A Star Is Born (1954)

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

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Moss Hart (screenplay), Dorothy Parker,

Stars:

Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson

Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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
Irving Bacon	...	Graves
Hazel Shermet	...	Libby's Secretary
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
James Brown	...	Glenn Williams

Storyline

Norman Maine, a movie star whose career is on the wane, meets showgirl Esther Blodgett when he drunkenly stumbles into her act one night. A friendship develops, then blossoms into romance before tensions increase as Esther's career takes off while Norman's continues to plummet.

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Plot Keywords:

career | movie star | fame | alcoholism | marriage | 

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Taglines:

"THE ENTIRE PICTURE IS AN UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE! I WAS SORRY IT ENDED!" Ed Sullivan

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Genres:

Drama | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 October 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

Nace una estrella

Filming Locations:

Lancaster Hotel - 121 N. Flower Street, Bunker Hill, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,019,770 (estimated)

Gross:

$4,355,968 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Transcona Enterprises, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

154 min 181 min (premiere) 176 min (restored) 169 min (DVD) 177 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The 15-minute "Born in a Trunk" medley was designed by Roger Edens and Leonard Gershe. It was inserted into the film when it was decided that none of the three Arlen/Gershwin songs submitted supplied an acceptable conclusion to the first half of the film. Mr. Edens, Judy Garland's musical mentor during her MGM years (1935-1950), also crafted the around-the-world-in-a-living-room concept for "Someone at Last" (music by Harold Arlen, lyrics by Ira Gershwin). Still under contract to Metro in 1954, Roger received no screen credit as either contributor or co-writer (with Mr. Gershe) of the "Born in a Trunk" song. Credit was finally given the duo when the film was restored years later.

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Goofs

Although the interior of Esther's apartment appears to be situated on a hill with a panoramic view of Hollywood, the address she gives Norman is in the flatlands of Hollywood with, at best, a second story view of nearby buildings.

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Quotes

Esther Blodgett: [Norman has returned to find Esther in a nightclub. Esther walks over to him with a small laugh] Hello, Mr. Maine. You turn up in the strangest places.
Norman Maine: Don't I now?
Esther Blodgett: [stops laughing, suddenly shocked] And you're cold sober.
Norman Maine: Well, you'd better make the most of it!

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Connections

Referenced in At the Movies: Episode #9.1 (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Swanee"
(uncredited)
Music by George Gershwin
Lyrics by Irving Caesar
Performed by Judy Garland as part of the "Born in a Trunk" medley

User Reviews

Judy Garland at Her Best

The 1954 musicalized version of A Star Is Born is a great film. Judy Garland and James Mason (both Oscar nominated) turn in terrific performance as Esther and Norman. Like its 1937 predecessor (which starred Janet Gaynor and Fredric March—both Oscar nominated), the 1954 version follows the ups and down of two people set against the vicious world of Hollywood. The newer version sticks to the basic story but adds some great numbers for Garland, including "The Man That Got Away" and "I Was Born in a Trunk." In a major comeback, Garland had not worked in films since Summer Stock (1950), and her performance here is the best of her career. That she lost the Oscar to Grace Kelly for The Country Girl is one of Hollywood's great inequities. Mason lost to Marlon Brando for On the Waterfront. Garland sings superbly and is a great comic and dramatic actress. Her Esther is more vulnerable than Gaynor's just as Mason's Norman is more pathetic than March's. I love both versions. Charles Bickford and Jack Carson play the other major parts, played by Adolphe Menjou and Lionel Stander in 1937. Two major supporting roles from the 1937 version were cut from the 1954 version: Esther's first Hollywood friend (Andy Devine) and her intrepid grandmother (the great May Robson). But Garland's musical numbers make up for their absence. Oddly, despite the great hullabaloo surrounding A Star Is Born, it was not nominated for best picture, and George Cukor was bypassed in the directing category. One of the best musicals ever made.