A Star is Born (1954) George Cukor
Judy Garland shines so brightly that you almost forget you already know how the story ends.
There have been four iterations of A Star is Born going back to the 1930s. I’ve seen half. I watched the 1954 version directed by George Cukor starring Judy Garland and James Mason as the crossing stars. She is on the way up, he is on the way down, we all know the story line now thanks to Cooper and Gaga. I have to say, though, when your rising star is Judy Garland, there are musical numbers and songs that not many could top. It has such gorgeous costumes and set pieces as well. It may not be for those of you with short attention spans, clocking in at over three hours. It has been lost and restored and someone probably needs to restore it again, but what has survived is beautiful like golden age Hollywood should be. I’ll be sure to let you know if I go back to the 30s or the 70s for the other two versions. Stay tuned.
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