Boulevard! A Hollywood Story

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

The movie Sunset Boulevard is iconic as part of its focus is on Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), an actress past her prime that dreams of reclaiming her glory days, even if only in her own mind. Yet before Andrew Lloyd Webber could get his hands on the story and adapt the movie into a musical, Gloria Swanson had commissioned a musical with two unknown writers: Dickson Hughes and Richard Stapley. Boulevard! A Hollywood Story focuses on Swanson, Hughes and Stapley during the creation of this musical—and how much life seems to imitate art.

When Director Jeffrey Schwarz had caught wind of a potential musical version of Sunset Boulevard, what he did not anticipate was the sordid history behind the creation of the musical that never quite made it to stage. Taking a pilgrimage to the University of Texas in Austin and meeting with Harry Ransom Center curator Steve Wilson, Schwarz starts to comb through the collection that Swanson gave to the university in 1980. Delving deep into the collection, it was discovered that Gloria Swanson had commissioned Dickson Hughes and Richard Stapley to write this great musical. Swanson wanted to use the upcoming musical to remain in the spotlight and, in today’s term, relevant.

While Swanson seemed to be the embodiment of her character Norma Desmond (minus the psychosis), she was able to collaborate with actor/heartthrob Richard Stapley and skilled pianist Dickson Hughes to bring her idea to life—who aside from being a writing team happened to also be a couple. Unfortunately, during their time together trying to get Boulevard off the ground the relationship between Stapley and Hughes began to deteriorate. Add in Paramount not granting the rights to the musical and Swanson feeling rejected, as she herself made a pass at Stapley, Boulevard was shelved.

Even though Boulevard! A Hollywood Story mainly focuses on the idea of an untold musical version of Sunset Boulevard, the story between Swanson, Stapley and Hughes is the most intriguing part of all. The romantic relationship between Richard Stapley and Dickson Hughes was very taboo during the 1950’s and something that, to his death in 2010, Stapley refused to talk about publicly. Watching the documentary I did wonder whether or not their involvement with Swanson influenced the eventual breakup or was Stapley’s dissatisfaction with his career enough to sow the seeds of discourse. Their fallout was monumental, but when Stapley and Hughes did reconcile they managed to stay in one another’s lives until Hughes passed away in 2005. Swanson’s drive and passion to rise to the top was also a prevalent topic. When film didn’t work, she would keep pushing towards the next big thing to keep her name in the spotlight. From clothing and cosmetics lines, filmmaking, dabbling in theater to eventually hosting her own show, Swanson embodied the definition of a hustler—especially until her passing in 1983.

Schwarz tells us the quintessential Hollywood tale in Boulevard! A Hollywood Story. You could not have picked a more “Odd Couple”–esque group to write a musical for Sunset Boulevard, but they worked—until they didn’t. The lines between the story and reality may have blurred at times, but all three were searching were one important thing: to be remembered. And within this documentary, they were granted just that.