Daily Dialogue — January 29, 2018

“There’s nothing else. Just us. And the cameras. And those wonderful people out there in the dark.”

— Sunset Blvd. (1950), written by Charles Brackett & Billy Wilder & D.M. Marshman Jr.

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Whisper.

Trivia: Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett’s 17th and final screenplay collaboration. After the completion of “Sunset Boulevard,” Wilder shocked his longtime collaborator by announcing that he wished to dissolve their partnership; this was the result of a fierce quarrel over a montage scene in the film. The two men never worked together again.

Dialogue On Dialogue: This is a great example of how a character using a whisper can add an extra dimension of drama to a scene. Surrounded by people in an already tense situation, Norma Desmond, played wonderfully by former silent film star Gloria Swanson, works the crowd by bringing the volume down low, forcing EVERYONE to pay attention to her every word.