275. A Star Is Born (1954)

Directed by George Cukor

Synopsis

An alcoholic actor starting his downward turn in career finds a singer who he helps become a star and then marries. The whole thing is doomed from the start.

Review

We've been having a great streak of films indeed, and we are not stopping now, there's more good stuff to come soon. And this is definitely a great film, even if it has Judy Garland in it, curiously partly because it has Judy in it.

I've never been a great Garland fan, but here she is something else, not only is her singing voice still great after all these years but her performance is an honestly touching one. If you know her life story you can tell why she related to the film, although ironically she is the one who would end up the addict.

It is a long one, three hours in its restored version, but it is worth it, it looks back to older musicals (it is a remake of one after all) but the plot qualities are such, as well as the amazing direction and cinematography that it is clearly marked as a modern film. A musical with a deep plot and emotional content, and James Mason... who unfortunately does not sing.

Final Grade

10/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The film was re-edited several times. Premiering at 181 minutes, the studio (Warner Bros.) cut the film by 30 minutes despite the objections of director Cukor and producer Sid Luft (Garland's husband). The cuts were made because theater owners complained the film was too long, limiting the number of daily showings. In 1983, all but 5 minutes of the cut footage was found and reinstated, but some of the footage had to be reconstructed using production stills. Most of the original multi-track stereophonic sound was also restored. This was shown in many theaters and then released on home video. Columbia Records released all of the songs in stereo; the recordings were later reissued by Sony on CD.

The premiere of the 1954 film at the Pantages in Los Angeles was a major event with Garland, Mason, studio head Jack L. Warner, and Jack Carson (who emceed), and dozens of A-list stars attending. As the celebrities arrived at the theater, it was televised live and a kinescope film has survived.

Despite the film's success, Warner Brothers cancelled Judy Garland's contract and refused to make any further films with her. In her autobiography, Doris Day admitted that both she and Garland battled "nervous breakdowns" in dealing with the studio. It was 1961 before Garland again appeared in a film, playing a crucial, dramatic supporting role in Judgment at Nuremberg.

The Man That Got Away: