the drought-stricken plains
Last one I wrote was about Okies in the Dust Bowl.Sunset Boulevard · 1950 — 第 5 / 19 章 · 4'14" · B2
Norma Makes Joe Read Salome, Explained：a pressing engagement
Norma Desmond has Joe read her Salome screenplay aloud, treating it as the comeback of a lifetime. Joe plays the admirer while his narration calls the writing 'tripe.' The scene is a two-way performance: she needs to be believed in, and he needs something from her.
あらすじ
At her mansion on Sunset Boulevard, the former silent star Norma Desmond has Joe Gillis read her enormous hand-written script of Salome, which she hopes DeMille will direct. Joe flatters it while privately calling it tripe, and Max serves champagne and caviar. A real undertaker arrives with a small coffin, for Norma's dead pet chimp.
注目の表現
it took me yearscomebacka pressing engagementgo the limit
00:00 / 04:14Space 再生 · ← → セリフ移動 · R リピート
いま
このシーンの表現
a pressing engagement
an urgent engagement
Joe jokes that his only pressing engagement is with the finance office chasing him.
She could not stay for coffee; she had a pressing engagement.
このシーンの他の表現
- it took me years
it cost me years
- comeback
a return to fame
- go the limit
go as far as possible
- wheel something in
push in on wheels
- coiled up
tightly wound up
このシーンのメモ一覧
49 行のセリフに 23 件のメモ
Oklahoma migrants — A Depression-era label with a sting; do not use it for people today.
Last one I wrote was about Okies in the Dust Bowl.Isn't it is reduced to a light iz-nt-it in speech.
Intimate, isn't it?causative have: The causative have it taken out means arranging for someone else to remove the organ.
The wind gets in that blasted pipe organ. I ought to have it taken out.annoying, damned — A mild curse for something annoying; keep it casual.
The wind gets in that blasted pipe organ. I ought to have it taken out.nowadays
How long is a movie script these days? I mean, how many pages?Link is a movie so it sounds like i-za-movie.
How long is a movie script these days? I mean, how many pages?it depends on
Depends on what it is, a Donald Duck or a Joan of Arc.noun clause: The clause what it is becomes the object of depend on, with two examples to clarify.
Depends on what it is, a Donald Duck or a Joan of Arc.sufficient for
Looks like enough for six important pictures.what a role
- Fair enough. - Salome. What a woman. What a part!read someone's work
Never let another writer read your material. He may steal it.In American speech the t in let another flaps, joining the words.
Never let another writer read your material. He may steal it.an urgent engagement
Joe jokes that his only pressing engagement is with the finance office chasing him.
Well, I had no pressing engagement, except with those boys from the finance office.how bad something gets
Sometimes it's interesting to see just how bad, bad writing can be.make of something
I wondered what a handwriting expert would make of that childish scrawl of hers.discovered
Later I found out that Max was the only other person in that grim Sunset castle.tightly wound up
Joe describes Norma sitting coiled up like a watch spring, tense and ready to snap.
As for her, she sat coiled up like a watch spring, her cigarette clamped in a curious holder.a snug arrangement
It sure was a cozy setup, that bundle of raw nerves and Max and a dead monkey upstairs.a messy mixture
that sweet champagne and that tripe I'd been reading, that silly hodgepodge of melodramatic plots.past perfect continuous: The past perfect continuous stresses that the reading had been going on up to that moment.
that sweet champagne and that tripe I'd been reading, that silly hodgepodge of melodramatic plots.worthless rubbish — A harsh word for bad writing; never say it to the author.
that sweet champagne and that tripe I'd been reading, that silly hodgepodge of melodramatic plots.a professional writer
Maybe it's a little long and maybe there's some repetitions, but you're not a professional writer.「Norma Makes Joe Read Salome」を読み解く
What's really going on
The scene is about two performers who have both stopped getting honest reactions. Norma has written a script no one will read straight, and Joe cannot afford to give her the truth: he calls it 'fascinating' out loud while his narration describes 'that tripe I'd been reading, that silly hodgepodge of melodramatic plots.' Her rage at the word 'comeback' — 'I hate that word! It's a return!' — shows how much of her identity rests on being wanted. Joe, broke and hiding from the finance office, sees his opening and starts 'concocting a little plot of my own.' The dead chimp and the tiny coffin, handled 'with great dignity,' are the joke that keeps the scene from turning sentimental: this house is absurd, and Joe is already planning to live in it.
Theme
IdentityNorma's fury at the word comeback shows her whole self is built on being wanted again.
DeceptionJoe calls the script fascinating to her face while mocking it in narration, setting up the lies that follow.
このチャプターで学べること
- Comeback insults a star who never admits leaving.
- Joe keeps making plans while pretending to listen.
- A monkey's funeral is played entirely straight.
- Bad writing is Joe's only entertainment here.
発音のポイント
- isn't it — Isn't it is reduced to a light iz-nt-it in speech.
- is a movie — Link is a movie so it sounds like i-za-movie.
- let another — In American speech the t in let another flaps, joining the words.
Never let another writer read your material. He may steal it.Norma's warning as she hands over the script: she guards her work because she believes it is valuable enough to be stolen.
I hate that word! It's a return!Her sharpest line: the word comeback wounds her, because it implies she ever left.
Sometimes it's interesting to see just how bad, bad writing can be.Joe's excuse for staying to listen: he treats the script as a spectacle of failure rather than a work of art.
Well, I had no pressing engagement, except with those boys from the finance office.Joe's wry reason for not leaving: he is broke and dodging creditors, so he has nowhere better to be.
It was all done with great dignity.The narrator's deadpan note on the tiny funeral for a chimp, which turns the scene's absurdity into a punchline.
Maybe it's a little long and maybe there's some repetitions, but you're not a professional writer.Joe's backhanded compliment: he flatters Norma by calling the flaws amateur rather than fatal.
このシーンについての質問
What is Norma's script about?
It is a version of the Salome story: a princess in love with a holy man, who rejects her, so she dances the dance of the seven veils and demands his head on a golden tray.
Why does Norma hate the word 'comeback'?
Because it implies she ever went away. She insists on the word 'return,' a quieter way of saying the same thing without conceding that she was forgotten.
Why does Joe stay and read the script?
He has no pressing engagement and is dodging the finance office. He is broke, curious, and already sensing an opportunity in Norma's need for an audience.
Why is there a coffin in the scene?
A real undertaker arrives with a small coffin for Norma's dead pet chimp. Joe notes the absurdity by saying it was all done with great dignity.
What does Joe really think of the script?
He thinks it is terrible. In narration he calls it 'that tripe' and 'a silly hodgepodge of melodramatic plots,' even while praising it to Norma's face.
サンセット大通り · 全 19 章
すべて見る →
次のチャプター · 第 6 章make it worth your whileNorma Hires Joe to Fix Her Script
第 1 章there's gonna be fireworksThe Repo Men Come for the Car
第 2 章over a barrelJoe Pitches Bases Loaded at Paramount
第 3 章a white elephantJoe Is Mistaken for the Undertaker
第 4 章It's the pictures that got smallNorma Desmond: The Pictures Got Small
再生中 · 第 5 章a pressing engagementNorma Makes Joe Read Salome
第 6 章make it worth your whileNorma Hires Joe to Fix Her Script
第 7 章not by a long shotNorma Moves Joe Into Her Mansion
第 8 章a matter of life and deathNorma Buys Joe New Clothes
第 9 章take me for grantedNorma's New Year's Eve Confession
第 10 章close, but no cigarJoe Meets Betty at Artie's Party
第 11 章sell on somethingNorma Sends Her Script to DeMille
第 12 章write on specBetty Asks Joe to Write With Her
第 13 章give someone the brushNorma Desmond Returns to Paramount
第 14 章nothing would please me moreNorma Desmond's Comeback Falls Apart
第 15 章sell like hotcakesJoe and Betty Write the Script Together
第 16 章come cleanBetty Tells Joe the Nose Story
第 17 章wipe outBetty Confesses She Loves Joe
第 18 章a good dealJoe Shows Betty Norma's Mansion
第 19 章have the heart toJoe Tells Norma He's Leaving第 5 / 19 章 · 残り約 46 分