A Star Is Born (1937)
Genre: Drama
Duration: 111 minuten
Alternative title: Een Ster Wordt Geboren
Country:
United States
Directed by: William A. Wellman
Stars: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March and Adolphe Menjou
IMDb score:
7,3 (10.582)
Releasedate: 27 April 1937
A Star Is Born plot
"Is the price of stardom a broken heart?"
Esther Blodgett is a country girl who dreams of the glamorous world of the movie. She moved to Hollywood and works there as a waitress. When she has to serve at a Hollywood party, she is noticed by the famous actor Norman Maine. He makes sure she can audition and she gets a chance in the film world. They marry and as her career picks up speed, that of the alcoholic Norman quickly deteriorates. He finds it difficult to accept this and his drinking problem continues to grow.
Actors and actresses
Esther Blodgett / Vicki Lester
Norman Maine
Oliver Niles
Lettie Blodgett
Danny McGuire
Matt Libby
Casey Burke
Miss Phillips
Anita Regis
Pop Randall
Reviews & comments
The One Ring
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- 29974 messages
- 4109 votes
The original version of A Star Is Born. I saw the musical remake with Judy Garland and James Mason a few years ago. This predecessor has no songs, but is otherwise largely identical to the remake. The preference of one version over the other will probably depend on whether or not you want musical numbers and which cast you prefer. With regard to the latter, it is difficult to choose. I think Mason is really strong in the remake, even if March does little wrong here. On the other hand, I by far prefer Gaynor over Garland, who was somewhat miscast despite her vocal qualities. Gaynor is of course very cute, but also has a certain lightness, a kind of comical touch, that made this sometimes somewhat sappy event a lot more watchable. That sounds like a big win for the original, but I found the supporting characters clearly better in the later version.
Other than that I don't have too much to say about this. For its time this was a very caustic film about Hollywood and that is special, even if there is a thick layer of sentimentality at the end to cover up the bleeding, which did not appeal to me (and I believe was less present in the remake). Nice to see the old Technicolor as well. Not yet as rich in color as it would be a few years later, but it already has something warm.
3*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Bobbejaantje
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- 1689 messages
- 1748 votes
A Star Is Born could not interest me, had to drag me to the end. It wasn't until the end that things got even more interesting because of the situation with Frederic March.
The film itself didn't have a bad script and the actors were on a roll, but the whole thing made a stale, not very dynamic impression on me. Maybe this melodramatic sugary sweet genre just isn't for me. For me, this film lacked spice. I am curious about the remake with Judy Garland that is still on my shelf. Maybe it will all be a bit more bearable with a little more show.
Translated from Dutch · View original
clubsport
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- 3065 messages
- 6507 votes
The first film adaptation and since I had not seen any version yet I thought it best to watch the original first.
I can not really mention anything negative , the film is decent with a charming Janet gaynor in the leading role .
As an actor I don't really know Frederic March very well, I thought he played a bit easy and there was little spice in his character.
I find the supposedly critical look at hollywood that this film would radiate (certainly by modern standards) very poor, okay paparazzi photographers get a blow out of the pan, but for the rest it is more or less the stupid choices that actors and actresses make themselves which causes them to fall out of favor.
I am convinced that the real Hollywood (especially now) has a lot of worse nasty sides.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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