Cinema Revisited: A Star is Born (1937)

A Star is Born

Directed by William Wellman. Cast: Fredric March, Janet Gaynor, Adolph Menjou, Lionel Stander, May Robson, Andy Devine, Clara Blandick. Released April 20, 1937. 111 minutes.

Now that yet another version of this story is upon us, featuring contemporary stars Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, write-ups seem to have forgotten this first, and best, version of the story. Some articles actually call the latest film a sequel to the 1977 Jon Peters production featuring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. A few bother recalling the lavish George Cukor production of 1954 featuring Judy Garland and James Mason. There are some good points to each of these versions. But the first one got it exactly right.

An epic drama from the Selznick studios, with brilliant Technicolor, the 1937 “A Star is Born” was filmed right during the golden age of Hollywood, when the idea of a small town girl rushing off to Hollywood in hopes of getting into movies was a much more immediate mainstream idea. Janet Gaynor stars as just such a woman, and while the film is ultimately a fantasy that shows her eventually achieving stardom, it spends a great deal of time presenting the harshness of the city, the difficulty of the career choice, and the lack of funds for something as simple as one’s next meal.

This portion of the film is pretty dark. One of the most stirring scenes has Gaynor attempting to apply for extra work, and a secretary showing a row of switchboard operators turning down call after call, and pointing out that each one of those is a request to get into movies. William Wellman lightens up the darker scenes with amusing appearances by Edgar Kennedy as a gruff-but-understanding landlord, and Andy Devine as an assistant director experiencing hard times himself. A chance meeting with a matinee idol while waitressing at a Hollywood party results in Gaynor’s breaking into movies. However, her subsequent romance with the actor is offset by her career rising as his falls.

This basic plot element had been utilized in the 1932 RKO melodrama “What Price Hollywood,” but this 1937 film remains the first “A Star is Born” from which all others have stemmed. It set the standard and has never been matched.

The opening scenes show the starry eyed movie struck Gaynor being dismissed as foolish by her family, except a tender hearted grandmother whose stern exterior is dropped for emotional support and a tearful goodbye. May Robson, as the grandmother, brackets the narrative.

Fredric March turns in one of the finest performances of his career, as the loving, supportive, yet tragic Norman Maine, a matinee idol whose time has passed and who sinks into alcoholism as his wife, Vicki Lester (the rechristened Esther Blodgett played Gaynor), becomes an even bigger star than he had been. Adolph Menjou as a business minded studio head and Lionel Stander as a cynical press agent round out the principle cast perfectly.

When Norman Maine’s star falls, his past excesses and egocentric behaviors are no longer tolerated. There is an especially stirring scene where press agent Stander tells him off, March embarrassingly hiding his head while Stander hovers over him, spitting out his lines (“I don’t feel sorry for you….”). In a 1986 interview, Stander told this writer that he considered this role one of his best, and especially felt he benefited from playing scenes with Fredric March ( “Freddie stood back and let me go.”)

The film reaches its emotional crescendo with the famous scene when Norman Maine walks into the Pacific Ocean and lets the water take him away. A supportive visit from grandma (May Robson’s bracketing of the narrative) and Gaynor’s triumphant “This is Mrs. Norman Maine” over the radio at a premiere conclude the film with real emotional power.

Many believe the 1954 musical version is superior with Judy Garland at her finest singing “The Man That Got Away.” However, James Mason’s approach to the Norman Maine role has a creepiness that March did not investigate (especially evident in the scene where Maine dances with his wife at a Hollywood function – Mason’s eyes look positively sinister). Of course James Mason is an excellent actor and his performance in the 1954 “A Star is Born” is outstanding. But his approach to the concept goes in another direction and it is arguable as to whether it is more or less effective.

The 1977 version with Streisand and Kristofferson (in a role originally offered to Elvis Presley) took the story out of the movies and into the world of rock concerts. It was a bloated mess, but led to the 2018 version with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, which is another musical.

While the basic story is always fundamentally good, the 1937 version offers the strongest screen adaption at every level – the acting, direction, set design, and overall concept being set within the then-contemporary world of Hollywood’s true golden age (the 1977 is hardly from the golden age of rock and roll!).

Because it is in the public domain, there are many cheap, washed out prints of the 1937 “A Star is Born” on DVD going for budget prices. The one this review recommends is the KINO remastered version featuring the authorized edition of the film from the George Eastman house. It is available here: A Star is Born (1937)