A Star Is Born

Name: A Star Is Born
Genre: Drama
Released: April 27, 1937
Duration: 111 min
Rating: 77
Cast: Adolphe Menjou, Andy Devine, Edgar Kennedy, Elizabeth Jenns, Fredric March

1937

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Generally favorable reviews based on 5 Critic Reviews

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Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Ratings

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7.5

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7.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 10 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

United Artists | Release Date: April 27, 1937 | Approved

Starring: Adolphe Menjou, Andy Devine, Edgar Kennedy, Elizabeth Jenns, Fredric March, Janet Gaynor, Lionel Stander, May Robson, Owen Moore, Peggy Wood

Summary: A young woman comes to Hollywood with dreams of stardom, but achieves them only with the help of an alcoholic leading man whose best days are behind him.

Director: Jack Conway and William A. Wellman

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Approved

Runtime: 111 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

A Star is Born captures wonderfully the hustle of Hollywood. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Although not the first film which has attempted to capitalize the international reputation of Hollywood, it is unquestionably the most effective one yet made. The highly commendable results are achieved with a minimum of satiric hokum and a maximum of honest story telling. Read full review

Frank S. Nugent

The original beauty. Not as glittery as Garland-Mason but in some ways even more golden. Read full review

Jaime N. Christley

William Wellman’s 1937 version of this oft-told tale, of the rising starlet and the plummeting alcoholic has-been she refuses to cast aside, is usually regarded as the second-best of the lot, a few steps behind George Cukor’s 1954 remake, which has the unfair advantage of being one of the unimpeachable masterpieces of American film. Read full review

Pauline Kael

The film is peculiarly masochistic and self-congratulatory.

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User Reviews

LilScience

Aug 8, 2020

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Vicki Lester a grande estrela! No começo o filme traz a atriz na busca do estrelato, passando por várias dificuldades, sofrendo até da descrença da própria família.
Mas aos poucos foi conseguindo e batalhando pelo seu espaço na indústria, um fato interessante: em uma parte do filme eles tentam mudá-la para se adequar nos filmes, algo também presente na versão recente deste filme estrelado pela Lady Gaga.
Entre altos e baixos, Vicki Lester e seu marido Norman Maine e um deles mais chocantes é quando Norman chega na hora que ela recebe o prêmio do Oscar, e ele totalmente alterado sem querer bate nela, e entre outros problemas ele se mete numa briga e acaba na prisão, e é liberado sob a atenção de Vicki.

Sem dar mais spoilers, o roteiro conseguiu trabalhar bem a história, trazendo desde como é difícil começar uma carreira mas com persistência ela foi conseguindo, sobretudo com alguns problemas como ter um marido alcoólatra que depois acaba falecendo (desculpem os spoilers), porém no fim ela recebe a vó e as duas se abraçam em um momento lindo.

Uma reflexão final traz, mesmo para a época, que a mídia quer alterar a essência do artista, para ele poder se inserir na mídia, e como nem tudo são flores toda a fama tem seus poréns, como eu mesmo disse, não deixa de ser um filme incrível mas foi legal trazer esta atenção aos olhos da imprensa.… Expand

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amheretojudge

Sep 17, 2018

an extravaganza for life..

A Star Is Born A Star Is Born is a character driven drama about a couple whose professional life dives in, on their personal life that creates a havoc. The premise guides you the categorized plethora of poignancy that it contains, but smartly the feature is stillan extravaganza for life..

A Star Is Born

A Star Is Born is a character driven drama about a couple whose professional life dives in, on their personal life that creates a havoc. The premise guides you the categorized plethora of poignancy that it contains, but smartly the feature is still inspiring as much as heartbreaking it is. Gaynor's character fuels this basic needs of the tale in order to creates its high pitched emotional sequences, and with her being on driver's seat, all we can do is sit back and enjoy the ride. The structure may be dependent on various acts whose tone shifts as they vary widely, and hence fortunately with substance like such comes with panache that draws the attention of the viewers through it.

Brimmed with details of the inner world of the Hollywood industry, the tale manages to keep the flow fluent and observant with tiny notions imputed to hit on the nerves. With such jagged and gritty script that dives in on the "dirty" repercussions of any whatsoever deed, shows the passion and guts of the makers to go bold on such scale. It is rich on technical aspects like sound department, production design, editing and mature cinematography. As mentioned earlier, Gaynor's performance is career defining as it is conveyed on the feature and with a support from March whose loss communicates clearly with the viewers along with its stakes; the feature is no short on performance. Wellman's execution is what blends this humorous inspiring bold tale with finesse that runs through decades and passes the torch potentially to subsequent generations. A journey brimmed with plethora of variations as it does, a layered policy hidden behind it and stellar performances up front are the high points of the feature. A Star Is Born thrives on human nature which then raises the question of how it stages it, and luckily it is an extravaganza for life.… Expand

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