A Star Is Born

Rating:
Summary: Quit all the singing!
Review: I got this at the library, because we wanted to see how it compared to the 1937 version with Fredric March. Well, we didn't think much of this movie. First of all, there was too much singing. I don't mind singing in some movies if it is good ( as in The Sound of Music, Elvis' King Creole and Jailhouse Rock, etc.), but I do not care for Judy Garland's singing. Secondly, I felt Judy was too old for the part. I think she would have been much better in her younger days when she was fresh and beautiful. Thirdly, I didn't see much chemistry between Judy and James Mason. I still feel the 1937 version is best; while I like James Mason (and he is the reason I give this film 2 stars), I felt Fredric March was much better in the Norman Maine role. I was a bit bored throught the viewing and was glad when it was over and it is a film I will never watch again.

Rating:
Summary: Judy Garland's BEST PERFORMANCE EVER!!!
Review: Judy Garland was robbed of the Best Actress Award for 1954, it went to Grace Kelly who can't act. Judy stars as Esther Blodget, a wannabe star who is traveling with her band until she meets up with Norman Maine, James Mason. They don't exactly fall in love at first sight, but he ends up growing on her. Then, one tragedy
after another happens to them until one of them dosen't make it out alive. A brilliant film that everyone should see. Features magnificent songs like, "The man that got away". Enjoy!!!
6 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS:
[1954] BEST ACTRESS-JUDY GARLAND
BEST ACTOR-JAMES MASON
BEST ART DIRECTION/SET DECORATION[COLOR]
BEST SCORE FROM A MUSICAL PICTURE
BEST COSTUME DESIGN [COLOR]
BEST SONG "THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY"

Rating:
Summary: Okay but not great!
Review: I like Judy Garland as both an actress and a singer but this was definitely not one of her best movies, Judy did do a good job with her performance and James Mason did do a good job with his portrayal of the alcoholic husband but the movie in general was uneven and flawed despite their talent.

Rating:
Summary: Affair of the Heart
Review: Essential viewing. Quite simply, this is the best thing Judy Garland ever did, and that's saying something. While "Wizard of Oz" and "Meet Me in St' Louis" show none of the "worse-for-wear" qualities Garland displayed by this point, she had clearly deepened as an artist and actor. She understood this role as few others could, and she summoned all of her considerable powers in overwhelming style for one of the greatest performances ever committed to film. But this is hardly Garland's show. James Mason offers a career-defining performance as Norman Maine, and his understated, finely nuanced performance nicely complements Garland's supercharged emoting. Their different styles actually mesh in a cohesively specific way, making you believe in their tragic relationship. George Cukor's direction (his first in widescreen) betrays none of the ineptitude so many early Cinemascope directors displayed in not knowing how to fill up the expansive screen. This "Star..." is filled with rich, colorful textures, with the deeply neurotic color schemes matching the intensity of the dramatic moments. Just watch "The Man That Got Away", as the burnished reds and blues visually play out what the song plays out emotionally, and you'll realize how textured Cukor's work is here. Of course, he gets fine performances out of the ensemble, that's a given with this director. But the framing of the scenes make this long film flow like a shorter one, and shows a director who is a stylist deeply in tune with emotional life of the story he depicts. This is Cukor's finest hour (or three hours) and here he displays a cynicism just right for the film, and rare in his body of work.

That leaves the music, and while some of the songs here are far from top-notch ("Here's What I'm Here For" and "Lose That Long Face"), Garland's renderings are classic. "The Man That Got Away" and "Born in a Trunk" are deservedly legendary, but "It's a New World" is prime Garland and a touching ballad, while "Gotta Have Me Go With You" displays the swinging concert syle Garland would perfect on the world's stages. The restoration of this film is nothing short of phenomenal. While the reconstructed scenes (some of the original scenes have been lost) are a bit jarring, one soon gets caught up in the action and forgives these lapses. The rich Technicolor print is stunning in its sumptuousness and the restored stero sound lets Judy's voice sing out like never before. "A Star is Born" is unforgettable, and surely the sound of Judy Garland's voice is one of the most memorable sounds of the 20th century.

Rating:
Summary: For Fans
Review: I've always wondered why, though it's always referred to as a classic, the Garland A Star is Born is not a movie many people see. Now I know: the Gaynor version is the true classic. The Garland version has a classic talent, a Hollywood legend at pivotal moment, but the movie *itself* is not a classic.

Much of this is not really Ms Garland's fault, though I thought her acting ranged from genuinely touching, to strained, to over the top. The effortless sparkle from her MGM years is missing. She knows this is her one shot at reviving her movie career, and it shows. It's ironic: so many of her films at MGM were made during some kind of personal crisis, yet they look effortless. Here you can see her *working* to make it look effortless.

Some of the fault must lie with the director, Cukor: The movie has a general air of strained charm, of trying too hard, particularly in the earlier scenes between Mason and Garland. We are supposed to be charmed but are only aware of how hard everyone is trying. (For example, in the "face cream" scene, where Mason wipes off the Hollywood makeover, and restores her natural look.) Compare with the Gaynor version, which sweeps you into its world without trying.

Other problems lie with the musical numbers: They go on too long and are somehow lackluster. The songs themselves lack the wit of a Porter or even a Comden & Green. Just compare them to even the least of Judy's MGM musicals: Summer Stock, for example. The director's touch of a Kelly, a Minelli, a Donen is clearly missing here.

I wondered why until I read that ASIB was Cukor's first musical. That makes sense since many of the numbers reminded me of someone who had *watched* a lot of musicals but never really learned what makes them tick. I was actually bored during the lo-o-ng Born in A Trunk number (and distracted by her short black wig and dark makeup), embarrassed during the 'round the world number she performs for Mason, and wondering why I was not charmed during Get That Long Face Lost.

One thing that *was* up to par, however, was Garland's voice. The staging of the numbers might make my attention wander, but the power of her voice lingered, even when the song itself was no classic. The Man That Got Away was one of the numbers that really worked, mostly because it was just Judy.

Also up to par was Mason. This is no career make-or-break for him, and Norman Maine issues from his as smoothly as silk, or smoke from a fine cigar.

Unfortunately, they are too different in type to create much chemistry. Career-wise, they are ships passing in the night.

For me, one of the hardest parts to sit through was Judy/Esther's breakdown in her dressing room. As another reviewer mentioned, it was sad to hear her saying words that could apply so well to herself. Maybe that's why they were hard for her to get out, and why the scene came close to uncomfortable overacting. It was a mistake, too, to have her play that scene in her Get That Long Face Lost costume: straw hat, frumpy sweater, freckles. Bad idea. (Best costuming moment: Vicki's Oscar gown.)

There are other problems in the story. In the first place, it's hard to believe the studio would drop Norman as soon as he marries America's biggest, newest star. At the beginning of the movie, we are supposed to believe he's BIG. Slipping a bit, but still the attraction at a huge premier. If the two stars married, don't tell me the studio wouldn't milk the romance for all it's worth.

But no, they drop him like a hot potato, so that soon he has nothing to do but chip golf balls and answer the phone for Esther. Even the Western Union boy doesn't recognize him. Sure--the studio would keep him in work, if only to keep Esther happy.

After that it goes through the moves: Norman in rehab, Norman turning over a new leaf, Norman failing. Somehow it all lacks drama. Not until Norman overhears the truth about himself from his old boss, and makes his decision, does the movie reach tragic heights. The scene where he pretends everything is wonderful and he is only off for a swim, then wades into the water while Judy sings a lullaby in the background, almost brought tears to my eyes.

Of course, there is always the awareness of art imitating life when watching A Star is Born. Judy lived the Norman Main role. It's impossible not to wonder what might have happened in the Academy had mercifully granted her that Oscar.

However, it might not have been much different. Even as A Star is Born hit screens, the era of the big musical, Judy's only movie genre, was passing. Times were easier, and people no longer needed the escape and comfort musical fantasies provided. TV and rock and roll were also playing their part. Audiences wanted more sophistication and more sexuality from movies, both exemplified by Grace Kelly. In addition, Judy had been absent from the screen for four years, an aeon in Hollywood time. Perhaps awarding Kelly the Oscar wasn't so much a slap at Judy as a recognition that, sadly, times had changed.

Rating:
Summary: An absolutely stunning end to Judy Garland's star career
Review: This is in many ways Judy Garland's finest hour. In fact, she is so extraordinary in her two great musical numbers that she almost makes the rest of the movie look bad by comparison. James Mason provides one of the stronger performances of his career, and Charles Bickford gives his usual rock solid performance, but the movie lives or dies with Judy. She absolutely makes this film.

Over and over in the history of film, we have seen scenes in which a star is discovered. Usually, whatever it is that the newly discovered star is doing onscreen isn't really all that spectacular or even impressive. But we accept from the discoverer that this budding star has star stuff for the sake of the plot. Not so in this film. When Judy Garland sings "The Man Who Got Away," the viewer doesn't need James Mason or anyone else telling us that she has what it takes to be a star. Her performance of that song is not just perhaps her best single moment in cinema, but one of the very greatest vocal performances in the history of film. When Mason comes to her and says that she could be a star, we say, "Damned straight!" The miracle is that when she later performs "Born in a Trunk," she very nearly matches the movie's earlier song. The irony of the title lies in the fact that with this film, her film career was essentially over. As magnificent as her talent, the studios could no longer deal with her off screen behavior. In one sense, the film could have been entitled, "A Star Ends Her Career."

It is often repeated that A STAR IS BORN was loosely based on the marriage of Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler, but, in fact, the story is based much more closely on another Hollywood marriage. The 1954 Judy Garland-James Mason version of A STAR IS BORN is a remake with songs added of the 1937 Janet Gaynor-Fredric March film of the same title, directed and partially written by William Wellman. The 1937 A STAR IS BORN is, in part, an attempt to improve on a previous film scripted by Adela Rogers St. John entitled WHAT PRICE HOLLYWOOD? (which was directed in 1932 by George Cukor, who ironically directed the Judy Garland remake). Both Adela Rogers St. John and Wellman were intimately familiar with another Hollywood marriage that became the basis for both scripts.

In the early 1930s Adela Rogers St. John lived next door to Mr. and Mrs. Frank Fay. Fay was one of the great comedic stars of vaudeville and Broadway in the 1920s. He had married a young girl who had just graduated from being a chorus girl to appearing in a couple of Broadway plays. For the first of the two plays, her name was changed from Ruby Stevens to Barbara Stanwyck. She and Fay met, fell in love, married, and moved to Hollywood to see if they could make it big. Fay was actually the bigger star in New York, but in Hollywood he was unable to find any roles that suited his talent. Stanwyck, on the other hand, quickly made a name for herself. The more successful Barbara became, and the more Frank was rejected by Hollywood, the more he began to drink. He got into public fights, fought constantly and furiously with Barbara, and was even involved in a hit and run accident. Eventually, his drinking led to unresolvable marital problems and their marriage dissolved. But while still married, Stanwyck made several films under the direction of William Wellman, with whom she became close and to whom she disclosed many of the frustrations she was facing in her marriage, providing many of the details of Fay's drinking and her attempts to stick with him..

When William Wellman gave the first version of the script of A STAR IS BORN to RKO studio head David O. Selznick, the latter insisted on a complete rewrite because it was obviously based on the Fay-Stanwyck marriage. Even after further rewrites, the studios lawyers produced a list of a couple of dozen similarities to Fay and Stanwyck's marriage that could leave them vulnerable to libel. Additional rewrites finally softened the resemblance. When doing interviews after accepting his Best Director Oscar in 1937, Wellman just told reporters that the story was "based on things that happened."

Fay, however, did not like Norman Main walk off in an act of self-sacrifice. In fact, he managed to pull his life together, and in the 1940s achieved a great stage success as Elwood P. Dowd in the stage version of HARVEY, though the screen role went to Jimmy Stewart.

Rating:
Summary: Art Imitates Life
Review: As has been said, this film is truly a masterpiece. It's director George Cukor's first film in color, and full of brilliant acting, singing, set design and cinematography. The "Born in a Trunk" sequence is spectacular.
Judy Garland was "dismissed" from Annie Get Your Gun just a few years before she made this movie (she would face a similar fate in The Valley of the Dolls shortly before her death; ironically, Patty Duke's character, the brilliant, boozing Neely O"Hara, is said to be based on Garland). But she recovered and made this, perhaps her best, film. It was a phenomenal, almost unbelivable comeback, one of many for her. When you watch the scene where her character loses it as she, on the set of a film she's making, discusses her husband's battle with booze and his failed career, you can't help but wonder how she managed to get the words out, because she could be talking about her own life. But as grief-stricken as she is, the show goes on, which she demonstrates as she wipes away the tears and performs "Get Your Long Face Lost." It's almost chilling, certainly moving, absolutely one of Garland's finest moments on the screen.

Rating:
Summary: A great film in every sense of the word.
Review: I highly recommend this film. James Mason and Judy Garland both are great in it. I'd give it ten stars if I could. They don't make them like this anymore. It's a real classic.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: First, let me say that I am huge Garland fan. However, since I feel that the greatness of her performance has already been discussed eloquently, I want to mention the screenplay and James Mason.

The Moss Hart screenplay is one of the best I've ever seen. The dialogue is at various times times funny, heartbreaking, and cynical. It is always crisp and honest. The character development is realistic, and its portrayal of the darker sides of celebrity are very honest. Think of the scene of Norman Maine on the prowl at the Cocoanut Grove... No musical before or since has been so dark.

As for James Mason, I think he gave one of the great performances in film history in this film, truly matching Garland. What a controlled actor he was! I am simply amazed at his power and control in the scene at the end when he overhears his wife and friend discussing his downfall and her decision to give up her career to care for him. The temptation to overplay that scene must have been great, but Mason does not succumb. Obviously, George Cukor was more than just a "woman's" director.

I don't remember where or if this film ranked on the AFI Top 100 list, but it deserved a high ranking.

Rating:
Summary: A Star Forever Shines
Review: Judy Garland's performance in this film is hands-down one of the finest in film history. Let me say from the start that I am not a Garland fanatic, but in this film you can see why so many are. She commands the screen in every scene she appears in, but the "Born In A Trunk" sequence is stunning. Grace Kelly was awarded the Best Actress Oscar that year over this performance and it remains one of the, if not THE, worst mistakes by the Academy. Also, James Mason is brilliant in this film, as he so often was. Highly recommended to all who love movies of any genre, as this one packs a punch in musicality, drama and comedy. A true masterpiece (a word overused, but appropriate in this case).