{"id":36052,"date":"2016-02-04T11:42:29","date_gmt":"2016-02-04T18:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=36052"},"modified":"2021-01-08T14:03:08","modified_gmt":"2021-01-08T21:03:08","slug":"star-is-born-a-1937","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=36052","title":{"rendered":"Star is Born, A (1937)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;The tense is wrong. You&#8217;re not slipping: you&#8217;ve slipped.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-Poster-194x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-36059\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-Poster-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-Poster-83x128.jpg 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-Poster-662x1024.jpg 662w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-Poster.jpg 761w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nAn aspiring actress (Janet Gaynor) falls in love with a famous but alcoholic actor (Fredric March), and soon their fates begin to shift.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Adolph Menjou Films<\/li>\n<li>Alcoholism and Drug Addiction<\/li>\n<li>Aspiring Stars<\/li>\n<li>Fredric March Films<\/li>\n<li>Hollywood<\/li>\n<li>Janet Gaynor Films<\/li>\n<li>Rise-and-Fall<\/li>\n<li>Romance<\/li>\n<li>Star-Crossed Lovers<\/li>\n<li>William Wellman Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that this &#8220;William Wellman classic&#8221; &#8212; an earlier version of <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=20285\">George Cukor&#8217;s celebrated 1954 musical<\/a> starring James Mason and Judy Garland &#8212; is a &#8220;rare case&#8221; when the original &#8220;stands up to the remake&#8221;. It&#8217;s been well-noted that both versions ironically feature a reversal of stances, with Gaynor and Garland actually near the end of their real-life careers, and March and Mason near the peak of theirs. To that end, Peary writes that this film &#8220;appropriately capped Gaynor&#8217;s brief but impressive career&#8221;, and that &#8220;because Gaynor&#8217;s playing her, we can believe the sweetness, selflessness, and inner strength that characterize Esther\/Vicki&#8221;. He adds that &#8220;March is surprisingly and effectively subdued in a role in which other actors (i.e., John Barrymore) might have chewed up the scenery&#8221;. <\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m in agreement with Peary&#8217;s review. While the remake is undeniably more masterful on every level &#8212; with Mason and Garland giving Oscar-worthy, gut-wrenching performances &#8212; this earlier version is enjoyable, well-acted, and affecting. In his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>, Peary writes that while &#8220;we are <em>told<\/em> Janet Gaynor\u2019s Esther-Vicki has talent in the 1937 film, Garland proves her star talent\u201d &#8212; and yes, it&#8217;s less obvious that Gaynor&#8217;s Esther\/Vicki &#8220;deserves&#8221; the fame she wins through her lucky break. But this is essentially a melodramatic fable, so the reversal of fortunes experienced by March and Gaynor comes across as almost archetypal in its swiftness and simplicity. The star-crossed lovers&#8217; romance feels both genuine and doomed.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fredric March as Norman Maine<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-1937-March.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-1937-March.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"728\" height=\"409\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-36062\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-1937-March.jpg 728w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-1937-March-128x72.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-1937-March-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Janet Gaynor as Esther Blodgett\/Vicki Lester (nominated as one of the Best Actresses of the Year in <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-1937-Gaynor.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-1937-Gaynor.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"728\" height=\"409\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-36064\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-1937-Gaynor.jpg 728w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-1937-Gaynor-128x72.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-1937-Gaynor-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine Technicolor cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-1937-Cinematography.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-1937-Cinematography.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"728\" height=\"409\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-36063\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-1937-Cinematography.jpg 728w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-1937-Cinematography-128x72.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Star-is-Born-1937-Cinematography-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 728px) 100vw, 728px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a classic melodrama, and for its status as an Oscar winner (for original story, with script written in part by Dorothy Parker). Nominated as one of the Best Pictures of the Year by Peary in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<li>Oscar Winner or Nominee<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0029606\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1937\/04\/23\/archives\/the-screen-the-music-hall-has-a-star-is-born-the-criterion-thunder.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/53137\/star-is-born-a\/\">DVD Talk Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1445star.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/4843\/a-star-is-born#articles-reviews?articleId=534\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/a-star-is-born-1937\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The tense is wrong. You&#8217;re not slipping: you&#8217;ve slipped.&#8221; Synopsis: An aspiring actress (Janet Gaynor) falls in love with a famous but alcoholic actor (Fredric March), and soon their fates begin to shift. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Adolph Menjou Films Alcoholism and Drug Addiction Aspiring Stars Fredric March Films Hollywood Janet Gaynor Films Rise-and-Fall Romance Star-Crossed Lovers William Wellman Films Response to Peary\u2019s Review: Peary writes that this &#8220;William Wellman classic&#8221; &#8212; an earlier version of George Cukor&#8217;s celebrated&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=36052\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36052"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62308,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36052\/revisions\/62308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}