2025 Blind Spot Series: A Star is Born (1954 film)

 

Based on the 1937 film written by Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker, and Alan Campbell from a story by Carson and its director William A. Wellman, A Star is Born is the story of a film star who meets and discovers a young singer/actress whom he would marry and make her famous only for his career to go downwards. Directed by George Cukor and screenplay by Moss Hart, the film is the 2nd version of the story from 1937 as it explores a woman who falls in love with an actor as her career goes on the rise while she struggles to watch her husband spiral into descent. Starring Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson, Tommy Noonan, and Charles Bickford. A Star is Born is a majestically rich and intoxicating film by George Cukor.

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

Mildred Pierce (1945 film)

Based on James M. Cain’s 1941 novel, Mildred Pierce tells the story of a woman trying to create a new life to raise her family during the Great Depression as she succeeds. When her ambitious and ungrateful daughter Veda becomes a success, Mildred tries to win her love. Directed by Michael Curtiz with an adapted screenplay by Ranald MacDougall, William Faulkner, and Catherine Turney. The film is a noir-like take on Cain’s novel with elements of melodrama in the days of mid-1940s Hollywood. With Joan Crawford in the title role that would win her an Academy Award for Best Actress. The film also stars Ann Blyth, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, and Eve Arden. Mildred Pierce is a stylish yet captivating drama from Michael Curtiz.

Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott) has just been shot dead as his last words is Mildred’s name. Later that night at the house when Mildred’s friend/business partner Wally Fay (Jack Carson) joined her for a drink at her beach house that she shared with Monte. Fay is locked inside the house as he escapes where two policeman arrive where they found Monte’s body. After Mildred is called into question over Monte’s death where her ex-husband Bert (Bruce Bennett) has confessed to shooting him. Inspector Peterson (Moroni Olsen) asks Mildred about Monte and why she doesn‘t believe Bert killed Monte.

Mildred reveals her life story years before when her marriage to Bert deteriorated as he left her and their daughters Veda (Ann Blyth) and Kay (Jo Ann Marlowe). With no source of income to support her daughters, notably the ambitious yet snobbish Veda. Mildred decides to find a job as she becomes a waitress where she befriends restaurant supervisor Ida (Eve Arden). Mildred succeeds in being a waitress though Veda isn’t impressed as Mildred reveals ambition to open her own restaurant. With Wally’s help, they meet Monte who help invests in Mildred’s restaurant as she falls for the rich man who is about to inherit a fortune from his family.

While Mildred becomes successful with the restaurant, it doesn’t give her happiness as she encounters tragedy as well as seeing Veda be enamored with Monte’s rich lifestyle. With Mildred opening more restaurants and becoming rich, she is forced to make Veda happy by giving her riches while Monte also takes advantage of Mildred’s success. With Mildred deciding to get rid of Monte, Veda ends up causing more trouble. With Veda pushing her away and Mildred desperate to have her home. Mildred makes a deal with Monte to marry her so she can have Veda back as it comes with a terrible price.

While some viewers might believe that a story like Mildred Pierce is about a woman trying to succeed following the dissolution of her first marriage while trying to please her ungrateful daughter. That’s only in terms of a simple plot summary. Really, it’s about a woman trying to win her daughter’s love only to be blinded and be taken advantage by the young girl who continuously manipulates her. It’s really the story about Mildred and Veda as they are two different personalities that represents different ideas of ambition and class struggle. Mildred is a woman trying to succeed at a time when women aren’t allowed to run their own businesses without the permission of her husband. Yet, she had to because she needed to support her daughters. She succeeds by becoming a waitress and later managing her own chain of restaurants.

If Mildred’s determination to succeed and provide a good life for her daughters is one that is inspiring. There is also a flaw to that as the thing that keeps Mildred from being truly happy is Veda. Veda is part of Mildred’s determination to succeed yet Veda scoffs at her mother’s working class background. When Mildred succeeds and has Monte at her side, Veda takes advantage of Mildred’s new finances with people such as Ida and a very reluctant Wally trying to tell her that Veda is talking money. The character of Monte is a playboy who is enamored by Mildred’s ambitions but is charmed by Veda and her love for the posh world. Monte would end up taking advantage of Mildred as well once his fortunes dwindle and eventually, he would put Mildred into ruins both professionally and personally.

The narrative starts off with a noir-fashion once Monte is seen shot but no one knows who kills him. Yet, everyone is a suspect as the story is told through Mildred with her own voice telling the story as she talks to the inspector. It’s a wonderfully told script that plays to not just melodrama but also with a dash of film noir. While some might feel that Mildred ends up being conned over and over again, it’s because it’s all about a woman’s love for her daughter and how she can be blinded where she reaches a breaking point. The script is definitely engaging in its adaptation as it plays true to the complicated drama between Mildred and her daughter.

Michael Curtiz’s direction is definitely captivating from the noir-like look of the police scenes to the melodramatic tone of the rest of the film where it chronicles Mildred’s rise from waitress to businesswoman. Curtiz also lets the scenes play out as he goes reaction whether it’s the heavy drama between Mildred and Veda to even scenes of sexual innuendo. Yet, considering it was made during the era of the Hayes Code, the sexuality of the film from the way Monte and Wally would look at Mildred’s legs is very subtle. Not overtly but it does let audience get the idea of who Mildred is but also in the way she starts to become her own woman.

Curtiz also plays up to the noir style of the film by creating an amazing opening sequence while never revealing who kills Monte. This would create a tone where it becomes very dark during Mildred’s interrogation scenes. By the time the third act arrives, the mixture of melodrama and noir finally blend as the tone of the film darkens. Even as Curtiz is always playing up to the drama whether its having a two-shot between Mildred and Veda while building up the momentum to the climatic moment of the moment that Monte gets shot. Curtiz’s direction is truly superb in the way he presents the story as well as delving into the mind of its titular character.

Cinematographer Ernest Haller does a phenomenal job with the film‘s black-and-white photography from the wondrous, sunny look of the suburbs that Mildred lived in early in the film to the dark, eerie world that comes in later in the film. Haller’s work also plays to the noir-like tone for the scenes at the police station as well as the shots at Monte’s beach home late and very early at the film. It’s definitely one of the film’s technical highlights as Haller’s work is spellbinding. Editor David Weisbart does an excellent job with the editing from the rhythmic cuts to play up to the drama including the dissolve transitions needed to help structure the story from the interrogation to the scenes of Mildred as a housewife.

Art director Anton Grot and set decorator George James Hopkins do an amazing job with the set pieces of the film. From the 1940s look of the suburban home that Mildred lived early in the film to the somewhat-posh like look of the restaurant that Mildred runs. The art direction is superb as it plays to Mildred’s rise and the eventual fall she would take. The film’s sound by Oliver S. Garretson is very good from the atmosphere of the restaurants to the sounds of gun shots that plays to the noir aspects of the film. The film’s music by Max Steiner is superb from its sweeping theme that plays to the melodrama of the film to more uplifting pieces that plays to Mildred’s rise. Steiner’s score is definitely another of the film’s highlights as it’s truly spectacular.

The cast is definitely wonderful for its array of some very memorable performances from the big actors to some small roles by other actors. Among the memorable small roles that stand out includes Butterfly McQueen as Mildred’s maid/associate Lottie that adds some needed humor the film as well as Veda Ann Borg as a fellow dancer at Wally’s own little bar. Lee Patrick is good as a woman that Bert is supposedly having an affair while Moroni Olsen is excellent as Inspector Peterson who believes that what is going on isn’t what it seems. Jo Ann Marlowe is very good as the tomboyish yet grateful Kay, the youngest daughter of Mildred. Bruce Bennett is also good as Mildred’s first husband Bert who struggles with Mildred’s new life while often warning her about Veda’s personality.

Eve Arden is brilliant as Ida Corwin, Mildred’s restaurant associate who is a tough-talker as she dislikes men while wondering why does Mildred put with Veda. Adren steals every scene in the film as she also delivers some of the film’s best lines. Jack Carson is great as Wally Fay, a man who likes Mildred while having trouble dealing with Monte as well as trying to be the guy to calm things down only to feel screwed over what happened. Zachary Scott is excellent as Monte Beragon, the man who falls for Mildred only to take advantage of her wealth as he leaves and then comes back only to be killed in the beginning of the film.

Ann Blyth is superb as Veda, the ungrateful daughter who wants to become rich and ambitious as she is also a selfish, spoiled, uncaring little bitch. With a stylized yet dramatic performance, Blyth succeeds in creating an unsympathetic character that everyone loves to hate. Even as she claims she tries to be good as there is also someone with an innocent look but is truly full of shit as Blyth captivates in the moments she’s in. Finally, there’s Joan Crawford in one of her finest performances as the title character that would win her an Oscar for Best Actress. Crawford brings a sexiness as well as a bit of realism to a woman in the 1940s trying to do what is right for her children. Even as she brings a sense of frustration over the fact that she’s a woman trying to do what is right and doesn’t feel appreciated by her ungrateful daughter. It’s an overall iconic performance from the legendary Crawford.

Mildred Pierce is an extraordinary yet stylish noir-drama from Michael Curtiz with a radiant performance from Joan Crawford. Audiences of stylish noir-like films of the 1940s will no doubt see this as a fascinating melodrama that features great scenery and some memorable dialogue. Anyone interested in the career of Joan Crawford will find this as one of her essential films. In the end, Mildred Pierce is a phenomenal film from the great Michael Curtiz.

Related Reviews: Casablanca - Mildred Pierce (TV miniseries)

© thevoid99 2011