Synopsis
The 1954 musical remake of A Star is Born could have been titled
A Star is Reborn, in that it represented the triumphal return to the screen of
Judy Garland after a four-year absence. The remake adheres closely to the plotline of the 1937 original: An alcoholic film star, on his last professional legs, gives a career boost to a unknown aspiring actress. The two marry, whereupon her fame and fortune rises while his spirals sharply downward. Unable to accept this, the male star crawls deeper into the bottle. The wife tearfully decides to give up her own career to care for her husband. To spare her this fate, the husband chivalrously commits suicide. His wife is inconsolable at first, but is urged to go "on with the show" in memory of her late husband. In the original,
Janet Gaynor played Esther Blodgett, who with no training or contacts came to Hollywood hoping for stardom. The remake, scripted by
Moss Hart, is a shade more realistic: Garland's Esther, though far removed from fame, is a working professional singer/dancer when first we meet her. Both Gaynor and Garland are transformed from "Esther Blodgett" to "Vicki Lester" after being screen-tested, though Gaynor goes on to star in fluffy costume dramas while Garland more logically headlines big-budget musicals. The 1937
Star is Born costarred
Fredric March as Norman Maine, Esther/Vicki's sponsor-cum-spouse. March patterned his performance after the tragic
John Barrymore, reining in his emotions in favor of pure technique;
James Mason's interpretation is more original, more emotional, and far more effective (who can forget the scene where Norman sobbingly overhears Vicki planning to give up her career for his sake?) As the studio's long-suffering publicist, the 1937 version's
Lionel Stander is more abrasive and unpleasant than the 1954 version's introspective, intellectual
Jack Carson; on the other hand,
Adolphe Menjou and
Charles Bickford are fairly evenly matched in the role of the studio head. Several important omissions are made in the remake. The 1937
Star is Born included Esther's indomitable old grandma (
May Robson), a helpful assistant director (
Andy Devine) and a soft-hearted landlord (
Edgar Kennedy); all three characters are missing from the 1954 version, though elements of each can be found in the "best friend/severest critic" character played by
Tommy Noonan. Wisely, both versions end with the grieving Vicki Lester coming out of her shell at a public gathering, greeting the audience with a proud, defiant "Good evening, everybody. This is Mrs. Norman Maine". Though directors
William Wellman (1937 version) and
George Cukor (1954 version) handl