Over the years I have seen parts of the original A Star Is Born (1937) but I have never watched it end to end. So when TCM was showing it I decided to program the Tivo and record it. The 1954 version with Judy Garland is one of my favorite films and I can see where the inspiration comes from. It's very hard to judge this film on it's own merits since I have seen the re-make so many times.
Frederick March and Janet Gaynor are both excellent in the roles of Norman Maine and Vicki Lester. The storytelling is simpler, the way it was in early Hollywood films, but the depth of emotion is there.
The film is in the public domain, but the print TCM showed was crisp and clean. A Star Is Born has the honor of being the first color film to be nominated for Best Picture ( it lost to The Life Of Emile Zola) and 74 years later the film still holds up as a sentimental (if somewhat hokey) romance and inspiration to follow your dreams.
At The Movie House rating **** stars
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