Young Esther Victoria Blodgett comes to Hollywood with dreams of stardom and achieves them only with the help of alcoholic leading man Norman Maine, whose best days are behind him.Young Esther Victoria Blodgett comes to Hollywood with dreams of stardom and achieves them only with the help of alcoholic leading man Norman Maine, whose best days are behind him.Young Esther Victoria Blodgett comes to Hollywood with dreams of stardom and achieves them only with the help of alcoholic leading man Norman Maine, whose best days are behind him.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 7 wins & 7 nominations total
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams
- Posture Coach
- (as Guinn Williams)
Jean Acker
- Woman at Preview
- (uncredited)
Eric Alden
- Niles' Assistant
- (uncredited)
Irving Bacon
- Station Agent
- (uncredited)
Jane Barnes
- Waitress #1
- (uncredited)
Vince Barnett
- Otto
- (uncredited)
Clara Blandick
- Aunt Mattie
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen the drunken Norman Maine character raucously interrupts the Oscar presentation, it was déja vu for Janet Gaynor. She had brought her sister to the Academy Awards ceremony in 1929, when she won the first Best Actress Oscar ever awarded, for 7th Heaven (1927). Her sister became very drunk and completely out of control, thoroughly embarrassing Gaynor.
- GoofsThe Night Court Judge refers to the "commonwealth" of California, but California isn't one of the states with commonwealth status. The judge should have referred to the "state" instead.
- Quotes
Grandmother Lettie: If you've got one drop of my blood in your veins, you won't let Mattie or any of her kind break your heart, you'll go right out there and break it yourself.
- Alternate versionsAlso available in black and white
- ConnectionsEdited into What's Cookin' Doc? (1944)
- SoundtracksCalifornia, Here I Come
(1924) (uncredited)
Music by Joseph Meyer
(variations in the score as Esther arrives in Hollywood)
Featured review
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.
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.
- fdraskolnikov
- Aug 23, 2006
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Nace una estrella
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,173,639 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 51 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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