Sunset Boulevard Scene 3 Summary

  • Max shows Joe to his new digs above the garage. Somehow, he knew Joe would be staying the night before Joe even agreed to, and arranged the room accordingly. This is getting weird, guys. 
  • Before going to bed, he muses to himself on Norma's formerly massive celebrity. He looks at the grounds from the window and sees her old tennis courts and an empty pool with rats in it. He also sees the real undertaker and Norma and Max performing the monkey's funeral. 
  • After having a disturbing dream with a monkey dancing for pennies, Joe wakes up. He finds that Max has moved all of his things from his apartment into his room at the mansion, at Norma's orders.
  • Well, that was fast. Joe's angry, and discovers that Norma has paid the rent he owes at his apartment so he could stay and live at the mansion. 
  • Reluctantly, he agrees to stay. It's not like he's got any better ideas. He starts working on the script, and when he tries to cut a scene and throw it away, Norma angrily stops him, saying she wants that scene in so she can have more screen time. It's all about the screen time, baby.
  • Norma makes Joe watch movies with her—her own old movies, actually. She loves to look at the reminders of her glory days. She thinks silent stars (like herself) had better, more expressive faces. 
  • Norma plays bridge with a group of other former silent stars, nicknamed "The Waxworks," giving Joe a little of her winnings (the only cash money he gets). 
  • During one of the card games, the repo men arrive and finally repossess Joe's car. It's all good, Norma says—they can go for rides in her Isotta Fraschini, a super expensive luxury car. 
  • They polish up the car and take it out around Hollywood, with Max driving. At one point, Norma insists on buying better clothes for Joe at a fine store. 
  • When they go to the clothing store, the sales clerk makes a condescending comment about how, if Norma's paying, Joe should go head and get a more expensive coat.