Sunset Boulevard

“I am big! It's the pictures that got small.”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Norma Desmond, Gloria Swanson, imdb.com

“All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up.”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Norma Desmond, Gloria Swanson, imdb.com

“You don't yell at a sleepwalker—he may fall and break his neck. That's it: She was still sleepwalking along the giddy heights of a lost career.”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Joe Gillis, William Holden, imdb.com

“Betty Schaefer: Don't you sometimes hate yourself? Joe Gillis: Constantly.”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Joe Gillis, William Holden, imdb.com

“The whole place seemed to have been stricken with a kind of creeping paralysis—out of beat with the rest of the world, crumbling apart in slow motion.”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Joe Gillis, William Holden, imdb.com

“Betty Schaefer: I've been hoping to run into you. Joe Gillis: What for? To recover that knife you stuck in my back?”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Joe Gillis, William Holden, imdb.com

“The poor dope—he always wanted a pool. Well, in the end, he got himself a pool.”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Joe Gillis, William Holden, imdb.com

“[Joe is reading Norma's script] Sometimes it's interesting to see just how bad—bad writing can be. This promised to go the limit.”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Joe Gillis, William Holden, imdb.com

“So they were turning after all, those cameras. Life, which can be strangely merciful, had taken pity on Norma Desmond. The dream she had clung to so desperately had enfolded her.”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Joe Gillis, William Holden, imdb.com

“Joe Gillis: [Norma threatens suicide again] Oh, wake up, Norma, you'd be killing yourself to an empty house. The audience left twenty years ago. Now, face it. Norma Desmond: That's a lie! They still want me!”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Norma Desmond, Gloria Swanson, imdb.com

“Well, this is where you came in, back at that pool again, the one I always wanted. It's dawn now and they must have photographed me a thousand times. Then they got a couple of pruning hooks from the garden and fished me out... ever so gently. Funny, how gentle people get with you once you're dead.”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Joe Gillis, William Holden, imdb.com

“Audiences don't know somebody sits down and writes a picture; they think the actors make it up as they go along.”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Joe Gillis, William Holden, imdb.com

“There once was a time in this business when I had the eyes of the whole world! But that wasn't good enough for them, oh no! They had to have the ears of the whole world too. So they opened their big mouths and out came talk. Talk! TALK!”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Norma Desmond, Gloria Swanson, imdb.com

“Joe Gillis: Wait a minute, haven't I seen you before? I know your face. Norma Desmond: Get out! Or, shall I call my servant? Joe Gillis: You're Norma Desmond. You used to be in silent pictures. You used to be big. Norma Desmond: I am big. It's the pictures that got small.”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Norma Desmond, Gloria Swanson, imdb.com

“Norma Desmond: You heard him. I'm a star. Joe Gillis: Norma, you're a woman of 50, now grow up. There's nothing tragic about being 50, not unless you try to be 25. Norma Desmond: The greatest star of them all.”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Norma Desmond, Gloria Swanson, imdb.com

“Joe Gillis: I didn't know you were planning a comeback. Norma Desmond: I hate that word. It's a return, a return to the millions of people who have never forgiven me for deserting the screen.”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Norma Desmond, Gloria Swanson, imdb.com

“And I promise you I'll never desert you again because after Salome we'll make another picture and another picture. You see, this is my life! It always will be! Nothing else! Just us, and the cameras, and those wonderful people out there in the dark!... All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-…”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Norma Desmond, Gloria Swanson, imdb.com

“We didn't need dialogue. We had faces!”

— Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr., Norma Desmond, Gloria Swanson, imdb.com

“This is New Year's Eve. How about living it up a little?”

— Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, D.M. Marshman Jr., Joe Gillis, William Holden, amazon.com