A Star Is Born (1954)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Moss Hart (screenplay)
Dorothy Parker (1937 screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 October 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

The applause of the world -- and then this!

Plot:

A movie star helps a young singer/actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.

Plot Keywords:

Fame | Alcoholism | Singing | Pasadena California | Malibu California

Awards:

Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Judy Garland	...	Vicki Lester / Esther Blodgett
James Mason	...	Norman Maine
Jack Carson	...	Matt Libby
Charles Bickford	...	Oliver Niles
Tommy Noonan	...	Danny McGuire (as Tom Noonan)
Lucy Marlow	...	Lola Lavery
Amanda Blake	...	Susan Ettinger - Oscar Presenter
Irving Bacon	...	Graves - Norman's valet
Hazel Shermet	...	Libby's secretary
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Brown	...	Glenn Williams - Orchestra Leader (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

181 min (premiere version) | USA:154 min | USA:176 min (restored version) | Germany:169 min (DVD) | West Germany:177 min (cut version: 120')

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound System) (magnetic prints) | Mono (optical prints)

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:A (original rating) | Canada:PG (video rating) | West Germany:12 (uncut version) | USA:Approved (PCA #16751, General Audience) | USA:PG (re-rating) (1983) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl (re-release) | UK:U | West Germany:6 (cut version)

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Judy Garland did not attend the 1955 Academy Awards, where she was nominated as Best Actress for her portrayal of Vicki Lester in A Star Is Born (1954), because she was in hospital after giving birth to her third child and only son Joey Luft.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The terrace outside Esther's Oleander Arms apartment overlooks the twinkling city lights far below, but her address is in the flatlands of Central Hollywood, nowhere near the hills.

Quotes:

Matt Libby: [after being introduced to Esther] Esther Blodgett? Well, we'll do something about that. Anyway, nice to have you with us.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Step by Step: A Star Is Born (#7.2)" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Black Bottom

Sing Melancholy Baby

Is it possible to watch this fictional story without digressing to thoughts about the real life story of Judy Garland? For me it isn't. Both are permanently intertwined. And it's not just the parallel between fiction and fact, but also the dark, brooding, melancholy mood they engender, like ghosts calling out to us from a Hollywood that no longer exists.

The film's storyline is well known. I won't belabor it here, except to say that it communicates an honest and introspective indictment of the entertainment industry as it once was. The story can be thought of as a kind of archetypal Hollywood memoir, expressed as a musical.

But musicals are supposed to be upbeat, lighthearted, fun. This one isn't. Moments of humor and joy are swept away in a cascade of emotional pain and tragedy. Fiction mimics real life. How appropriate that the film's signature song "The Man That Got Away" is one that is so uncompromisingly serious, poignant, and smoldering ... a perfect vehicle for Judy Garland.

Some say she had the greatest singing voice of any entertainer in the twentieth century. This film lends credence to that assertion. Every song she sings is performed with such consummate verve, such emotional commitment that she seems to be singing not just for her contemporaries, but also for generations to come. Indeed, she is. My personal favorite is the "Born In A Trunk" segment, all fifteen minutes of it. Surrounded by sets of true cinematic art, she belts out one tune after another, including, of course, the poignant "Melancholy Baby".

Judy's singing and the music itself are what make the movie so memorable. But she also demonstrates her considerable acting talent. And the acting of other cast members is fine, especially the performances of James Mason and Jack Carson. I do think that the film was, and still is, too long, the result of an overly ambitious screenplay.

That Judy Garland was denied the Best Actress Oscar is poignant. But her talent was so massive, her uniqueness was so special, maybe fate required a compensatory level of pain and tragedy, as a prerequisite of legend.