SECOND ANNUAL JUDY GARLAND BLOGATHON – A Star is Born (1954)

This is the first of three posts dedicated to the Second Annual Judy Garland Blogathon being held over at In The Good Old Days of Hollywood. Tnx Crystal for letting me take part!

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“Of course you’re scared! We all are! What makes you think you wouldn’t be?” – Norman Maine

Number of Times Seen – 1 (3 Jun 2018)

Brief Synopsis – A aspiring singer and actress is taken under the wing of a famous actor who must dela with the fact that his own career is in a downward spiral.

My Take on it – This is a film that I’ve been interested in seeing ever since I saw the original a few months ago and loved it.

They do a nice job of adapting the story to the 1950’s but it still isn’t as powerful as the original was.

Judy Garland and James Mason are both great in the leads here and both deservingly were Oscar nominated for their roles.

The story itself is quite timeless and that perhaps is one of the reasons that it has been remade numerous times.

The newest version of the story is expected to be out later this year and it is highly anticipated by many because of its use of this kind of story.

I think that the reason that this version isn’t as good as the original is the fact that it relies too heavily on the musical aspects of it all which largely had to do with the fact that it was made during the era of the Hollywood musicals of the 50’s.

Bottom Line – Nice adaptation of this story but as good as it is, it still isn’t as good as the original.  Garland and Mason were both nominated for Oscars for their roles, but neither manages to win despite giving great performances.  The story is definitely timeless and the fact that it has been remade numerous times (including a new version to come out this year) says so much about the storyline.  I believe that the musical aspects of this film don’t help it as much as it probably did when it came out during the decade of musicals. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Because the role of Norman Maine is that of a has-been actor, it was rejected by Humphrey Bogart, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Gary Cooper, Henry Fonda, Errol Flynn, Cary Grant, Ray Milland, Gregory Peck, Tyrone Power, Frank Sinatra, James Stewart and Robert Taylor before being finally accepted by James Mason. Judy Garland did suggest her former The Harvey Girls (1946) co-star, John Hodiak, for the role, but Hodiak was unavailable at the time.  (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (8/10)

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