Director: William A. Wellman
Distributor: United Artists
Top Billed Actors: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March, Adolphe Menjou
Won 1 Oscar:
Best Original Story - William A. Wellman and Robert Carson
Nominated for 6 more:
Outstanding Production - Selznick International Pictures
Best Director - William A. Wellman
Best Actor - Fredric March
Best Actress - Janet Gaynor
Best Adaptation - Alan Campbell, Robert Carson, and Dorothy Parker
Best Assistant Director - Eric G. Stacey
Plot: A drunk actor hits on a waitress and eventually makes her an overnight sensation in the moving pictures industry. She rises, he falls, and the story gets remade 37 times in the future.
Distributor: United Artists
Top Billed Actors: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March, Adolphe Menjou
Won 1 Oscar:
Best Original Story - William A. Wellman and Robert Carson
Nominated for 6 more:
Outstanding Production - Selznick International Pictures
Best Director - William A. Wellman
Best Actor - Fredric March
Best Actress - Janet Gaynor
Best Adaptation - Alan Campbell, Robert Carson, and Dorothy Parker
Best Assistant Director - Eric G. Stacey
Plot: A drunk actor hits on a waitress and eventually makes her an overnight sensation in the moving pictures industry. She rises, he falls, and the story gets remade 37 times in the future.
After all of the hype and accolades surrounding the 2018 version of this film, A Star Is Born (1937) has been on my radar for quite some time. Instead of the lead characters being involved in the music business, the original story delves into the movie industry. It makes for one hell of a meta experience with ties to the past, present, and future of the business. Starting with the past, Janey Gaynor is presented with an Academy Award as part of the story. It turns out that the statuette used as a prop is her own Academy Award (she was the very first Best Actress winner). Her opposite lead, Fredric March, also had an Oscar to his name. Even the director, William A. Wellman, is noteworthy for directing the first Best Picture winner, Wings (1927). Moving on to the present, there are a slew of actors, directors, and producers that are said to be the inspiration to these characters. None of them really stand out but one thing I find interesting is that John Barrymore was slated to play Norman Maine (the March character). However, he was an alcoholic himself and couldn't remember his lines. He eventually had to throw in the towel - a very meta experience indeed. The future is represented by the color of the film itself. This is the first color film to be nominated for Best Picture. It was also the second year in a row in which W. Howard Greene received an Honorary Academy Award for color cinematography. Also thinking about the future, this is likely the first box office success with a story focused on Hollywood and film-making itself. Its a subject that has been handled many many times after this and all of those films can trace their roots to this.
With all that trivia and accolades, its easy to see how this inspired the slew of remakes in the future. However, this original story is right up my alley. I adore movies about movies and seeing the behind-the-scene moments from the business in the 1930s satiated my hankering for the subject matter. This is the most prevalent when Gaynor is doing her screen test. What's neat about this scene is that the costumes are antebellum - producer David O. Selznik was getting ready for his masterpiece two years later, Gone with the Wind (1939). Gaynor's character has such a reserved and quiet charisma about her. It feels comfortable spending time with her. She is funny (all of those impressions!), she is caring, her love for March exudes genuinity, and she's never over-the-top. Gaynor plays it wonderfully and she's endearing to the last. March, while doing enough to earn his third Oscar nomination, doesn't quite live up to Gaynor's standards. Or maybe this is even more meta than I thought and his performance is meant to be a tad downtrodden? I am overthinking things...
There's not much I can harp on here. Sure, it feels a bit long. I was a little confused in the beginning on how Gaynor was related to those old people and the little boy. I think the boy is her brother, but I initially thought he was her son and she was abandoning him to be in the pictures. That would have been messed up. I wish there was a bit more checking in with the granny, but her appearance at the end of the film is inviting. I am also a bit perplexed as to Gaynor's character's suspicions about March's character's fate in the conclusion. Its not clear to me how much she knows and it makes her intentions a bit frustrating, before granny saves the day.
Overall, seeing two of the best actors in Janet Gaynor and Fredric March navigate the tribulations of Hollywood, in color no less, is can't-miss entertainment. Its the original film that spawned three highly acclaimed remakes so it goes without saying that the story has legs.
My Score: 8/10
With all that trivia and accolades, its easy to see how this inspired the slew of remakes in the future. However, this original story is right up my alley. I adore movies about movies and seeing the behind-the-scene moments from the business in the 1930s satiated my hankering for the subject matter. This is the most prevalent when Gaynor is doing her screen test. What's neat about this scene is that the costumes are antebellum - producer David O. Selznik was getting ready for his masterpiece two years later, Gone with the Wind (1939). Gaynor's character has such a reserved and quiet charisma about her. It feels comfortable spending time with her. She is funny (all of those impressions!), she is caring, her love for March exudes genuinity, and she's never over-the-top. Gaynor plays it wonderfully and she's endearing to the last. March, while doing enough to earn his third Oscar nomination, doesn't quite live up to Gaynor's standards. Or maybe this is even more meta than I thought and his performance is meant to be a tad downtrodden? I am overthinking things...
There's not much I can harp on here. Sure, it feels a bit long. I was a little confused in the beginning on how Gaynor was related to those old people and the little boy. I think the boy is her brother, but I initially thought he was her son and she was abandoning him to be in the pictures. That would have been messed up. I wish there was a bit more checking in with the granny, but her appearance at the end of the film is inviting. I am also a bit perplexed as to Gaynor's character's suspicions about March's character's fate in the conclusion. Its not clear to me how much she knows and it makes her intentions a bit frustrating, before granny saves the day.
Overall, seeing two of the best actors in Janet Gaynor and Fredric March navigate the tribulations of Hollywood, in color no less, is can't-miss entertainment. Its the original film that spawned three highly acclaimed remakes so it goes without saying that the story has legs.
My Score: 8/10