A Star Is Born

“The applause of the world... and then this!”

7.1

1954

3h 2m

DramaMusicRomance

Director: George Cukor

Overview

A movie star helps a young singer-actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.

Trailer

Trailer Official

Cast

Vicki Lester

Judy Garland

Vicki Lester

Norman Maine

James Mason

Norman Maine

Matt Libby

Jack Carson

Matt Libby

Oliver Niles

Charles Bickford

Oliver Niles

Danny McGuire

Tommy Noonan

Danny McGuire

Lola Lavery

Lucy Marlow

Lola Lavery

Susan Ettinger

Amanda Blake

Susan Ettinger

Graves

Irving Bacon

Graves

Libby's Secretary

Hazel Shermet

Libby's Secretary

Glenn Williams (uncredited)

James Brown

Glenn Williams (uncredited)

Academy Awards Attendee (uncredited)

John Alban

Academy Awards Attendee (uncredited)

Guitarist (uncredited)

Laurindo Almeida

Guitarist (uncredited)

Reviews

CinemaSerf

One cannot watch this nowadays without seeing parallels between the James Mason role as "Norman Maine" and Judy Garland's own later life. He is the falling star of Hollywood kept afloat by booze and the ceaseless efforts of his studio boss "Oliver Niles" (Charles Bickford) to keep him from complete self-destruction. Meantime "Esther Blodgett" (Garland) is a struggling chanteuse taking any job she can until good fortune strikes. One night, serendipity takes a hand in this and their paths cross. He hears her sing "The Man That Got Away" with her band in a bar and is smitten both professionally and emotionally. As the title suggests, a star is well and truly born. Soon "Maine" is but an appendage to the newly renamed "Vicki Lester" which sees him spiral even more out of control, despite her addictive love for him. It's long (over 2½ hours) so inevitably, it sags at times - I could have done with more singing, but it is still a fine, touching, piece of cinema.

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