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A STAR IS BORN (1937): The Birth Of A Star

A STAR IS BORN (1937): The Birth Of A Star

A STAR IS BORN (1937): The Origin of A Star is Born

A Star Is Born is a swooning lyrical triumph, one of those rare instances in which Hollywood reflexivity pays off. And no, I am not talking about the latest installment everyone seems to be going Gaga for. I am referring to William Wellman and Jack Conway’s original which hit Cineplexes in 1937. An effortless amalgamation of the transcendent glamour of Golden Age stars, that light aura of 30’s screwball comedies, and the sly critique of movie hierarchy that may remind some of Altman’s The Player. But first and foremost it is a love story.

By now you are probably familiar with the plot. One that seems as old as the pictures themselves. The wife ascending to the pearly gates of fame and stardom, as the husband’s success fades like a streak from a clouded star descending into Shakespearean tragedy. And in two hours, a delicate country gal becomes a knockout, and the idolized big-screen hit becomes knockout drunk.

A STAR IS BORN (1937): The Origin of A Star is Born
source: Selznick International Pictures

The stars playing the stars are the lovely Fredric March and Janet Gaynor. Gaynor plays the darling (and soon to be critical darling) Esther Blodgett, soon to be Vicki Lester since the last name Blodgette may blotch her soaring reputation as a performer. Gaynor confronts the role with a believable trepid innocence with a thunderous drive to match her fiery red hair. Her wide smile and curious eyes meeting the drunken stupor of Fredric March’s swashbuckling Norman Main. And it isn’t breaking news to report that a memorable screen duet is born.

A Star Is Born

After the grand Technicolor title entrance, all the vivid soft-tone colors adding to the overwhelming La La Land experience, we see Esther petitioning for a shot at the big time with mom. “Better get a good husband instead of mooning about Hollywood” is the ascetic retort. Yet her cuddly persona and relentless drive leads us to believe that her dreams aren’t exactly over the moon. That and the fact that this wouldn’t be much of a movie if she gave up then and there. So she soon finds her way to The Chinese Theater where she eyes the venerational footprints of Harold Lloyd, Shirly Temple, and the fictional Norman Maine, and decides that the shoe fits. What follows are an array of scenes you would think would come with a roll of the eyes, but actually are welcomed with fortunate amusement.

None more so than a c*cktail dinner in which our waitressing heroine pleads for director’s attention by mimicking the haughty high pitch voices and hand to forehead dramatics regularly seen by the eras acclaimed actresses. The whole thing feels fresh and budding with burlesque wit. What with its social and Marxist commentaries that relate to the 30’s just as they do to today. Arguing that spotlight bravura doesn’t always correspond to happiness, and that perhaps, just maybe, the whole thing is one over-stylized script. A trite concept for movies these days to be sure, but can you doc a movie points for playing a familiar tune if that movie originally wrote the notes?(Speaking of notes, Max Steiner’s score is as intoxicating as the faces that accompany it).

A STAR IS BORN (1937): The Origin of A Star is Born
source: Selznick International Pictures

The remakes that followed would hit many of the same beats seen here, and I really can’t blame them. It’s a venerable formula that works like gangbusters – that is, if we forget about drudging through the flaccid 1979 adaptation with Barbara Streisand. However, George Cuckor’s 1956 spellbinding musical with Judy Garland and James Mason playing the leads, as well as Bradley Cooper’s blockbuster (and my favorite) with Lady Gaga and Cooper, stand tall. If Cooper’s version has characters writing lyrics mirroring their adventure, then the two here are playing the parts on screen.

A Star Is Born: Conclusion

They may tackle two different mediums (film,music), but when the words “Maybe it’s time to let the old ways die” roll off Cooper’s lips with a southern purr, or when a movie title with the two stars reads “The Enchanted Hour”, we get the gist. Another thing that helps these Star movies to rise above their soapy premise, is how they synthesize drama and romance to exciting affect. Wellman and Conway go as far as to add an affectionate spike of comedy to their c*cktail of emotions. Which might make it the most accessible of the bunch.

It will be hard to hold back a grin as they jab at their contemporaries in the entertainment business. There’s the stingy producer with a mustache and a heart for those who keep the green flowing (Adolphe Menjou), a raspy quick-witted reporter who finds the light in death (Lionel Stander), a tubby assistant director whose favorite word is “Quiet!”, and critics who like nothing more than a pretty face (then explain why we all love Bogart and Hanks). Yes, some might argue this warm tone doesn’t mesh with an ending as deep as the ocean floor. Nonetheless, it always justifies a rewatch just to give this glorious feature one last look.

What is your favorite adaptation of A Star Is Born? Let us know in the comments below! 

A Star Is Born opened April 27, 1937 courtesy of Selznick Productions.

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