A review of the 1954 classic film”A Star Is Born”
This story has been told four time in films but this is the classic version of the musical. A male star whose career has peaked acts as mentor to a rising female star whose success soon outshines his. In this case, it is film star Norman Maine (James Mason) who befriends singer, dancer and actor Vicki Lester (Judy Garland). The film is an absolute triumph for Garland who, following a four-year break from the big screen, stormed to success with some set-piece singing and dancing and some heavy-weight acting. The big numbers are “The Man That Got Away” and “Born In A Trunk”.
This version is both the examination of a tortured relationship and a satire on the Hollywood system and indeed, in a case of art imitating life before life imitates art, there is even a scene involving the award of the Oscars. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Actor and Best actress, but did not actually win any.
In 1983, more than 20 minutes of previously cut footage was restored (using stills for lost scenes), taking the running length now to some three hours but, in the cinema, there is an intermission.
For the record, the other versions star Fredric March and Janet Gaynor (1937), Kris Kristofferson and Barbra Streisand (1976) and Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga (2018). Although the 1954 version is regarded as the classic, I loved the 2018 remake.