A Star Is Born (1954)

An aspiring singer (Judy Garland) catches the eye of a self destructive alcoholic movie star (James Mason) who grooms her for movie stardom. They fall in love and marry but as her career rises, his self destructive behavior takes its toll on his career. Directed by George Cukor, this was the second version of the four film versions: the original 1937 film, the 1976 remake with Barbra Streisand and the 2018 film with Lady Gaga. It still stands as the best of the lot. No other film has completely captured Garland's massive talent as a singer and especially actress. Her performance is raw, vulnerable and ultimately heartbreaking and her rendition of The Man That Got Away remains a highpoint in film musicals. But she's matched every step of the way by a superb performance by James Mason. Whether quivering with self loathing or looking at his wife with unadulterated love, Mason comes this close to taking the picture away from Garland. Cukor and his cinematographer Sam Leavitt (ANATOMY OF A MURDER) make excellent use of the CinemaScope frame. Without Cukor's input, Warners cut the film down from its original running time of 3 hours and 2 minutes to 2 hours and 34 minutes. The film has since been restored to a 2 hour and 56 minute running time but still missing 6 minutes. With Charles Bickford, Jack Carson, Tommy Noonan, Lucy Marlow and Joan Shawlee.