Hollywood is often described as a “dream factory” and, as such, the prime purpose of its films was to deliver an illusion to the audience. At times, however, some Hollywood filmmakers, either consciously or unconsciously, tried to deliver something more in line with real life on the screen and, on some occasions, that real life dealt with Hollywood itself. Some of these films were made even during the Classic Hollywood period, when the disconnect between the glitz and glamour of the American film industry and its more prosaic reality was even greater than in our, more cynical, times.
Probably the best known and the most influential of those films is A Star Is Born (1937), a romantic drama directed by William A. Wellman, known not only as one of the first Hollywood films to deal realistically with Hollywood itself, but also for serving as the basis for three major remakes.
The plot begins at a Midwestern farm where Esther Blodgett (played by Janet Gaynor) is a young woman obsessed with films and dreaming of becoming a Hollywood star. The rest of her family mocks her dreams, except her grandmother Lettie (played by May Robson), an old pioneer who encourages her to follow her ambitions even if the price might be a broken heart. After obtaining enough money for a train ticket, she arrives in Los Angeles, but it soon becomes clear that her path to stardom is all but impossible and that she has to compete with tens of thousands of other aspiring and chronically unemployed actresses. She, however, manages to befriend an unemployed assistant director, Danny McGuire (played by Andy Devine), who helps her find a job as a waitress at a Hollywood party. There she is noticed by the famous actor Norman Maine (played by Fredric March) who is smitten with her and persuades his powerful producer, Oliver Niles (played by Adolphe Menjou), to get her a screen test. It works splendidly, with Esther getting a role and a new name, “Vicki Lester”, and later marrying Norman.
The careers of both spouses, however, take very different trajectories. While Vicki Lester makes hit after hit and becomes a grand star, Norman makes flop after flop and becomes frustrated and angry, seeking solace at the bottom of a bottle, which ultimately ends in tragedy.
William A. Wellman was one of the most prolific and celebrated directors of Classic Hollywood, known for many of the most important films of the era. However, the real driving force behind this film was David O. Selznick, one of the producers of the Classic Hollywood era who could be described as “independent” in the modern sense of the word. Selznick “borrowed” much of the plot from What Price Hollywood?, an obscure and now mostly forgotten film made five years earlier, in which he served as one of the executive producers. Selznick, despite the general scepticism of Hollywood filmmakers towards films dealing with Hollywood, gathered a rather impressive collection of talent behind and in front of the camera. The script was, in one way or another, a collaboration of celebrated writers like Budd Schulberg, Ring Lardner Jr., Ben Hecht and, most notably, the American literary star Dorothy Parker. The two main roles were played by actors who had won some of the earliest Oscars – Fredric March (for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) and Janet Gaynor (for Sunrise, one of the last grand films of the silent era).
But the greatest asset of the film was the use of three-strip Technicolor, a technology that finally allowed audiences to enjoy images in bright colours instead of black-and-white. The process was expensive and clunky, and some of the earlier experiments resulted in audiences, unaccustomed to it, actually suffering headaches. Selznick, however, insisted that cinematographer W. Howard Greene use soft instead of bright colours, making the film more realistic and less demanding on the eyes. The general result of his efforts was not only a solid hit but a film that won over almost all critics and, more importantly, had its share of Oscars – for Best Director, Best Original Story and a special award for Greene’s colour cinematography.
The success of A Star Is Born led to three remakes (not counting an obscure 1951 television adaptation), all musicals – the 1954 version starring Judy Garland and James Mason; the 1976 version starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson; and the 2018 version starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. Of all these versions, Wellman’s is the most authentic. Not only does it deal exclusively with Hollywood, unburdened by musical numbers, but its script and characters are closest to the source. The story of a young ingenue coming to pursue dreams and achieving them while experiencing heartbreak, as well as the story about the fleeting nature of fame and the ruthlessness of the American film industry, was something Selznick and the people around him were quite aware of.
The character of Norman Maine is a composite of a number of real-life personalities, mostly Hollywood superstars like John Barrymore, John Gilbert or John Bowers who, for one reason or another, failed to maintain their stardom, which led them to alcoholism and premature deaths. Even some of the cast members found inspiration for their roles in their own lives – Gaynor, during the scene showing the Academy Award ceremony, used her own golden statue as a prop, while the incident resembled an actual incident caused by Gaynor’s sister who got drunk and embarrassed herself during the 1927/28 Oscar ceremony. Even elderly May Robson played a character who, like the actress herself, had lived as a pioneer in the wilderness during her youth. Gaynor’s character in the film contemplates ending her career at the zenith of her popularity in order to take care of her family, and this is exactly what Janet Gaynor actually did following this film.
Even viewers who aren’t familiar with cinema history and its references would probably appreciate this film. In colour, A Star Is Born doesn’t look that different from modern films, and the story is simple and comprehensive. The script effortlessly bounces between pathos, drama and a little humour. Although constrained by the heavy censorship of the Hays Code, this film clearly shows the dark side of Hollywood, with the heroine at first forced to live in seedy hotels and do odd jobs. Although Adolphe Menjou’s character as a producer at times looks too nice compared to real Hollywood moguls of the time, scenes featuring him give some insight into typically Hollywood ruthlessness. Lionel Stander, one of the great character actors of the era, plays a very Hollywood character in Libby, the studio’s PR man dedicated to getting Norman out of alcohol-related troubles, who viciously turns against him when the actor’s fortunes make him insignificant. This performance is well-matched by Andy Devine as the heroine’s mentor and friend who also serves as something of a comic relief. Their efforts make A Star Is Born not only one of the more important but also one of the more enjoyable works of Classic Hollywood.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
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