were some place terribly
gay. I was dancing on the table De Mille A lot of people were. Lindbergh
had just landed. Norma You read the script, of course, De Mille Well, yes....
Norma Now, I know how busy you are during shooting, But I really think
you could have picked up the phone yourself, Instead of leaving it to some
assistant. De Mille I don't know what you mean, Norma. Norma Yes, you do.
De Mille Come on in
As If We Never Said Goodbye
Voice Miss Desmond?
Hey, Miss Desmond! Up here, Miss Desmond; it's hog-eye! Norma Hog-eye!
Well, hello! Hog-eye Let's get a look at you Norma I don't know why I'm
frightened I know my way around here The cardboard trees, the painted sea,
the sound here Yes, a world to rediscover But I'm not in any hurry, and
I need a moment. The whispered conversations in overcrowded hallways The
atmosphere as thrilling here as always Feel, the early morning madness
Feel, the magic in the making Why, everything's as if we never said goodbye
I've spent so many morning just trying to resist you I'm trembling now
you can't know how I've missed you Miss the fairy tale adventures In the
ever-spinning playground we were young together I'm coming out of make-up
The lights already burning Not long until the camera will start turning
And the early morning madness And the magic in the making Yes, everything's
as if we never said goodbye I don't want to be alone that's all in the
past This world's waited long enough I've come home at last And this time
will be bigger and brighter than we knew it So watch me fly we all know
I can do it Could I stop my hands from shaking? Has there ever been a moment
with so much to live for? The whispered conversations in overcrowded hallways
So much to say not just today but always We'll have early morning madness
We'll have magic in the making Yes, everything's as if we never said goodbye
Yes, everything's as if we never said goodbye We taught the world new ways
to dream
Paramount Conversations / Surrender
Betty Well,
hello, Mr. Gillis, where have you been keeping yourself? Joe Someone's
been doing it for me Betty And meanwhile "Blind Windows" is stuck on the
shelf. You said we'd work together Joe New Year's crisis, what can I say?
Betty Always full of excuses Joe Promise I will call you later today Betty
You said that last time Joe Look Betty, I won't let you down Betty I guess
I'll just have to trust you Sheldrake You're Miss Desmond's German Shepherd?
I'm the one who's been calling. The name is Sheldrake. A couple of weeks
ago, I was looking out of my office window, I saw you drive onto the lot,
and I said, that's exactly the car I've been lookingfor, great for my new
Crosby picture. So, I made a few inquiries, I've just been calling you
for two weeks. Doesn't she ever pick up the phone? You know, outside a
museum, You don't see that kind of quality anymore. We're willing to pay,
At least a hundred dollars a week.... Max It's outrageous, you insult her,
How can you be so cruel? I forbid you to approach her Sheldrake You're
insane Max Go away, go away! Norma Did you see how they all came crowding
around? They still love me and soon we'll be breaking new ground Brave
pioneers. De Mille Those were the days Norma Just like before De Mille
We had such fun Norma We gave the world new ways to dream Both We always
found new ways to dream De Mille Let's have a good long talk one day Norma
The old team will be back in business De Mille Sorry, my next shot's ready
Max Mr. Gillis.... Joe What's the matter, Max? Max I just found out the
reason for those phone calls from Paramount. It's not Madame they want.
It's her car. Joe Oh my God Norma Now, you remember, don't you? I don't
work before 10 Or after 4.30 in the afternoon De Mille It isn't entirely
my decision, Norma. New York must be consulted Norma That's fine. Ask any
exhibitor in the country. I'm not forgotten. De Mille Of course you're
not Goodbye, young fellow. We'll see what we can do. Norma I'm not worried.
It's so wonderful to be back. Betty Was that really Norma Desmond? De Mille
It was Heather She must be a million years old De Mille I hate to think
where that puts me. I could be her father. Heather Oh , I'm sorry, Mr.
De Mille De Mille If you could have seen her at seventeen When all of her
dreams were new Beautiful and strong, before it all went wrong She's never
known the meaning of surrender. Never known the meaning of surrender.
Girl Meets Boy (Reprise)
Joe How about they don't know each other He
works the night shift and she takes classes all day? Here's the thing,
they oth share the same room, Sleep in the same bed, it work out cheaper
that way. Betty I've feeling you're just kidding But to me it sounds believable
Makes a better opening than that car chase scene; Girl meets boy, borrowing
her toothbrush Or oversleeping or at her sewing-machine Joe You know, it's
not bad, there are some real possibilities Betty Who's Norma? Joe Who's
who? Betty Sorry, I don't usually read private cigarette cases. Joe Norma's
a friend of mine; middle-aged lady, Very foolish, very generous Betty I'll
say; this is solid gold "Mad about the boy" Joe So how's Artie? Betty Stuck
in Tennessee. It rains all the time, they're weeks behind. No one know
when they'll be back Joe Good Betty What's good about it? I'm missing him
something fierce. Joe No, I mean this idea we had. It's really pretty good
Back to work Betty What if he's a teacher? Joe Where does that get us?
Don't see what good it would do Betty No, it's great, if they do the same
job Joe So much in common, they fall in love, wouldn't you? Betty Yes,
but if he's just a teacher, We lose those scenes in the factory Joe Not
if he's a champion for the working man, Girl likes boy, she respect his
talent Betty Working with someone can turn you into a fan Joe This is fun,
writing with a partner Betty Yes, and it could be... Joe A helluva movie
Betty Can we really do this? Both I know that we can!
Eternal Youth Is Worth a Little Suffering
Astrologer I don't think you should shoot before July 15th. Right now is
a perilous time for Pisces If you wait 'till Venus is in Capricorn You'll
avoid a catalogue of crises Masseur 1 I need three more weeks to get these
thighs in shape No more carbohydrates, don't be naughty Masseur 2 We'll
soon have you skipping like an ingenue You won't look a day over forty
Beautician 1 We have dry heat, we have steam Beautician 2 We have moisturizing
cream Beautician 3 We have mud-packs. we have blood sacks. Beautician 2
It's a rigorous regime All Not a wrinkle when you twinkle Or a wobble when
you walk Beautician 3 Of course, there bound to be a little suffering All
Eternal youth is worth a little suffering Analyst Listen to your superego
not your id Age is just another damn neurosis I'll have you regressing
back to infancy And back into the womb under hypnosis Doctor I inject the
tissue of the fatal lamb The formula's the one Somerset Maugham owns Just
a modest course of thirty-seven shots And you will be a heaving mass of
hormones All No more crow's feet, no more flab No more love handles to
grab You'll be so thin they'll all think you are Walking sideways like
a crab Nothing sagging, nothing bagging Nothing dragging on the floor Of
course, there bound to be a little suffering Eternal youth is worth a little
suffering Of course, there bound to be a little suffering Eternal youth
is worth a little suffering Of course, there bound to be a little suffering.....
Who's Betty Schaeffer?
Norma Is this what you're looking for, by any
chance? Joe Why, yes. Norma Whose phone number is this? I've been worried
about the line of my throat. I think this woman has done wonders with it.
Joe Good Norma And I have lost half a pound since Tuesday Joe Very good
Norma Now it's after nine, I'd better get to bed Joe You had Norma Are
you coming up? Joe I think I'll read a while longer Norma You went out
last night, didn't you, Joe? Joe I went for a walk Norma You took the car
Joe I drove to the beach Norma Who's Betty Schaeffer? Joe Surely, you don't
want me to feel as if I'm a prisoner in this house? Norma You don't understand
Joe, I'm under a terrible strain. It's been so hard I even got myself a
revolver. The only thing that stopped me from killing myself Was the thought
of all those people Waiting to see me back on the screen. How could I disappoint
them? All I ask is a little patience, a little understanding. Joe Norma,
there's nothing to worry about, I haven't done anything Norma Of course
you haven't, Good night, my darling Joe I should have stayed there, poor
Norma, So desperate to be ready for what would never happen But Betty would
be waiting, We had a script to finish one unexpected love scene Two people,
both risking a kind of happy ending.
Betty Office At the Paramount
Betty T-H-E-E-N-D-!
I can't believe it, I've finished my first script! Joe Oh, stop it, you're
making me feel old. Betty It's exciting, though, isn't it? Joe How own
are you, anyway? Betty Twenty-two Joe Smart girl Betty Shouldn't we open
some champagne? Joe Well, the best I can offer is a stroll To the water
cooler at the end of the lot Betty Sounds good to me, I love the back lot
here. It's all cardboard, all hollow, all phony, all done with mirrors.
I think I love it more than any street in the world. I spent my childhood
here. Joe What were you, a child actress? Betty But my family always expected
me to become a great star. I had ten years of dramatic lessons, diction,
dancing, Everything you can think of; And then the studio made a test.
Joe This is the saddest story I ever heard Betty Not at all. Come on, I
was born two blocks from here. My father was head electrician at the studio
until he died. My mother still work in wardrobe. Joe Second generation,
uh? Betty Third. Grandma did stunt work for Pearl White Joe I guess it's
exciting, at that, finishing a script. Betty What? Joe Are you all right?
Betty Sure Joe Something's the matter, isn't it?
Too Much In Love To Care
Betty I had a telegram from
Artie Joe Is something wrong? Betty He wnats me to come out to Tennessee.
He says it would only cost two dollars to get married in Clinch. Joe Well,
what's stopping you, now that we've finished the script... Hey. why are
you crying? You're getting married, isn't that what you wanted? Betty Not
any more Joe Don't you love Artie? Betty Of course I do. I'm just not in
love with him any more, that's all. Joe Why not? What happened? Betty You
did. When I was a kid I played on this street, I always loved illusion,
I thought make-believe was truer than life, But now it's all confusion
Please, can you tell me what's happening? I just don't know any more. If
this real, how should I feel? What should I look for? Joe If you were smart,
you would keep on walking Out of my life as fast as you can I'm not the
one you should pin your hope on You're falling for the wrong kind of man
This is crazy, you know you should call it a day. Sound advice, great advice,
let's throw it away. I can't control all the things I'm feeling I haven't
got a prayer if I'm a fool, Well, I'm too much in love to care I knew where
I was, I'd given up hope, Made friend with disillusion No one in my life,
but I look at you, And now it's all confusion Betty Please, can you tell
me what's happening? I just don't know any more. If this real, how should
I feel? What should I look for? I thought I had everything I needed My
life was set, my dreams were in place My heart could see way into the future
All of that goes when I see your face I should hate you, there I was, the
world in my hand Can one kiss kiss away everything I planned? I can't control
all the things I'm feeling I'm floating in mid-air I know it's wrong, but
I'm too much in love to care Both I thought I had everything I needed My
life was set, my dreams were in place My heart could see way into the future
All of that goes when I see your face This is crazy, you know we should
call it a day. Joe Sound advice, Betty Great advice, Both Let's throw it
away. I can't control all the things I'm feeling We're floating in mid-air
If we are fools, well, we're too much in love to care If we are fools,
well, we're too much in love to care! Joe What's the matter there, Max,?
You waiting to wash the car? Max Please be careful when you cross the patio.
Madame may be watching Joe Suppose I tiptoe up to the back stairs And get
undressd in the dark, will that do it? Max It's just that I am greatly
worried about Madame Joe Well, we're not helping any, feeding her lies,
more lies. What happens when she find out They're not going to make her
picture? Max She never will. That is my job. I made her a star and I will
never let her be destroyed. Joe You made her a star? Max I directed all
her early pictures. In those days there were three young directors- Who
showed promises; D.W.Griffith, Cecil B. De Mille and- Joe Max Von Mayerling
Max That's right
New Ways To Dream (Reprise)
Max When we met she was
a child, barely sixteen Awkward and yet she had an air I'd never seen I
knew I'd found my perfect face Deep in her eyes, new ways to dream And
we inspired new ways to dream Talkies came, I stayed with her. Look up
this life, threw away fame. Please understand, she was my wife. We had
achieved far more than most We gave the world new ways to dream Everyone
needs new ways to dream Joe Are you saying you were married to her? Max
I was the first husband So I play this game, keeper of the fame Sharing
with her one last dream Didn't you think I knew, It never could come true?
She'll be the very last one to surrender I will not allow her to surrender.
The Phone Call
Norma Hello, is this Gladstone 9281? Miss Schaeffer?
...Hello, Miss Schaeffer, you must forgive me for calling so late, But
I really feel it's my duty. It's about Mr. Gillis... You do know a Mr.
Gillis? Well, exactly how much do you know about him? Do you know where
he lives? Do you know what he lives on? I want to spare you a lot of sadness.
I don't know what he's told you But I can guarantee you he doesn't live
with mother Or what you'd call a roommate, He's just a...I can't say it.
Poor Betty, you ask him, I'd love to hear his answer....Joe Joe That's
right, Betty, why don't you ask me? Norma Don't Joe ...Or better yet, come
over and see for yourself. Yes, right now. The address is ten thousand
eighty-six, Sunset Boulevard Norma Don't hate me, Joe, I did it because
I need you. Look at me. Look at my hands. Look at my face. Look under my
eyes. How can I go back to work if I'm wasting away? No! Don't stand there
hating me, Joe, Shout at me, strike me, but say you don't hate me...Joe,
Joe.
The Final Scene
Joe Come on in Betty What's going on, Joe? Why
am I so scared? What was that woman saying? She sounds so weird, I don't
understand... Please, can you tell me what's happening? You said you loved
me tonight Shall I just go? Say something, Joe. Joe Have some pink champagne
and caviar, When you go visit with a star the hospitality is stellar Betty
So this is where you're living? Joe Yes, It's quite a place, Sleeps seventeen,
Eight sunken tubs A movie screen, A bowling alley in the cellar. Betty
I didn't come to see the house, Joe. Joe Sunset Boulevard, Cruise the Boulevard,
Win yourself a Hollywood palazzo Sunset Boulevard, mythic Boulevard Valentino
danced on that terrazzo Betty Who's it belong to? Joe Just look around
you Betty That's Norma Desmond Joe Right on the money that's Norma Desmond
That's Norma Desmond That's Norma Desmond That's Norma Desmond.... Betty
Why did she call me? Joe Give you three guesses, It's the oldest story
in the book Come see the taker being took The world is full of Joes and
Normas Older woman, very well-to-do Meet younger man, the standard cue
For two mechanical performers Betty Just pack your things and let's go
Joe You mean all my things? Have you gone mad? Leave all these things I've
never had? Leave this luxuarious existence? You want me to face that one-room
hell That murphy bed, that rancid smell Go back to living on subsistence?
It's no time to begin a new life Now I've finally made a perfect landing
I'm afraid there's no room for a wife Not unless she's uniquely understanding
You should go back to Artie and marry the fool And you'll always be welcome
to swim in my pool Betty I can't look at you any more, Joe. Norma Thank
you, thank you, Joe, Thank you....thank you What are you doing, Joe? You're
not leaving me? Joe Yes, I am, Norma Norma You can't! Max! Joe It's been
a bundle of laughs And thanks for the use of the trinkets A little ritzy
for the copy desk back in Dayton And there's something you ought to know.
I want to do you this favor, They'll never shoot that hopeless script of
yours, They only wanted your car. Norma That's a lie! They still want me!
What about all my fan-mails? Joe It's Max who writes you letters Your audience
has vanished They left when you weren't looking Nothing's wrong with being
fifty Unless you're acting twenty Norma I am the greatest star of them
all Joe Goodbye, Norma Norma No one ever leaves a star. Reporter And as
dawn breaks over the murder house, Norma Desmond, famed star of yesteryear,
Is in a state of completely mental shock Norma This was dawn, I don't know
why I'm frightened Silent music starts to play Happy New Year, darling
If you're with me, next year will be...next year will be.. They bring in
his head on a silver tray She kisses his mouth...she kisses his mouth...
Mad about the boy! They'll say Norma's back at last! Max Madame, the cameras
have arrived Norma Max, where am I? Max This is the staircase of the palace
And they're waiting for your dance Norma Of course, now I remember; I was
so frightened I might fall... Max You're the greatest star of all! Light!
Camera! Action! Norma When he scorn me I knew he'd have to die Let me kiss
his severed head Compromise or death, he fought to his last breath He never
had it in him to surrender Just like me, he never could surrender I can't
go on with the scene; I'm too happy. May I say a few words, Mr. De Mille?
I can't tell you how wonderful it is To be back in the studio making the
picture. I promise you I'll never desert you again. This is my life. It's
always will be. There's nothing else. Just us and the cameras And all you
wonderful people out there in the dark. And now, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready
for my close-up This time I'm staying, I'm staying for good I'll be back
where I was born to be With one look, I'll be me.
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