The film is the story of a fading film star who meets a singer at an event as he is amazed by her talent as he helps make her into a film star where she would succeed beyond his expectations with his own career going on decline. It is a story that is a rise-and-fall story of sorts, yet the rise is towards this young woman trying to get a break to become a singer and the fall is towards the man who would fall in love with her with his own career going into decline. Moss Hart’s screenplay opens and ends with a ceremony that celebrates the film stars as the opening scene revolves around the fading film star Norman Maine (James Mason) who arrives late at the event, intoxicated on alcohol. Also, at the show there is a singer in Esther Blodgett (Judy Garland) who is also part of a band as she sings on the stage where she saves Maine from embarrassing himself. Realizing what she did for him, Maine would find her singing at a nightclub with the band as he is amazed by her singing talents as he would get the attention of a film studio head and longtime friend in Oliver Niles (Charles Bickford) to sign her as she would be known as Vicki Lester.
The script does have a traditional narrative structure where Hart show the signs of Maine’s decline as he would act in films that were successful for a time, but his alcoholism has made him a liability. The film’s second act is about Blodgett’s sudden rise and Maine becoming unemployed though Blodgett does want a simple life for herself and Maine without the demands of Hollywood. Even as Maine starts to lose his identity as a star with Blodgett rising as Lester to the point that she would eclipse him. The third act is about Blodgett rising further with Maine descending further as Niles offers to help him but one of Maine’s faults as a person is his pride as it is one of the reasons for his own self-destruction.
George Cukor’s direction is wondrous in its grand setting as it is shot on various locations in California including studio lots at Warner Brothers. The film opens and ends at the Shrine Auditorium where it will be 2 pivotal events for Blodgett. The opening sequence has Cukor using some wide and medium shots through the Cinemascope format where he captures the spectacle of this event. Even as he shoots a shot from Blodgett’s perspective where Maine is on the side of the stage about to make a fool of himself where the compositions and movements of the cameras have Cukor show a sense of suspense and drama in an otherwise lively and musical moment. Cukor also maintains simplicity in some of the musical numbers as well as the dramatic scenes with the usage of medium shots and close-ups. There are also these extravagant musical numbers where shots would linger for a while through dolly-tracking shots in some scenes. Aiding in the musical numbers is choreographer Richard Barstow where there is a lot that happens in the dance numbers.
Notably the scenes where Blodgett is doing dance numbers that are being filmed where there is a lot of detail into the overall presentation of the dancing and where Cukor would move the camera from one part of the location to another. Cukor’s approach to melodrama is also riveting in a scene late in the film where both Blodgett and Niles lament over Maine’s state as well as what to do. It adds poignancy to the conflict that is in Maine over his own pride and what he wants for Blodgett. The version of the film that is available widely to the public is a restored 178-minute cut (including a 2-minute intermission) in 1983 from the original 1954 182-minute premiere version of the film. A lot of footage was cut from its premiere version much to the dismay of Cukor but the 1983 restoration that includes a lot of still pictures and audio from lost scenes from much of the film’s first act does play into Blodgett’s own fears about making and what Maine wants to do for her. The small moments that got cut for the version many saw in the theaters in 1954 with a 154-minute running time does lose a lot of the weight into the drama that would loom for the second and third act. Overall, Cukor crafts a heart-wrenching yet exhilarating film about a fading film star sacrificing his own career for a talented singer/actress whom she would eclipse his own fame.
Cinematographer Sam Leavitt does brilliant work with the film’s colorful cinematography through the Cinemascope format as there is a vibrancy into many of the film’s interior shots for some scenes at night along with some subtle touches of naturalism for some of the daytime exterior scenes at the studio lots. Editor Folmar Blangsted, with additional work by Craig Holt for the 1983 restoration version, does excellent work with the editing in some rhythmic cuts to play to some of the musical numbers as well as in some of the dramatic moments in the film. Production designer Gene Allen, with set decorator George James Hopkins and art director Malcolm C. Bert, does amazing work with the look of the Maine house where he and Blodgett would live as well as the sets created for some of the musical numbers. Costume designers Jean Louis and Mary Ann Nyberg do fantastic work with the costumes with the clothes and gowns that Blodgett would wear being the major standout.
Makeup artists Del Armstrong and Gordon Bau, along with hair stylists Helen Young and Sydney Guilaroff, do terrific work with the look of Blodgett in some of the musical numbers she does for the films she is acting in plus one key scene in the first act where she is given one of the worst Hollywood makeovers ever. Special effects supervisor Hans F. Koenekamp, along with the work of Lisze Bechtold, Eric Durst, Kevin Kutchaver, and Ken Rudolph in the 1983 restoration version, does nice work with some of the visual effects for a few dance numbers and rear projection for some of the driving scenes while the pictures used for the restoration allow the film to bring more weight into what Cukor wanted originally in the film before it got re-cut. The sound work of Charles David Forrest and Charles Lang is superb for the sound work in how sound is presented on set as well as how sound appears from another room and in that room for some of the dramatic moments.
The film’s music by Ray Heindorf is wonderful for its soaring orchestral score that plays into the excitement of Blodgett’s rise as well as themes that play into Maine’s decline. The songs by Ira Gershwin and Harold Arlen are incredible for the musical numbers that Blodgett performs in that include some of the songs she sings for the movies she is in as well as a song she sings at home and the ballad at a nightclub where Maine visits.
The film’s marvelous ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from an un-credited Strother Martin as a deliveryman, Hazel Shermet as Libby’s secretary, Irving Bacon as a singer in the film’s opening number Graves, Amanda Blake as the radio host Susan Etting, and Lucy Marlow as a young starlet in Lola Lavery who works for Niles. Tommy Noonan is fantastic as Blodgett’s bandmate, who is unsure about Maine’s claims into making her a star though he would be supportive of her as well as giving a great monologue towards the end of the film about everything that had happened. Jack Carson is excellent as the studio publicist Matt Libby who does what he can to clean up Maine’s mess and such until late in the film where he proves to be unsympathetic towards Maine’s own issues. Charles Bickford is brilliant as the studio head Oliver Niles as a man who is Maine’s best friend as he does what he can to make sure Maine gets work, but he also must run a studio where he later converses with Blodgett about how to help Maine.
James Mason is great as Norman Maine as a fading film star who laments over his decline as he discovers Blodgett and helps her becoming a big film/music star where he later copes with his alcoholism, wounded pride, and a career that is going nowhere. Mason does have moments where he is upbeat and full of energy as it highlights the man at his best, but it becomes fleeting where he is often faced with uncertainty in his life. Finally, there is Judy Garland in a spectacular performance as Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester as a singer who wows Maine where she would gain a career only to unknowingly eclipse the man she loves. It is a performance where Garland displays a lot of charisma and energy as well as a vulnerability that plays into a woman that wants to help the man she loves to the point that she is willing to sacrifice her own career as it is one of her iconic performances.
A Star is Born is an outstanding film by George Cukor that features tremendous leading performances from Judy Garland and James Mason. Along with its supporting cast, a riveting screenplay by Moss Hart, a gorgeous presentation, and a dazzling music soundtrack with musical performances that are insatiable to watch. It is a film that is not just this compelling musical drama but also a film about ambition and love. In the end, A Star is Born is a magnificent film by George Cukor.
Related: A Star is Born (1937 film) - (A Star is Born (1976 film)) – A Star is Born (2018 film)
© thevoid99 2025
Based on the novel by Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind is the story of a plantation owner’s daughter and her pursuit towards a man only to be pursued by another gentleman who tries to get her to see things differently. Produced by David O. Selznick, directed by Victor Fleming, with additional directing by George Cukor and Sam Wood, and screenplay by Sidney Howard. The film is an epic romantic drama that play into a woman coping with her romantic feelings while dealing with the chaos of the American Civil War. Starring Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Haviland, Leslie Howard, and Hattie McDaniel. Gone with the Wind is a sprawling and monumental film from producer David O. Selznick.
Told in the span of 12 years during the American Civil War and its aftermath, the film follows the life of the daughter of a plantation owner whose infatuation for a man leads her to being pursued by another man as she deals with her own desires and passion amidst the chaos and turmoil of the American Civil War. It’s a film that explore the journey of a woman who has known a life of comfort and luxury in the American South just days before the Civil War began as she would later endure all sorts of trials and tribulations yet would also embark on relationships either for social or financial gain as a way to fill the void for her heart’s desire as she would attract the attention of a man who admires her spirit. Even as she would get a lot of things in her life but her love for this other man who would be married to another woman who would also become a dear friend to her would also play into her undoing.
The film’s screenplay by Sidney Howard, with un-credited contributions from Ben Hecht, Jo Swerling, Oliver H.P. Garrett, and John Van Druten, play into the journey that Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) would embark on in her pursuit of longtime family friend Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) hoping to be married to him. However, Wilkes is engaged to his cousin Melanie Hamilton (Olivia de Haviland) which upsets O’Hara as she would continuously pine for Wilkes as well as get the attention of a guest in Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) who is intrigued by O’Hara. The first act is about the events before and during the war as O’Hara tries to pursue Wilkes yet would later engage into a couple of marriages that would be doomed with the first marriage to Melanie’s younger brother Charles (Rand Brooks) and then to his sister’s fiancé Frank Kennedy (Carroll Nye) in the film’s second act. It has a unique structure with its first half being about the early years of the war but also Sherman’s march through Georgia that would destroy nearly everything as well as the life that O’Hara and the people that she knew would be gone.
It’s not just in the structure of the script that is crucial to the film with its second half playing into the aftermath of the Civil War and the Reconstruction period but also into some of the development of the characters. While O’Hara would be humbled by the sense of loss she endured including around her family home of Tara, there is still this foolish pursuit of Wilkes who admits to having feelings for her but is still in love with Melanie. Melanie turns out to be a far more interesting character in terms of her gracefulness as well as being a person of reason where she seems to know more of what is going on rather than be oblivious. Then there’s Butler who is a man of charm but also someone who understands what is important as he does whatever he can to help out other people where he would really come into play in the film’s third act as someone who puts duty and family over everything else rather than O’Hara who is concerned with trying to live a lifestyle and pine for Wilkes.
The film’s direction by Victor Fleming is definitely sprawling in terms of its setting and grand visuals. Shot largely on studio and locations in Southern California including the studios in Los Angeles and Ventura County, the film does recreate this world of the American South that is lavish and full of ideals with a thriving economy and such despite the fact that they enjoyed the idea of slavery even though O’Hara and her family actually treat their slaves kinder than others in the maid Mammy (Hattie McDaniel) who would often put O’Hara in her place as well as run the house. With some contributions from George Cukor and Sam Wood during parts of the production, Fleming is able to maintain this atmosphere for much of the film’s early parts of the first act as this serene world yet there is something about that feels false due to the imagery of slavery where it is painted romantically which is far from what really did happen. When the horrors of war would emerge, the fantasy that O’Hara and her fellow Southerners had been living in burned right in front of their faces.
The usage of the wide shots including the grand detail in the crane shots that Fleming uses in a scene where O’Hara tries to find a doctor for Melanie as it’s presented in a small wide shot and then this vast crane to show all of these dead and wounded soldiers. The usage of tracking and dolly shots along with some of the presentation of the action including the scenes of the burning of Atlanta are among some of the finest usage of scenery during the first half of the film. The second act which is about the aftermath and O’Hara’s desire to return to Tara with an ailing Melanie and her baby in tow along with the maid Prissy (Butterfly McQueen). The second half begins with the rebuilding of Tara but also the arrival of the carpetbaggers as it would play into O’Hara trying to create a life similar to what she had despite having to live in Atlanta and at a smaller home. Due to her desire to make more money, she would eventually encounter a shantytown and trouble leading to an incident where it would be Butler that would help her out once again leading to their marriage and the film’s third act.
The third act is definitely the most dramatic as it play into Butler and O’Hara’s marriage and family life as well as what Butler is trying to create in this post-Civil War lifestyle that is sort of similar to the past but with some major differences. The usage of the close-ups and medium shots help play into the drama with some striking compositions as well as moments that are ambiguous. Notably in a scene where Butler would take O’Hara up to their room where even though it’s presented in a romantic tone, it does raises question into the idea of marital rape although Butler is later appalled by his actions. There is that ambiguity as it all play into O’Hara’s foolish pursuit towards Wilkes with Butler feeling spurned by what is happening as he thinks about their daughter as well as Melanie whom he cares for as a friend. Its ending is about not just this air of foolishness for both Butler and O’Hara but also in some serious revelations for both of them. Overall, producer David O. Selznick and director Victor Fleming create a spectacularly rich and majestic film about a Southern gentleman wooing a spoiled plantation daughter during the backdrop of the American Civil War and its aftermath.
Cinematographers Ernest Haller, Lee Garmes, and Ray Rennahan do amazing work with the film’s gorgeous Technicolor cinematography with its usage of colors for some scenes in the sunlight along with its usage of shadows as well as the grand detail into how vibrant the exteriors are in times when it was rich as well as how harrowing it looks following the events of the Civil War. Editors Hal C. Kern and James E. Newcom do excellent work with the editing with its usage of rhythmic cuts to play into the action and drama as well as letting shots play on for some of the film’s big moments. Production designer William Cameron Menzies, with set decorator Howard Bristol and art director Lyle Wheeler, does amazing work with the look of the mansion and land that is Tara along with some of the lavish homes of the Wilkes and many others as well as some of the ruined places and Atlanta post-Civil War. Costume designer Walter Plunkett does fantastic work with the costumes from the lavish design of the dresses and hats the women wear along with the suits and uniforms the men wore.
The visual effects work of Jack Cosgrove, Fred Albin, and Arthur Johns is terrific for some of the backdrops that is created including the scenes during the Fall of Atlanta with its images of fire. Sound recordist Thomas T. Moulton and sound editor Gordon Sawyer do superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the parties as well as the sounds of war. The film’s music by Max Steiner is incredible for its soaring and majestic orchestral score with its sweeping string arrangements and lush orchestral themes along with its take on traditional music of the times including Dixie.
The casting by Charles Richards and Fred Schuessler is marvelous for the massive ensemble that is assembled for the film as it feature some notable small roles from Cammie King Conlon as Rhett and Scarlett’s daughter Bonnie, Mickey Kuhn as Ashley and Melanie’s son Beau, Louis Jean Heydt as a Confederate soldier holding the baby Beau, Olin Howland as a carpetbagger businessman, Ward Bond as a Yankee captain trying to find suspects over a shantytown attack, Leona Roberts as Mrs. Meade, Harry Davenport as Dr. Meade, Laura Hopes Crew as Melanie’s Aunt Pittypat Hamilton, Everett Brown as the O’Hara’s field foreman Big Sam who would later save Scarlett at the shantytown, Victor Jory as the field overseer Jonas, Butterfly McQueen as the house servant Prissy who helps Scarlett with Melanie, Paul Hurst as a Yankee deserter trying to rob Tara, Howard Hickman as Ashley’s father John, George Reeves and Fred Crane in their respective roles as Scarlett’s brothers Stuart and Brent, and Ona Munson in a fantastic performance as the brothel madam Belle Watling as a woman who is known for a certain reputation yet is someone far more intriguing as she is a friend of Butler as well as someone Melanie admires.
Rand Brooks and Carroll Nye are terrific in their respective roles as Melanie’s brother Charles and Frank Kennedy as two men who would marry Scarlett in different periods in Scarlett’s life only to be unaware that she doesn’t love either of them. Evelyn Keyes and Ann Rutherford are wonderful in their respective roles as Scarlett’s sisters in Suellen and Carreen with the former as the younger of the two who really hates Scarlett for being bossy. Thomas Mitchell and Barbara O’Neal are superb in their respective roles as Scarlett’s parents in Gerald and Ellen O’Hara with the former being an Irishman trying to hold on to his land and ideals during the dark days of the war. Leslie Howard is excellent as Ashley Wilkes as the object of desire for Scarlett as a gentleman who joins the Confederacy as an officer as he deals with the realities of war while is torn for his love for Melanie but also his own feelings for Scarlett although he’s someone with not much personality.
Hattie McDaniel is brilliant as the housemaid Mammy as a woman who always says what is on her mind and doesn’t take shit from anyone while also running the house as she is sort of the film’s conscience despite being a sort of typical and subservient figure for the O’Hara family. Olivia de Haviland is amazing as Melanie Wilkes as Ashley’s cousin/wife who is a woman of grace and understanding as well as being the smartest person out there as it relates to Scarlett’s feelings for Ashley but also is someone who can bring the best in someone as well as be a sense of warmth for those feeling sad.
Vivien Leigh is remarkable as Scarlett O’Hara as this spoiled daughter of a plantation owner whose pursuit of Ashley would put her into foolish situations or moments by chance as it is a wild and over-the-top performance of a woman that is so intent on winning Ashley while at times being humbled and forced to swallow her pride. Finally, there’s Clark Gable in a tremendous performance as Rhett Butler as a Southern gentleman from Charleston who charms his way into any situations while being fascinated by Scarlett and her passion as well as being someone that is willing to humble her as well as cope with his own shortcomings including how he’s been unable to try and win over her due to her feelings for Ashley.
Gone with the Wind is an astonishingly rich and sensational film from Victor Fleming and producer David O. Selznick. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, a soaring music score, top-notch production values, and a story of love and pursuit during the era of the American Civil War and its aftermath. It’s a film that is grand in its visuals and tone despite some of romanticism towards the time of the American South and its ideas of slavery. In the end, Gone with the Wind is a spectacular film from Victor Fleming and producer David O. Selznick.
© thevoid99 2019
