 tell Gillis how they died. Eventually Gillis tells his  story, which takes us to a flashback of his affair with Norma  Desmond. The movie was previewed with this opening, in Illinois,  Long Island, New York, and Poughkeepsie, New York. Because all three  audiences inappropriately found the morgue scene hilarious, the  films release was delayed six months so that a new beginning could  be shot in which police find Gillis corpse floating in Normas pool  while Gillis voice narrates the events leading to his death.  Distortion caused by water meant that this scene had to be filmed  via a mirror placed on the bottom of the pool.