Captivating beauty, multiple Oscar-nominations, marriages to film stars and
royalty, and a smoldering screen presence established Gloria Swanson as the
archetype of Hollywood stardom against which all who followed her have been
measured. Plucked from a crowd of extras for a featured role due to her
extraordinary beauty, Gloria Swanson rose to become the highest paid actress
of her day. However, it was Swanson's haunting portrayal of silent film
star Norma Desmond in "Sunset Boulevard" that secured her legacy as a
cinematic legend. "Sunset Boulevard" was named as one of the "100 Greatest
Movies" by the American Film Institute, and Swanson's final line in the
picture is etched indelibly into cinema history, "All right, Mr. DeMille.
I'm ready for my close-up."
In April, 2004, the Amsterdam Filmmuseum rediscovered a silent film classic,
"Beyond the Rocks," a timeless melodrama about an impossible love. The film
is the only pairing of Hollywood icons Gloria Swanson and Rudolph Valentino,
also a client of The Roger Richman Agency, Inc. After an extensive 75-year
search by film historians and archivists, all prints were presumed lost.
Discovered in the library of a private collector, the restored print will be
screened at the Amsterdam Filmmuseum Biennial in April 2005 with a new
score. Plans for additional screenings around the world and other
promotional opportunities are pending.
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