courtier (uncredited) | |
| Ken Christy | ... | Homicide Captain (uncredited) | |
| Ruth Clifford | ... | Sheldrake's Secretary (uncredited) | |
| John Cortay | ... | Mac - Young Gate Guard at Paramount Studios (uncredited) | |
| Archie R. Dalzell | ... | Camera Operator (uncredited) | |
| Eddie Dew | ... | Assistant Coroner (uncredited) | |
| Peter Drynan | ... | Tailor (uncredited) | |
| Julia Faye | ... | Hisham (uncredited) | |
| Al Ferguson | ... | Phone Standby (uncredited) | |
| Gerry Ganzer | ... | Connie - Betty's Roommate (uncredited) | |
| Kenneth Gibson | ... | Salesman at Men's Shop (uncredited) | |
| Joe Gray | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Sanford E. Greenwald | ... | Newsreel Cameraman (uncredited) | |
| Creighton Hale | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Chuck Hamilton | ... | Grip on DeMille Set (uncredited) | |
| James Hawley | ... | Camera Assistant (uncredited) | |
| Len Hendry | ... | Police Sergeant (uncredited) | |
| E. Mason Hopper | ... | Doctor (uncredited) | |
| Stan Johnson | ... | First Assistant Director (uncredited) | |
| Tiny Jones | ... | Little Woman outside Paramount Gate (uncredited) | |
| Howard Joslin | ... | Police Lieutenant (uncredited) | |
| Arthur Lane | ... | Camera Operator (uncredited) | |
| Perc Launders | ... | Violinist at Norma's New Year's Eve Party (uncredited) | |
| Gertrude Messinger | ... | Hairdresser (uncredited) | |
| Harold Miller | ... | Man on Golf Course (uncredited) | |
| John 'Skins' Miller | ... | Hog-eye - Electrician (uncredited) | |
| Lee Miller | ... | Dancing Party Guest / Paramount Studio Employee (uncredited) | |
| Ralph Montgomery | ... | Prop Man #1 (uncredited) | |
| Bert Moorhouse | ... | Gordon Cole (uncredited) | |
| Jay Morley | ... | Fat Man (uncredited) | |
| Bernice Mosk | ... | Herself (uncredited) | |
| Howard Negley | ... | Police Captain (uncredited) | |
| Ottola Nesmith | ... | Undetermined Role (uncredited) | |
| Eva Novak | ... | Courtier (uncredited) | |
| Frank O'Connor | ... | Courtier (uncredited) | |
| Robert Emmett O'Connor | ... | Jonesy - Older Paramount Gate Guard (uncredited) | |
| Jack Perrin | ... | Detective (uncredited) | |
| Virginia L. Randolph | ... | Courtier (uncredited) | |
| Bill Sheehan | ... | Second Assistant Director (uncredited) | |
| Sidney Skolsky | ... | Himself (uncredited) | |
| Emmett Smith | ... | Black Man (uncredited) | |
| Roy Thompson | ... | Rudy - Shoeshine Boy (uncredited) | |
| Archie Twitchell | ... | Salesman at Men's Shop (uncredited) | |
| Yvette Vickers | ... | Giggling Girl on Phone at Party (uncredited) | |
| Edward Wahrman | ... | Camera Assistant (uncredited) | |
| Henry Wilcoxon | ... | Himself - Actor on DeMille's 'Samson & Delilah' Set (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Billy Wilder | |||
Writing credits | ||
| Charles Brackett | (written by) & | |
| Billy Wilder | (written by) & | |
| D.M. Marshman Jr. | (written by) | |
Produced by | |||
| Charles Brackett | .... | producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Franz Waxman | (music score) | ||
Cinematography by | |||
| John F. Seitz | (director of photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Arthur P. Schmidt | (as Arthur Schmidt) | ||
Art Direction by | |||
| Hans Dreier | |||
| John Meehan | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Sam Comer | |||
| Ray Moyer | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Edith Head | (costumes) | ||
Makeup Department | |||
| Wally Westmore | .... | makeup supervisor | |
| Nellie Manley | .... | hair (uncredited) | |
| Karl Silvera | .... | makeup artist (uncredited) | |
| Frank Thayer | .... | makeup artist (uncredited) | |
| Vera Tomei | .... | hair (uncredited) | |
Production Management | |||
| Hugh Brown | .... | production manager (uncredited) | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Charles C. Coleman | .... | assistant director (as C.C. Coleman Jr.) | |
| Gerd Oswald | .... | second assistant director (uncredited) | |
Art Department | |||
| Steve Beers | .... | head carpenter (uncredited) | |
| Jack Colconda | .... | props assistant (uncredited) | |
| Gene Lauritzen | .... | construction coordinator (uncredited) | |
| Tom Plews | .... | props (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| John Cope | .... | sound recordist | |
| Harry Lindgren | .... | sound recordist | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Gordon Jennings | .... | special photographic effects | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Farciot Edouart | .... | process photography | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Otto Pierce | .... | camera operator (uncredited) | |
| Glen E. Richardson | .... | still photographer (uncredited) | |
| Harlow Stengel | .... | camera assistant (uncredited) | |
| Walter Tayler | .... | gaffer (uncredited) | |
| Fred True | .... | grip (uncredited) | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Ed Fitzharris | .... | wardrobe (uncredited) | |
| Hazel Hegarty | .... | wardrobe (uncredited) | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Doane Harrison | .... | editorial supervision | |
| Frank Bracht | .... | assistant editor (uncredited) | |
Other crew | |||
| Lupe Hall | .... | script clerk (uncredited) | |
| Ronnie Lubin | .... | dialogue coach (uncredited) | |
| Norris Stensland | .... | technical advisor (uncredited) | |
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| The Bad and the Beautiful | Valentino | The Day of the Locust | A Star Is Born | Sullivan's Travels |
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This is such a great film on so many levels I can't really settle on where to begin. It is so beautifully shot (in that stark black/white that only nitrate negative could achieve), has a witty, clever and extremely well-written script, features some of the best acting in film's history, acrobatically balances the main plot/subplots with expert precision, contains some of the best characters on celluloid, has many true-to-life parallels (Swanson's career/real life cameos/DeMille's involvement/etc) and is peppered with such great dialogue/narration that today's film writers should take note. If that weren't enough, there's even a cameo by silent film great Buster Keaton (among others).
One of the most appealing aspects of this film is how, in the story, an aging, forgotten star is trying to recapture a bygone era (the silent film era). What's interesting is that now, so many years later, we're looking back at her looking back. To present day viewers, Gloria Swanson of the 1950's is a long forgotten lost gem and to experience her own longing for the 1920's is especially captivating (and a little chilling, I might add). I don't think this film could have had that same effect when it debuted and maybe this added dimension holds so much more appeal for today's audiences. We all know that nothing lasts forever, but we don't often consider the abandoned participants; much like the veterans of a past war.
In response to the famous Swanson line (while watching one of her silent films): "...we didn't need dialogue; we had faces", I'd like to also add that they "didn't need movies; they had films."
They truly don't make them like this anymore. 10/10