"Sunset Blvd." (1950)

Black and white. [SPOILER ALERT] Black and white actress Norma Desmond takes over a nobody writer's life. The first hour and half, the story is remarkably the a same as "Leave Her to Heaven" (movie from 5 years earlier), plot-wise, except I couldn't stand "Leave Her to Heaven", and "Sunset Boulevard" I was quite taken in to. Quite enjoyed it, I think. I like it the more I think about it... I think. Ending was slightly different--and it wasn't a "happy" ending, except you were mostly okay with it because the previewed in the first scene of the movie. Voiceover--Dragnet/Jack Webb style--which is ironic because Jack Webb stars as one of the minor characters. The description on the jacket does call it "classic noir"--so, if "noir" means the "boy" doesn't get "the girl" or that the ending isn't a "win" for anyone, then yeah, it fits. Franz Waxman music--so a big name. Included the famous "Toccata and Fugue" on (aka "creepy house music") as on-stage music from a creepy organ. Dialogue makes a reference to "Great Expectations". And, yeah, I can see patterns there, too.