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A Star Is Born (1954)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
16 October 1954 (USA)
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Tagline:
The applause of the world -- and then this! more
Plot:
A movie star helps a young singer/actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 6 Oscars.
Another 3 wins
&
3 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(23 articles)
TCM Classic Film Festival: A Star Is Born, Metropolis, Breathless, 2001
(From Alternative Film Guide. 18 November 2009, 2:23 PM, PST)
Restored 'Star Is Born' to Kick Off TCM Classic Film Festival
(From The Wrap. 18 November 2009, 10:51 AM, PST)
(From Alternative Film Guide. 18 November 2009, 2:23 PM, PST)
Restored 'Star Is Born' to Kick Off TCM Classic Film Festival
(From The Wrap. 18 November 2009, 10:51 AM, PST)
User Comments:
Garland's Shining Hour in a Pristine Print of Her Legendary Vehicle
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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 - 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) |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
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:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.55 : 1 more
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:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The premiere of the film at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles was the event of the year with Judy Garland, James Mason, studio head Jack L. Warner, and Jack Carson (who MC'ed the premiere) and dozens of A-list stars attending.
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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.
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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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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!
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Step by Step: A Star Is Born (#7.2)" (1997)
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Soundtrack:
The Peanut Vendor (El Manicero)
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FAQ
A Note Regarding SpoilersIs "A Star is Born" based on a book?
Why is Judy Garland listed as playing two characters?
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more (91 total)
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Marked by a pervasive sense of melancholy, the 1954 musical version of the familiar Hollywood warhorse will forever be remembered as Judy Garland's most acclaimed work in films. Even though she would go on to a handful of films in the early 1960's, this was her last leading role in a major Hollywood production, an ironic point since she plays an emerging movie star on the rise. True, she doesn't look her best in the film, but her fulsome talent is on full, heart-wrenching display as Esther Blodgett, an obscure but thriving band singer who becomes movie star Vicki Lester thanks to Norman Maine, an alcoholic has-been movie star in career free-fall. Their love story and the opposing trajectories of their careers are tracked meticulously by Moss Hart's shrewdly observed screenplay and George Cukor's sensitive direction.
The double-sided 2000 DVD provides the 176-minute restored version, which is just five minutes less than what was shown at the original premiere. Until 1983, the half-hour of footage excised after the premiere was thought lost, but film historian Ron Haver found much of it and supervised an extraordinary restoration effort that includes a necessary albeit brief use of production stills to match up with the complete soundtrack. Even with such technicalities, the resulting film is even more of a landmark musical drama, emotionally resonant in spite of certain pacing issues with the storyline. Cukor's approach is probably more leisurely than the relatively hard-boiled material requires since he includes so many establishing and lengthy shots, but his direction shows his legendary sensitivity toward actors.
While he comes across a bit too robust as a fading matinée idol, James Mason vigorously captures Norman's scornful pride and self-pity. He may lack Fredric March's innate sense of vulnerability in the original, but Mason makes the character's inner torment more palpable. As for Garland, she brings so much of her own history to Esther/Vicki that her scenes feel alive with her vibrant, masochistic personality. She is aided immeasurably by the masterful songs of Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin, most significantly her torchy rendition of "The Man That Got Away", as perfect a musical movie moment as has been ever produced. While her work in the fifteen-minute "Born in the Trunk" sequence is impressive, it is really later in the film when she soars, in particular, when she segues from the tap-happy "Lose That Long Face" into a breakdown scene in her dressing room with sympathetic studio head Oliver Niles portrayed with his typically stentorian fervor by Charles Bickford.
The print condition and sound quality on the DVD are superb. There are also some fascinating extras on the B-side starting with three alternative takes on "The Man That Got Away", each distinctive in presentation with costume and lighting changes, a must for Garland fans. Also included is a very brief deleted number within the "Born in the Trunk" sequence", "When My Sugar Walks Down the Street". Three vintage pieces have been gathered - a brief newsreel piece of the premiere, a four-minute clip of the Coconut Grove premiere party held after the premiere, and most interestingly, a half-hour kinescope akin to the current-day red carpet pre-shows with an amazing parade of period stars expressing little more than good wishes on their way to the theater. Lastly, the theatrical trailers for all three versions of "A Star Is Born" are also included.