IMDb > A Star Is Born (1937)
A Star Is Born
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A Star Is Born (1937) More at IMDbPro »

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A Star Is Born (1937) -- A young woman comes to Hollywood with dreams of stardom, but achieves them only with the help of an alcoholic leading man whose best days are behind him.

Overview

User Rating:
7.8/10   2,558 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
William A. Wellman (story) and
Robert Carson (story) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for A Star Is Born on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
27 April 1937 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Fate Raised Her To Fame - and killed the man she loved ! more
Plot:
A young woman comes to Hollywood with dreams of stardom, but achieves them only with the help of an alcoholic leading man whose best days are behind him. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 7 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(6 articles)
Budd Schulberg Dies Aged 95
 (From EmpireOnline. 6 August 2009, 12:37 AM, PDT)

Pre-Code Wellman and Godard's Code Unknown
 (From IFC. 31 March 2009, 7:17 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Good Cast & An Interesting Story more (31 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Janet Gaynor ... Esther Victoria Blodgett, aka Vicki Lester

Fredric March ... Norman Maine

Adolphe Menjou ... Oliver Niles
May Robson ... Grandmother Lettie
Andy Devine ... Daniel 'Danny' McGuire
Lionel Stander ... Matt Libby
Owen Moore ... Casey Burke, director
Peggy Wood ... Miss Phillips, Central Casting clerk
Elizabeth Jenns ... Anita Regis
Edgar Kennedy ... Pop Randall, landlord
J.C. Nugent ... Mr. Blodgett
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams ... Posture coach (as Guinn Williams)
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
111 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System Noiseless Recording)
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The first all-color film nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: In the night court scene, the judge refers to the "commonwealth" but the movie is set in California which isn't one of the states to have commonwealth status. The judge should have referred to the "state" instead. more
Quotes:
Oliver Niles: Now, I'm going to turn you over to our demon press agent, Libby. Don't let him frighten you. He has a heart of gold... only harder. more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
Les Préludes more

FAQ

Why is Janet Gaynor listed as playing two different characters?
What was Norman Maine's real name?
How does the movie end?
more
9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful.
Good Cast & An Interesting Story, 5 July 2001
Author: Snow Leopard from Ohio

This early version of "A Star is Born" is well-performed by a good cast, and an interesting story. The basic idea is fairly simple, but filled with potential, and it is done skillfully.

Janet Gaynor and Frederic March work very well as a Hollywood couple whose careers are headed in different directions, with March's performance being especially good. The rest of the cast rounds out the picture nicely with good performances of their own. While the inside look at Hollywood is interesting in its own right, the heart of the story is the way that the couple's marriage and relationships are affected by her career taking off at the same time that his is crashing. It's the kind of story that only works with believable characters, careful writing, and convincing acting, and all of those are present here.

While overshadowed by the lavish 50's remake, this earlier version is still quite worthwhile in its own right.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (31 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for A Star Is Born (1937)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Best DVD to buy? bjnevin
Lana Turner? tomtac
I haven't seen any remakes. Are they good? krajackex
Danny McGuire (**CONTAINS SPOILERS**) Chesterfield_Invincible
Favorite scene supertrav77
Norman Maine's real name? cestsibon
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