Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1954)

"A Star Is Barn" (CinemaScope) Su4iHC^ 'RiUcH^ O O O O Superb entertainment. Powerful drama, exceptional music. Close to the zenith in all departments. Mognltude of preselling, dIus intense oublic interest in Garland comeback, makes this one of most eagerly awaited films in years. Top grosses everywhere assured. Look for this great film to leave new boxoffice records in its wake. The acid test cf aU great art rests finally with the emotions. What matters the intellect when the reflexec; bring those little involuntary shivers? What matters objective analysis when ycu feel the nervous system uncoil to the warmth of the stimuli? What matters dispassionate review when you feel something seize the spirit and wring out that inpulsive, unrequited thrill which only those rare moments of high achievement can awaken? By either emotional or rational standards, "A Star Is Born" stacks up as extraordinary entertainment. To say otherwise is to admit one's heart is out of kilter. In its most memorable passages, it could melt the heart of a commissar in the frozen Siberian wastes. Perhaps the one secret of this remarkable picture, above all of its brilliant assets, is its sheer humanity. Of this substance, the Moss Hart screeplay has spooned out some whopping, extra-economy size doses. Even before the cameras started grinding, there existed sentiment aplenty in the Judy Garland comeback story, with which so many millions of movie fans are familiar, and which fact will contribute liberally to the exploitable aspects of the film. Hardly a scene passes without a jab at the tear ducts or at that cranny of the soul wherein lurks the warm stuff of human compassion. The tale of a courageous little songand-dance girl (Garland) on the way up, a movie star on the way down, and their bittersweet relationship against the swirling Hollywood backdrop will exert a fetching appeal upon all audiences. Word-of-mouth will send "A Star Is Born" rolling like a snowball to mountainous grosses. The decision to mount the exceptional 1937 version as a musical this time has proved sheer genius. Jack L. Warner has every reason to be proud of this achievement, and he deserves highest praise for his willingness to gamble a fortune on the production. For all its near-record 182 minutes, the film is miraculously devoid of soft spots, save in one or two instances. Withal, it maintains exceptional fluidity, generates a gathering excitement and clutches the spectator's interest from start to finish. Not only are the Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin numbers stunningly crafted and interlarded into the dramatic development with an unaffected ease and spontaniety. but they brinp; a welcome relief from the biting and often pathetic tone of the script. Miss Garland's treatment of "The Man That Got Away" ranks with the most spellbinding blues renditions within memory. Other Arlen-Gershwin numbers like "Got To Have Me With You" and "Somewhere There's A Someone", and Leonard Gershe's "Born In A Trunk" wonderfully abet the story-telling. Director George Cukor, whose emotion-evoking talents are firmly established, has never applied a more skilled hand. His touches are everywhere, most apparent perhaps in the innumerable little tableaus which build Drunk, the has-been actor embarrasses his uije on. the night of her triumph as an "Oscar" winner. flesh, sinew and muscle into the tale. Poignant example: Mason and some seamy-side housewives bickering over his autograph on a boarding house rooftop. Producer Sidney Luft. who fashioned this masterpiece, provided production values on a scale lavish and ornate, but unostentatious. The very grandeur of the Hollywood locale serves to intensify the vastness of the personal tragedy. The cameras were turned about face to capture some of the most detailed and intimate glimpses yet seen of the movie capital. And much cf it is caught without benefit of makeup. In some rare moments, Cukor actually kids the pants oflf the the industry. With benefit of Technicolor and CinemaScope, Hollywood comes alive in way that is sure to prove that it is still the glamour spot cf the globe. Judy Garland turns in a performance of classic proportions. Added to the impish charm which endeared her to millions as a juvenile is a hauntingly sensitive maturity and depth. She brinp-s to the screen that rare and shadowy substance which, for want of a better term, is called style. It is possessed only by a Pickford, a Chaplin, a Garbo. Her Vicki Lester emerges one of most gallant heroines in ages. James Mason is the surprise of the film. As the liquorridden Norman Main, he scores with such sincerity and realism one imagines he was born to the role. He empitomizes human weakness so afifectingly, the audience must fight off a lingering sorrow for the man's unhappy lot. Jack Carson, switching from his usual tomfoolery, registers strongly as a heavy, and Charles Bickford's producer is restrained and believable. The story follows Garland from career as dance-band singer to movie opportunity as result of rescuing Mason, an aging and alcoholic matinee idol from public embarrassment in one of his drunken orgies. Mason lights the fires of confidence in the halting young girl and becomes champion of her cause. She emerges a smash success, and though aware of his failings, she elopes with Mason. The two drift apart as Judy rises to new heights and Mason, his career now a shambles, succumbs entirely to drink. Learning by chance that Garland, still deeply in love, plans to forsake films in order to nurse him to health. Mason manifests his undying devotion by giving her the only gift left at his disposal, his death. (PHIL) Warner Bros. 182 Minutes. Judy Garland. James Mason, Jack Carson. Charles Blckford, Tom Noonan. Producer Sidney Luft. Director George Cukor. MORE REVIEWS ON PAGE 16 FILM BULLETIN October 18. lfS4 Page 13