A Star is Born (1937) Review

girl by locker says: Being that this movie has been remade twice since the original 1937 production, I really wanted to like it and had high hopes. It is a classic Hollywood story in which a young girl, Esther Blodgett, reaches for her dreams and sets her ambitions on becoming a movie star. When she reaches Los Angeles she eventually meets and falls in love with Norman Maine, a celebrity actor and alcoholic who is on his way down the stardom scale. He is still high enough in his career and can use his clout to get Esther her first foot in the door though, eventually, her star eclipses his.

 

While it is a solid movie, extremely well-written and posing interesting questions on what we will give up in order to obtain our ambitions, it overall left me lacking something. Frederic March is stellar in his role of Norman Maine and has a perfect balance between stardom, ego, fragility, and I was moved with how he played his spiral down into a has-been. Janet Gaynor also played an excellent part and was, in fact, a great choice to play the innocent girl not yet tainted with the trials of life. However, I just never bought into the fact that her character was able to outshine that of March's. He always seemed to be the bigger star to me, even when he turned into a nobody. 

 

I give this movie 3 out of 5 stars on Netflix. It is definitely an interesting movie to watch, in particular for anyone who seeks a career in the entertainment industry or even a highly ambitious one. It will make you stop and think about what is important in life.  

Juror #3 says: I believe I know why this movie was remade a few times - it didn't fulfill its potential.  The other reason being that Hollywood has always been in love with Hollywood, so this tale of an actresses rise from humble beginnings to a movie star while a popular actor's star fades clearly struck a chord.  In the end I couldn't help but think that the script needed about three more rewrites, but what I suspect is that this movie fell victim to producer edits.  The story and character development was way too cautious for the plot line, as if the movie was created by focus groups.  I felt everything in this movie fell short with one exception - the use of technicolor film.  After watching so many black and white films up to this point, A Star is Born looked as if you could take each shot from the film, frame it and hang it on your wall.  But that isn't nearly enough for me to recommend this movie.  I rate it a 2/5

Film 19: A Star is Born (1937)

Netflix Summary: The original version of the thrice-lensed, behind-the-scenes tale about celebrity's double-edged saber. Starry-eyed Esther Blodgett yearns to make it big in Hollywood, and when she captures the attention, and heart, of matinee idol Norman Maine at an A-list party, she's on her way. But while Esther's star soars, tosspot Norman's career nose-dives. Will Tinseltown's vagaries destroy their love?

Academy Awards: The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning the award for Best Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (March), Best Actress (Gaynor), Best Assistant Director, and Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay.


Film Viewing Due Date: 8/25

Fury (1936) Reviews

juror #3 says:

The films in the thirties appear to be somewhat fascinated by mob justice.  We referenced this in our review for The Informer, comparing it to the fabulous ending in the movie M.  In Fury, Fritz Lang returns to the popular theme albeit with a twist.  Unlike M where Lang questions our right to judgment, in Fury he makes the decision to confront the viewer head-on with the dreaded “what if”…what if you’re wrong?  Spencer Tracy does a fantastic job playing the moral bond holding his family together, but after he is wrongly imprisoned while on the way to reunite with the love of his life he is “crucified” by the townspeople’s assumptions.  Well, we THOUGHT he was crucified, but Tracy returns from a miraculous escape with a bitter and angry demeanor.  He’s prepared for revenge and doesn’t care the cost.  No mercy will be shown to those who took the law into their own hands. 

I enjoyed Fury for it’s character arc even if I found the end a bit quick and not particularly well developed.  And it’s worth noting that I fell in love with Sylvia Sidney and have since looked up her film resume.  Lang knew what he was doing with his stories and I appreciate the small touches he adds to his films to help round out a scene.  The ending disappointed slightly but overall I was entertained.  I’ll rate it a 4/5.

girl by locker says:

Fury is the second Fritz Lang movie we have watched during our 1930's cinema study. His first movie of our curriculum, M, has so far been my favorite we have seen of the decade and Fury isn’t too far behind. Lang is obviously interested in the study of mob violence and the destructive forces it can unleash in people, as it is a theme we saw in both movies. I wonder if Lang’s escape from Nazi Germany and the mass violence that he presumably witnessed first hand had a lot of influence on the topic. I assume yes.

In the US during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, I generally associate lynching and mob violence with race relations and this movie makes no mention that the majority of this violence was geared toward African Americans. I don’t see that as a huge problem as I think the point of the movie was to look at how humans react to hysteria and not to comment on race. To be honest, I think the movie would have been too controversial to get made had it also dealt with race as well.

I liked how the movie jumped from a bland love story, to an action flick with the mob hysteria and ultimately a courtroom drama. It was an interesting juxtaposition of scenes. I give this a 4/5 stars on Netflix.

Film 18: Fury (1936)

Netflix Summary: Director Fritz Lang dishes up an unflinching indictment of mob justice in this potent drama. Passing through a small town en route to see his fiancée, upright Joe Wilson (Spencer Tracy) ends up charged with kidnapping based on flimsy circumstantial evidence. When news of his arrest spreads, an irate mob storms the jail, burning it to the ground -- with Joe ostensibly inside. Little do they know that he escaped and is hell-bent on retribution.

Filmsite.org: German director Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film (after exiling himself from his homeland due to Nazi persecution), MGM's thought-provoking, socially-aware Fury treated the psychology of a lynch mob and its impact on an innocent victim (Spencer Tracy).

Here is a video discussing Fritz Lang's directing style:


Film Viewing Due Date: 8/2/10

The Informer (1935) Reviews

girl by locker says: This movie is brilliant and beautiful, but it was also incredibly difficult for me to watch. It starts out with Gypo Nolan (Victor McLaglen) living in the 1920's during Ireland's Sinn Fein Rebellion. Gypo has just been kicked out of the underground movement for not carrying out orders and is completely penniless. His closest friend, Frankie McPhillip, is wanted for murder by the English and comes back to their hometown in order to see his mother and sister. Gypo ultimately turns him in when the £20 reward proves too tempting. In that brief synopsis, the stage is set for a movie about remorse and revenge...and we get both. 

From the beginning, I was caught up in the story, the atmosphere, the cinematography. It really is beautiful and for this I give the movie 4 out of 5 stars on my Netflix ratings. But it was difficult for me to watch Gypo wander around drunk, piddling away his money on drinks and food obviously filled with remorse at what he had done to one of his closest friends. It was painful to see and evoked emotions in me that made me want to scream at the television, "Stop drinking and go buy your ticket to America." I don't think I've ever had that kind of reaction to a movie.

On another note, it was also interesting to me that this is the second public court scene we have seen in which the underground movement judges one of its own. We saw it for the first time with M.  

Overall, this movie is definitely worth seeing though don't expect to feel happy when it is all said and done.   

Juror #3 says: I love Hitchcock, I truly do.  But I am so glad we decided to watch The Informer over 39 steps as our 1935 selection, mostly because I'm more familiar with Hitchcock than John Ford.  After watching The Informer I can confidently say that John Ford is one of my favorite directors.  I don't know where I would rank him necessarily but he'd be up there with Hitchcock, Griffith, Kubrick, Scorsese and Lean.  I mean, Ford was already one of my favorites but there is something about seeing his early work and the inventive processes he utilized that really impresses.  This film is beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, and completely engaging.  

girl by locker has given a nice breakdown of the plot.  Yes, it's dark. Yes, it tugs at your soul.  The emotions it invokes is directly equated to the determined focus Ford gives every detail to every scene.  For instance, the wanted poster blowing off the street onto our main character's leg.  He tries to shake it off, but can't.  Eventually it falls to the ground and blows away in an ironic moment of foreshadowing.  I could go on and on with the examples of detail but instead I'll just recommend you watch the movie.  Towards the end of the film there is a scene that, in my opinion, HAD to be influenced by the movie M - chilling silence and hard, cold stares.  The only thing I could complain about is that my own personal convictions didn't really allow me to enjoy the end of the film, meaning the final message.  It made me a bit angry actually.  But, again, what more can you expect from great filmmaking than the types of emotions that The Informer stirred up.  I rate it 5/5 stars.

Film 17: The Informer (1935)

Netflix Summary: Director John Ford nabbed an Oscar, as did star Victor McLaglen, for this atmospheric drama set during Ireland's 1922 Sinn Fein uprising. McLaglen delivers a harrowing performance as Gypo Nolan, a roistering brute who fingers best friend Frankie McPhillip (Wallace Ford) to collect a reward, then promptly fritters away the money on one night of revelry. After British troops kill Frankie, the Sinn Fein proceeds to even the score with Nolan.





Film Viewing Due Date: 7/18

It Happened One Night (1934) Reviews

girl by locker says: It Happened One Night did not disappoint. Well, maybe a little bit – just an eensy, weensy tiny bit – but I think that is because my expectations were gargantuan and no movie could possibly have met them. In the end, I still rate it a 4/5 and that is only because we can’t rate half stars on Netflix.
I knew the movie took place on a bus, and I assumed because of the title that it obviously was something that happened over the course of one night. Logical, no? However, the plot is carried out over the course of several nights and I wonder if they did that because the title would not have been as catchy. It Happened Over Several Nights just doesn’t have the same panache.
Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert have an undeniable chemistry, and I read that though this movie swept the Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay) neither one of them actually wanted to be in it. They were forced into the parts as punishment by their respective studios. Colbert only agreed to take on the part if they could finish filming in 4 weeks so she could go on vacation. Whether those are just urban legends, the result is spectacular – witty, crisp, stunning cinematography, wonderful character arc, and a must see for any classic film buff out there.

Juror #3 says:  It Happened One Night was extremely well done.  The dialogue, the acting, the cinematography.  As we progress through our curriculum it's clear that the filmmaking evolves substantially from film to film.  I find myself wondering when along our film study journey that this may cease to be the case.  This was another giant leap forward in filmmaking.  Having said that, there were moments in It Happened One Night where I really just wanted to fast forward.  Maybe I started the movie too late.  I felt like I knew the ending and neither character was all that redeeming...at least not enough for me to really care.  The arc of the movie was all about love, which is fine, but I didn't really like either character all that much more.  I rate it a 3/5.