August 10, 1950 –
Billy Wilder’s caustic, black-hearted masterpiece, Sunset Boulevard opened in New York City, on this date.
The “Desmond mansion” was located not on Sunset Blvd. but at 641 S. Irving Blvd. on the corner of Crenshaw and Irving. It was built in 1924 by William Jenkins, at a cost of $250,000. Its second owner was Jean Paul Getty, who purchased it for his second wife. Mrs. Getty divorced her millionaire husband and received custody of the house; it was she who rented it to Paramount for the filming. The only addition was the swimming pool, which wasn’t equipped with a means of circulating the water so it was useless after filming. The pool was used in its empty condition in Rebel Without a Cause. The mansion was torn down in 1957, and a large office building for Getty Oil built on the site still stands on the spot.
The Haus of Dcaligari 