As it is so often with legendary movies, the legends around have grown bigger and bigger with the time. The stories about the decline of Mary Pickford, Mae West and Pola Negri to play the part of Norma Desmond, the mysterious beginning of the movie, that, after a disastrous preview, was cut and vanished forever (rumours have it, that Billy Wilder himself had a copy of it, but refused to screen it because the experience was too painful for him). But besides all that, what remains is easily Wilders best movie, the best satire about Hollywood and one of the best movies of all times.<br /><br />For those few unhappy people, who haven't seen the movie (it's hard to believe, but I'm sure there are some) I'll give a short summary: Joe Gillis (William Holden) is a penniless screen script writer who meets by accident Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), a former silent movie star, who refuses to accept, that her career is over. She's supported by her faithful servant Max (Erich von Stroheim), who shares some secrets with his mistress. Joe, desperate for money, agrees to edit Normas script for her triumphal return to the screen. Soon she wants him to be more. He reluctantly becomes her lover, though he's in love with Betty Schaefer (Nancy Olsen), also a screenwriter. Though he thinks, he uses Norma, it's easy to see that in fact it's she, who uses him for her purposes.<br /><br />Wilder demonstrates, what a good director and writer he is, he never goes for a cheap effect, but always serves the script. Never before and never again someone achieved such a sharp and cynical portrait of Hollywood. No wonder Louis B. Mayer went wild, when he saw the film.<br /><br />The four principal players were all at the peak of their careers with this movie, they've never been better in anything else they did. Nancy Olsen gives a strong performance in a rather small part and Erich von Stroheim is chilling and disturbing as Max. Holden is perfectly cast as the cynical and weary man, who tries everything to have success. It's hard to imagine, that Montgomery Clift really left 2 weeks before shooting, because he didn't wanted to be seen as the lover of an elder woman.<br /><br />But this is Swansons show, she keeps the small balance between madness and a sane mind until the end, when she finally slips into madness. Her performance is one of the most amazing, multi-layered and carefully acted ever performed on screen. There are simply not enough words to explain, how good she is.<br /><br />I know, there still serious discussions whether Judy Holiday really deserved the Oscar, or if Swanson wouldn't have lost to Bette Davis performance in "All about Eve" anyway. These discussion are dispensable, the three performances are so diverse, that it's hard to compare them. For me it only shows, how unnecessary awards are, because often enough highly qualified actors and actresses are overlooked. Much more important for me are the results: We still watch the movies, if it's "Born Yesterday", "All about Eve" or "Sunset Boulevard", we still enjoy them and still are enchanted by the performances.