Product: Star Is Born (UK PAL Region 0)
Rating: 5.0
This Is Mrs. Norman Maine
Everytime I see this movie, I think of Vickie Lester (Janet Gaynor) pluckily saying 'this is Mrs. Norman Maine' as her eyes are moist with tears. What a trouper!While I like the 1954 version of this movie with Judy Garland as Vickie which is a dramusical, I really have a soft spot for this version. Gaynor is oddly endearing as Vickie blending naveté with a wide eyed wonderment as she traverses a tight rope to fame and fortune and falls in love with Norman Maine (Frederick March). As their paths converge, Norman's career is in freefall from the excesses of film success. He's bleary eyed and starting to look his age as his handsome face belies too much booze, too many late nights, and probably too many one night stands. The movie parts are getting stale and repetitive and movie audiences are reacting to the new and younger actors. Vickie, fresh off the train from the snowy midwest, is fresh and innocent and naive enough to believe she can crash into the movies just because she's always wanted too. Under Norman's wing, Vickie is prepped to become an actress while Norman is slammed by an antagonistic press agent named Libby and presented with the unfortunate realities of plummeting box office revenues for his films by studio head Charles Bickford. As the dynamic changes in their careers, Norman drowns his sorrows, goes into rehab, and starts feeling helpless while Vickie struggles mightily to support him. Added to the cast is Vickie's quirkily adorable grandmother played by May Robson who injects some of humor in her scenes.Done in early technicolor. The general effect is a little jarring since the color is extreme in the sense that it doesn't look natural; I get so wrapped up in the story that I forget about it.in the end this is a well-scripted film that has some good performances and reflects the production values of producer David L. Selznick.