Set among the decaying ruins of Hollywood’s splendour days gone by, Sunset Boulevard film is a great place to start if you are new to the film-noir genre. It’s still quite a popular film, not surprisingly it has withstood the test of time. It’s a very dark film with just the right touch of black humour. Billy Wilder directed the film, Gloria Swanson who was a silent film actress stars along with William Holden. This was considered to be a breakthrough film for her male co-star who was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal and a comeback for Swanson.