<P> Wilder and Brackett, nervous about a major screening in Hollywood, held a preview in Evanston, Illinois, in late 1949 . The original edit opened with a scene inside a morgue, with the assembled corpses discussing how they came to be there . The story began with the corpse of Joe Gillis recounting his murder to the others . The audience reacted with laughter and seemed unsure whether to view the rest of the film as drama or comedy . After a similar reaction during its second screening in Poughkeepsie, New York, and a third in Great Neck, the morgue opening was replaced by a shorter poolside opening, using footage filmed on January 5, 1950 . </P> <P> In Hollywood, Paramount arranged a private screening for the various studio heads and specially invited guests . After viewing the film, Barbara Stanwyck knelt to kiss the hem of Gloria Swanson's skirt . Swanson later remembered looking for Mary Pickford, only to be told, "She can't show herself, Gloria . She's too overcome . We all are ." Louis B. Mayer berated Wilder before the crowd of celebrities, saying, "You have disgraced the industry that made and fed you! You should be tarred and feathered and run out of Hollywood!" Upon hearing of Mayer's slight, Wilder strode up to the mogul and retorted with a vulgarity that one biographer said was allegedly because Mayer, who was Jewish, suggested that Wilder, who was also Jewish, would be better off being sent back to Germany, an extraordinary sentiment so soon after the war and the Holocaust, in which Wilder's family perished . The few other criticisms were not so venomous . According to one often - told but recently discredited anecdote, actress Mae Murray, a contemporary of Swanson, was offended by the film and commented, "None of us floozies was that nuts ." The same quote, with the word "zonked" in place of "nuts," has also been attributed to actress - comedian Marion Davies . </P> <P> Sunset Boulevard had its official world premiere at Radio City Music Hall on August 10, 1950 . After a seven - week run, Variety magazine reported the film had grossed "around $1,020,000", making it one of that theater's most successful pictures . Variety also noted that, while it was "breaking records in major cities, it is doing below average in...the sticks ." To promote the film, Gloria Swanson traveled by train throughout the United States, visiting 33 cities in a few months . The publicity helped attract people to the cinemas, but in many provincial areas it was considered less than a hit . </P> <P> The film earned an estimated $2,350,000 at the U.S. box office in 1950 . </P>

Who said alright mr demille i ready for my close up