A Star Is Born (1937)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

William A. Wellman (story) and
Robert Carson (story) ...

Release Date:

27 April 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Fate Raised Her To Fame - and killed the man she loved !

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.

Plot Keywords:

Hollywood | Alcoholic | Party | Famous Line | Sanitarium

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 7 nominations

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)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #2968) | Finland:S | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Selznick International Pictures

Trivia:

The funeral scene was inspired by the funeral of Irving Thalberg, where fans swarmed around his widow Norma Shearer outside the church. A similar scene occurred at Jean Harlow's funeral two months after the film's release.

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.

Quotes:

Esther Blodgett: Some day you won't laugh at me! I'm going out and have a real life! I'm gonna be somebody!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Growing Pains: A Star Is Born (#3.7)" (1987)

Soundtrack:

Bye Bye Baby

It's Norman's movie

I believe this as one of the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen. I enjoyed the story, the dialog and above all I enjoyed the atmosphere and the actors. All of them are great but to me Fredric March is outstanding.

Norman/Alfred is a wonderful character: frail, undignified, touchy, weak and able to love Vicki/Esther so much, with all his heart.

Fredric March brings all of it on the screen, providing one of his best performances here.

If you would like to become an actor, I believe you should watch this movie and Mr. March's way of acting. Pay attention to his eyes, his hands, his face and his moves, especially when he interrupts his wife thanking everybody for the Oscar she got and claims he deserves three statues for the worse performances.

He is overcome by himself and starts dying. I just shivered.

To me, this version can't be compared to its remakes. The allure and the fascination of Hollywood have been perfectly represented here, together with an unpleasant and creepy feeling of emptiness.