Analyzing Phil Hardy's Notion of Over/Underworlds and the Femme Fatale with Regards to Billy Wilder's Sunset Blvd.

by Derek P. Rucas

In Phil Hardy’s article "Crime Movies" he outlines different aspects of the film noir genre that coincide with Billy Wilder’s Sunset Blvd. (1950).  Film noir is a genre that originated in the late 1930s and was popularized throughout the 1940s in the form of “gangster films”.  During the war years in Hollywood, films that were created were representative of the common ideologies for that era.  Since the men were protecting their country during the war and the women were staying at home, Hollywood justified this ideology by glamourizing male roles, suggesting that it was important to keep the threads of North American society intact.  This ideology was mirrored in gangster films.

Gangster films portrayed the male character as a highly energetic and heroic figure that although central to the picture in terms of stardom, also encountered rise and fall scenarios.  The high energy of gangster films was respectively paralleled in the films themselves.  They would usually manifest into gunfights, car chases and elaborate fight sequences.  The high energy of the protagonist would lead to a social climbing in the contextual setting making for an optimistic figure.  However, optimism was never enough for the male heroes in these films.  With every rise the male protagonist undertook, came an equally important fall when the energy levels diffuse.

Although slightly different in the approach of characterization, one thing the gangster films of the 1930s and 1940s had in common with 1950s film noir was the underlying notion of underworlds and overworlds created within fictitious Hollywood stories.  As Hardy states in his article, underworlds (represented by deviant or disillusioned characters) come into close contrast with and/or usually collide with the overworld (represented by authority figures, or the rest of society). (Hardy 304)

An obvious change from gangster films to film noir was the role of women; once passive and repressed was now dominant, sexual and manipulative.  The misogynistic image was no longer acceptable—presumably since 1950s America was no longer a “man’s world”—at least not theoretically.  In the 1940s, women had proved themselves in the workforce by taking over male positions allowing the female role in North American society to thrive.  In the 1950s, more women left the home to join the workforce in an attempt to gain a higher household income for her family.  Mothers and wives did this because it was possible.

Since American ideology changed, so did popular cinema and the film noir genre.  Instead of portraying women in repressive roles common to gangster films a decade earlier, women were depicted as intelligent, dangerous and alluring giving them the role coined as the “femme fatale”. 

Hardy explains that these film noirs differed with respect to energy flow.  In contrast to the highly energetic flow of the preceding gangster films, film noirs adapted to a lower, less powerful source of energy (depicted by the newfound, dominant female identity).  Moreover, when high energy is displayed in film noirs, it is usually observed during flashback sequences, both a common staple of the gangster film and the film noir genre. (Hardy 309)

While the woman is depicted as the heroine/protagonist, the formal highly energetic male role is humbled by her overt dominance.  Hardy states that the roles of seducer/seducee have changed.  It is the femme fatale who preys on the innocence of man to get what she wants. (Hardy 306)

The role of the femme fatale and the repressed male are clearly produced in Billy Wilder’s Sunset Blvd.  This film starts off with a flashback sequence.  We hear the story of Joe Gillis, our narrator and protagonist.  His car is on the verge of being possessed because he cannot pay his bills.  This first sequence is one of the many that depict Gillis as a needy man.  His car symbolizes his manhood and the threat of its possession entails for Gillis to do something about it.

At this point, Gillis finds Norma Desmond’s driveway, or what Hardy would consider the entrance to the underworld.  After Gillis hides his car in Desmond’s driveway he enters her home, a sanctuary of self-admiration for Desmond, and Gillis’ official crossover.  When Desmond realizes that Gillis is a writer and that she can use him to her advantage, this is when the alluring empowered role of the femme fatale is evident.

Hardy quotes sociologists Edhol, Harris and Young by stating, “…the emerging contradiction between the sex/gender system and the sexual division of labour ‘provided a potential for struggle and questioning, for sexual hostility and antagonism’”. (Hardy 306)  Gillis ends up being the product of Desmond’s obsession.  She treats him like a little lap dog that never leaves her side.  In the sequence where Desmond and Gillis sit in front of Desmond’s home movie theatre, she initiates flirtation.  The role of the femme fatale is pursing her interest in Gillis while obviously evoking his frustration.  Later on in the sequence, Desmond stands upright with her hand high in the air while the light from the screen projector flickers onto her face.  She says, “I’ll be up there again, so help me.”  The dominating role of the femme fatale is once again expressed.  It is exemplified with the use of high and low character levels, the use of lighting and by Desmond’s determined booming voice.

Although Gillis is now consumed into Norma Desmond’s underworld, he is not exclusively subjected to it.  There are several times when he crosses over, nevertheless always managing to find himself returning to Sunset Blvd.  The lockless doors symbolize this.  Wilder enables the repressed male to exit the underworld and enter the overworld as he pleases.  It is an easy transition that we see throughout the second half of the film.  Gillis is never physically restrained from leaving Desmond’s home.  On many occasions we see tensionless crossovers into these opposite worlds.

An example of this is when Gillis leaves Desmond’s home to go to the New Year’s Eve party.  He sees Betty Schaeffer, the woman who turned down his script idea for Bases Loaded at the beginning of the film.  The party is exuberant, symbolizing lush qualities of overworld indulgence.  This is one of the first times in the film that Gillis’ onscreen presence is tensionless.  He asks Artie if he can lodge with him for a night and Artie complies.  When he phones Desmond’s home, Max explains that the doctor is there and that Desmond is not feeling well.  Gillis leaves the overworld and is whisked back to the repressive confines of the underworld on Sunset Blvd.

In a later sequence, Desmond is the one who emerges from the underworld and crosses to the overworld.  She is chauffeured by Max and has Gillis riding in the backseat beside her.  As Desmond enters the gates of the Paramount parking lot, the visual is a clear metaphor that represents her tensionless transition between worlds.  We see Desmond sitting in one of the studios talking to a director that she once used to work with during the silent film era.  He reassures her that they will collaborate on her project, however, it is clear that the only reason the director calls Desmond to the studio is to enquire about renting her luxurious antique car.  Desmond leaves Paramount studios, once again submerging into the underworld.

The lockless doors present pertinence once again in the sequence when Schaefer travels to Sunset Blvd. to see Gillis.  This presents a crossover in the opposite direction.  In this instance, Schaefer crosses over from the overworld to unfamiliar underworld setting.  Max lets her in the door.  The dominance and bravery is now manifested in another female character.  She crosses worlds in order to save Gillis from the possessive clutches of the femme fatale.  Nevertheless, Gillis rejects her attempt to be with him.  He says that Artie and herself are meant to be together, thus meaning that any sexual tension acknowledged needs to be left untouched.

The role of the dominant femme fatale and the clear dichotomies of the over/under relationships are themes that Billy Wilder has manipulated into Sunset Blvd.  He represents these trademarks by depicting female roles as strong, forceful and manipulative, while portraying the male role (namely Joe Gillis’) as repressive and passive.  Wilder also highlights the symbol of the lockless doors in the Desmond mansion by depicting them as a distinguishable element to permit undisturbed crossover of the opposite worlds.  Phil Hardy’s article sums up the concepts of the over/under phenomena and also the role of the femme fatale, regarding the popularized film noir genre of the 1950s.

Bibliographic Information

Rucas, Derek P. "Analyzing Phil Hardy's Notion of Over/Underworlds and the Femme Fatale with Regards to Billy Wilder's Sunset Blvd." Film Articles and Critiques. 11 Feb. 2003 <http://www.angelfire.com/film/articles/overunder.htm>.

transcribed by Derek P. Rucas