Top 50 Actresses, #24 - Judy Garland: "A Star Is Born" (1954)

Movie Stats:
Released 1954 (USA)
American, in English
Director - George Cukor
Stars - Judy Garland, James Mason, Charles Bickford

Plot Summary:
After a chance meeting with famed actor Norman Maine (Mason), small-time singer Esther Blodgett (Garland; the character is known later in the film by stage name Vicki Lester) gets her big break, but at what cost? Bickford co-stars as Oliver Niles, studio head.

Warnings:
Very minor violence.

Bad Stuff:
It’s LONG (3 hours).

I didn’t care for the scenes toward the beginning that showed the passage of time via still pictures with overlaid dialogue. They didn’t fit with the rest of the film.

As with many films about Hollywood, it’s a bit too self-referential & I got to wondering if the only reason this particular story is so popular (it’s been made a whopping 4 times, with the next remake coming out this year) is because it shows the seedy underbelly of the industry.

Good Stuff:
The cinematography, set design, and costuming are very slick and stylish. I was in love.

Garland really had some pipes. Just thinking about her singing in this film is making me teary-eyed.

The acting is phenomenal. All the key players are very good, with Garland as the standout, but I also enjoyed two smaller roles: Jack Carson as studio publicist Matt Libby (even if his character is a jerk) & Tommy Noonan as Esther’s songwriter, Danny McGuire.

Shallow: I could listen to Mason talk all day every day.

About the Performance:
I’ve always been a bit ambivalent about Garland. Until this film, I’d only seen 3 of her other performances: one of which I didn’t care for; one I don’t recall (“Meet Me in St. Louis”); and one where I thought she was amazing. She’s fantastic in this. Knowing of her life struggles, which would eventually lead her to an early grave, I can only imagine that she drew upon her own experiences for this performance. It must have been difficult to play a person trying to save someone she loved from addiction when she herself could not be saved from it. Or perhaps she didn’t have that much self-awareness. At any rate, that’s what I kept thinking of the whole time; it lent an air of poignancy to the film & broke my heart.

Other performances of Garland’s I’ve reviewed: Judgment at Nuremberg; The Wizard of Oz.

The Verdict:
Much to my surprise, I loved this film. With all the song & dance routines, it occasionally gives the impression that there’s not much substance to it. Sometimes I found myself thinking, “Is this just a vehicle to showcase Garland’s singing?” Not that this would be a bad thing, but I got a little impatient for it to get to the point. In between all that singing and dancing, however, this film does have substance. In fact, it has a great deal of it. I thought the central romance was very believable, natural & sweet; Garland & Mason had great chemistry together. I loved practically everything about this movie. Yes, it’s too long, and it suffers from some self-adulation, but overall it struck a nice balance between delighting me & making me cry. Sort of like life, I guess.

I give it 4.5 stars.