A Star is Born 1937

     Esther Victoria Blodgett is dreaming of becoming a movie star.  Most of her family thinks this is just an idea that will never happen.  She talks to her grandmother Lettie Blodgett and Lettie gives her the money to travel to Hollywood.  She rents an apartment and she starts going to all the studios and Central Casting.  She finds out that MANY women have come to Hollywood to be a star and the odds are very low that Lettie will achieve her dream.  She meets Norman Maine and he’s a movie star but he drinks too much and his career is going down the drain.  He sets Lettie up with the right people and she becomes a star.  Her name is changed to Vicki Lester and she wins an Academy Award for her work.  Norman and Vicki get married and Norman is on the wagon for a while.

     The idea for A Star is Born started when David O. Selznick decided to tell a true behind the scenes story of Hollywood.  Many of the people in the script are based on actual people and events.  This film is different from the 2018 version with Lady Gaga and the 1976 version with Barbra Streisand.  This is about actresses and actors and not singers.  It is interesting to see the cars, clothing and hairstyles of this period.   There is speculation that the actress is based on silent-film star Coleen More and her alcoholic husband John McCormick.  Coleen became one of the most fashionable stars of the silent film era and she helped popularize the bobbed haircut.  She was born August 19, 1899 in Port Huron, MI and she died January 25, 1988 in Paso Robles, CA.  She was married to John McCormick between 1923 and 1930.  He was born August 17, 1893 in Kansas City, MO and he died May 3, 1961 in Los Angeles, CA.  There is also speculation that it’s based on the marriage of Barbara Stanwyck and her first husband Frank Fay.  4* (I really liked this movie)

111 min, Drama directed by William A.Wellman and Jack Conway with Janet Gaynor, Fredric March, Adolphe Menju, May Robson, Andy Devine, Lionel Stander, Owen Moore, Peggy Wood, Elizabeth Jenns, Edgar Kennedy, J.D. Nugent, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams, Eric Alden, Clara Blandick, Sidney Bracey.

Note:  Imdb 7.6 out of 10, Rotten Tomatoes 100% critic 77% audience, NYTimes.com 4* Jake Kring-Schreifels, Metacritc 77 out of 100 with 5 critics 7.3 out of 10 with 7 user scores (5 positive, 2 mixed), TCM Leonard Maltin 3.5* out of 5 average use rating 4.3* out of 5*, Amazon 3.4* out of 5* with 406 reviews.

Special Note:  This film won an Academy Award for director William Wellman and Robert Carson, also for Howard Green’s cinematography.  It is the first all color film nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.  Filmed in Café Trocadero, Janss Estate, Alabama Hills, Ambassador Hotel, Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Hollywood Legion Stadium, Raleigh Studios, Santa Anita Park & Racetrack, Selznick International Studios, California.