Movie Review: A Star Is Born (1937)

A drama and romance set in the world of Hollywood, A Star Is Born is the classic tale of a new starlet rising just as her husband's career descends into sad oblivion.

Encouraged by her grandmother (May Robson), Esther Blodgett (Janet Gaynor) heads from her North Dakota family farm to Hollywood, in search of her big break in the film world. She befriends struggling assistant director Danny McGuire (Andy Devine), but otherwise cannot get a foothold in the industry. She is finally noticed by star (and frequently drunk) actor Norman Maine (Fredric March), who convinces studio boss Oliver Niles (Adolphe Menjou) to give Esther a screen test. She has a simple and natural look that Niles believes will be coming into fashion, and she is signed up by the studio.

With the help of fast thinking and faster talking studio publicist Matt Libby (Lionel Stander), Esther is transformed into Vicki Lester and receives the full studio spiffing up treatment. Cast as the female lead in Norman's next picture, she is immediately acclaimed as the next big star of the movies. After a whirlwind romance Norman sobers up long enough to marry Esther. But her continued success and his descent from glory drives him back to a pattern of self-destruction that threatens to derail her career.

Directed in colour by William A. Wellman and produced by David O. Selznick, the 1937 version of A Star Is Born holds up to the test of time remarkably well. While the bloated 1954 version is more about Judy Garland's attempted comeback, the 1937 effort is a perfectly balanced drama, allowing the story, the milieu and the characters of Esther and Norman to share the spotlight.

At 1 hour and 51 minutes, Wellman delivers an efficient and rich film. There is enough investment in depth to develop Esther and Norman into real people worth caring about. The supporting characters of studio head Oliver Niles, publicist Matt Libby and assistant director Danny McGuire also receive ample screen time and help to nurture the inside Hollywood environment.

The opposite trajectories experienced by Esther and Norman anchor the film. She rockets from unknown ingenue to stardom after her first film. He descends from the top of the heap to the bottom of the bottle at a remarkable pace. They cross paths in the middle, Norman giving Esther a key career boost, Esther doing all she can to halt his slide. Business is business, and ultimately Hollywood is the dream factory where only those who connect with the public are welcome. Esther is the new darling, Norman is the has-been, and few have time or sympathy for yesterday's stars.

Both sides of Hollywood are captured in key scenes. Oliver reaches out to Norman at a key low point, offering a return path to the screen. There are traces of humanity in this town, but Norman's ego prevents him from grabbing the lifeline, or even recognizing it for what it is. In another sequence, Libby wastes no time telling Norman exactly what he thinks of him, now that Norman is washed up. The knives come out quickly when the gloss wears off.

Esther is both protagonist and observer. She is eventually swept up by the studio star-making machine, and gets to observe its inner workings. Esther brings healthy farm-grown pragmatism to her reign at the top as Vicki Lester. Having already witnessed the fleeting nature of fame, Esther will know better than most how quickly the machine can dump and trample on its own creations.

Janet Gaynor and Fredric March both do well and generally avoid melodramatics, with Gaynor in particular radiating the honest appeal of a rural girl candid about her determination to chase a far-fetched dream. Stars are born in an explosion of perseverance, but burn out with a dark whimper.

All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.

Movie Review: You Were Never Lovelier (1942)

A romantic comedy musical with screwball elements, You Were Never Lovelier strikes the perfect balance between humour, romance and elegant musical numbers.

Famous American dancer Bob Davis (Fred Astaire) is in Buenos Aires, where he proceeds to lose all his money on his horse racing gambling addiction. Desperate for a job, he approaches gruff tycoon and hotel owner Eduardo Acuña (Adolphe Menjou), seeking a dancing gig at the hotel's swanky restaurant. Acuña, the father of four grown daughters, believes that Davis is a useless opportunist and wants nothing to do with him. Acuña also has problems of his own. With his eldest daughter now married, his second daughter Maria (Rita Hayworth) is not passionate about any man, and is therefore holding up the marriage prospects of daughters three and four.

Acuña concocts a harebrained plot to manufacture a secret admirer for Maria, to get her romantic juices flowing. He starts sending her unsigned love notes and orchids on a daily basis. The plan initially works, but through a series of misunderstandings, Maria arrives at the conclusion that Davis is her secret lover, and passion ignites between them much to Acuña's horror.

Directed by William A. Seiter with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, You Were Never Lovelier is the second and final screen teaming of Astaire and Hayworth. This is a breezy, character-rich comedy with three fine central performances. Astaire is at his elegant best, Hayworth looks ravishing and simply glows in a series of stunning gowns, and Menjou has a substantial supporting role as the meddlesome patriarch. The dialogue is witty, the pace is brisk, and there is plenty going on in every scene. Hayworth's voice is unnecessarily dubbed (by Nan Wynn) and not enough is made of the supposed Buenos Aires setting and Argentinian culture, but You Were Never Lovelier gets everything else right.

Astaire would later name Hayworth his favourite dance partner, while she considered her two collaborations with Astaire as the pinnacle of her career. It's easy to see why. There is an effortless chemistry between the two that simply materializes as soon as they share the screen, a spark of romance and respect that Astaire rarely generated with other leading ladies. Hayworth does not try to match Astaire in their dances; she does her own thing to complement him, and does it with undisguised happiness, resulting in a cheerfully comfortable pairing. The two highlight dance scenes are simply perfect, the classic and elegant I'm Old Fashioned signalling the start of the romance, and the more exuberant The Shorty George confirming just how compatible Davis and Maria are.

The film works well precisely because of the measured approach to the musical interludes. The songs and dances are there to punctuate the story's key moments, and otherwise do not get in the way or slow down the madcap story. Seiter and his editors deliver the package at an economical 97 minutes, add no padding, and if anything, leave the audience wanting more. In other words, the perfect approach to lighthearted entertainment.

You Were Never Lovelier is rounded out with secondary characters who do much to liven up the film. The script (co-written by Delmer Daves) takes the time to create screwball-like fun involving Acuña's family and acquaintances getting in each other's way and injecting texture and humour into the manic proceedings. Assistant Fernando (Gus Schilling), wife Delfina (Barbara Brown), Maria's godmother also called Maria (Isobel Elsom) and her husband Juan (Douglas Leavitt) and the two youngest daughters all do their part to generate and maintain momentum. Band leader Xavier Cugat also enjoys an extended role and adds to the musical flavour.

You Were Never Lovelier is a gem of a musical, a rare example of all the genre elements coming together in just the right doses.

All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.

Movie Review: Golden Boy (1939)

A passionate drama about conflicting life choices, Golden Boy pits a talent for boxing against a spiritual attachment to music in a battle for one man's soul.

In New York City, crusty boxing manager Tom Moody (Adolphe Menjou) takes a chance on unknown Joe Bonaparte (William Holden). Young, brash, and talented with a violin, Bonaparte proves himself in a series of bouts, and catches the attention of sports writers. Moody is waiting to finalize a divorce before marrying his much younger assistant Lorna Moon (Barbara Stanwyck), but the dashing Bonaparte catches Lorna's eye.

Joe's success in the ring clashes with his love of the violin: boxing damages the hands needed to create magical music, and Joe's dad (Lee J. Cobb) believes that boxing is very much the wrong choice for his son. Lorna is torn between falling in love with Joe, loyalty to Moody, and the once in a lifetime opportunity to make it rich by riding the coattails of a potential champion boxer. Joe's choices are further complicated when big-time mobster Eddie Fuseli (Joseph Calleia) muscles in on Moody, demanding to become Joe's co-owner in return for arranging a quick path to a shot at a glamorous boxing title.

Based on a Clifford Odets play, Golden Boy offers simple but heartfelt lessons in life. The Bonaparte family, complete with Joe's sister Anna and her husband Siggie, argue, love and make-up with genuine fervour. The worlds of boxing and music are presented as mutually exclusive, and Joe's decision is not made any easier by others harbouring self-interest. While the likes of Tom Moody and Eddie Fuseli make no secret that they are out to profit from Joe's boxing exploits, Joe's dad can offer nothing to support his advice except the divine pursuit of a natural talent for music.

Lorna emerges as the most interesting character, a woman fending for herself but suddenly uncertain about what she is looking for from life, from Joe, and from her supposed partner Moody. Lorna finds that she has Joe's ear, as he is as obviously falling in love with her as she is with him, but her ability to control his decisions begins to clash with how much she cares for him, leaving them both emotionally adrift. Lorna's meandering journey to a new self-consciousness is the elegant centrepiece of the film.

Stanwyck portrays Lorna with worldly eyes, a determined mouth, and a smile that hints that she is just smart enough to manipulate, as and when needed, the men in her world. William Holden is a bundle of unconstrained energy as Joe Bonaparte, his first credited role. Not quite convincing neither as a boxer nor as a violinist, Holden's physical presence carries him through, and he is most comfortable simply acting rather than pretending to be a sportsman or musician.

Adolphe Menjou is dependably shifty, finding the creases between shady boxing manager and well-meaning mentor, never losing sight of his own bottom line. Lee J. Cobb is memorable but predictable in a performance made of pure fatherly pathos.

Director Rouben Mamoulian opens up the play, making good use of the cavernous house where Joe, his dad, Anna and Siggie live, and dad's adjacent general store. Mamoulian finds or manufactures interesting backdrops for many scenes, and when the action moves to the ring, the fights are frantic and punishing.

Golden Boy presents a clear choice between short-term acclaim and long-term pleasure. Joe will only be able to move ahead once he shuts out the distractions and internalizes the distinction between having a lot of money and being truly rich.

All Ace Black Blog Movie Reviews are here.