There have been three versions of A Star Is Born, and a fourth is coming out this fall. It's a daunting task to figure out which one to watch first, but I'll help you out: watch the 1954 version first. The 1937 one isn't nearly as fantastic, the 1976 is incredibly different, and the 2018 one doesn't look like it'll be very good. The only exception to my recommendation is if you hate Judy Garland. She has several extremely lengthy-and pretty irritating-songs and if her voice gets on your nerves, you might want to watch the 1937 one instead. I don't have a problem with Judy, but even I keep my remote control handy during those scenes so I can fast-forward. The only good song to come out of A Star Is Born is the iconic "The Man That Got Away," so don't speed through that one. It's a classic Judy Garland spastic, emotional performance.James Mason starts the movie drunk off his adorable fanny. He's an actor whose off-screen behavior has wrecked his career, and during the Academy Awards ceremony at the start of the film, he makes an absolute fool of himself on national television. Judy Garland, an unknown singer at the time, sings a song at the Oscars and helps James maintain a hangnail of dignity. Once he hears her sing "The Man That Got Away" at a nearby nightclub, he sees her star quality and tries to help boost her career. And, since it's James Mason and he's ridiculously handsome, they fall in love.In case you're wondering why Judy Garland was also nominated for an Oscar in 1955, since all I've said she does is sing a bunch of songs, most of which even I fast-forward through, let me explain. In a movie, usually the person with the substance problem is given the only choice scenes, but in A Star Is Born, the woman who loves him is given just as many dramatic scenes. There's a famous scene, affectionately referred to as "the dressing room scene", in which Judy Garland tearfully describes to Charles Bickford how difficult it is to love someone who can't help but destroy himself. It's a very powerful scene, and one of the most famous monologues in classic screen history, because of the real-life undertones behind her lines. Believe me, she absolutely deserved her nomination.It's really too bad that this movie came out the same year as The Country Girl. Both movies center around a washed-up alcoholic actor, and both movies feature exceptional acting from the pair of leads. If it weren't for Bing Crosby's once in a lifetime performance, I would have given the 1954 Oscar to James Mason, hands down. His heartbreaking, harrowing performance makes me cry every time I watch it. It's not often a male actor at that time period felt comfortable sobbing in a closeup, and James Mason trusted the camera with his vulnerability as he's never done before. I know there are a lot of Brando fans out there, but do me a favor and rent The Country Girl, A Star is Born, and On the Waterfront during the same weekend. If you still think Marlon Brando's performance should have beat out the other two, then you and I have different tastes and count yourself on the side of The Academy. DLM warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. During one of the songs about two-thirds into the movie, there's a strobe light for about ten seconds, and it will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

...and STAR is one of them.What an enormous talent... She was playing against herself the whole way through... More autobiographical than she ever could know...And only Frances - Judy - could do it.It took along time for me to see this, passing on most musicals as I tend to do. But, I understand it better, than if I'd ever had seen it earlier in my life.

Thanks to dear TCM I finally was able to see this much ballyhooed movie in its entirety - or as much of it that remains after the famous lost cuts - see details elsewhere on this page. I loved Judy Garland in Wizard, the Andrew Hardy series and Meet Me in St Louis. As far as I can tell, she managed to ruin her voice before this "come-back" movie was made. All of those forced notes grate on my ears - sorry. How sad that so many people turned themselves inside-out to give her this opportunity. Even sadder that so few people seem to recognize the poor quality of her voice in this movie. The film is beautifully photographed and James Mason is fine but, please - do not try to tell me Judy Garland even came close to earning a nomination for this movie.

This is a remarkable film. Remarkably long, for starters, and I can see why Warner Brothers execs wanted it trimmed down from 182 minutes to 154 minutes (the restored version seen today is at 176 minutes).It's also remarkable because it shows a bit about what Hollywood was like, since many of the scenes used real movie studios locations.But, of course, it's most remarkable because of the performance by Judy Garland. But it's remarkably pathetic that this role -- of a woman standing by her husband, who is a drunk -- so paralleled her own life (in reverse) of drug addiction and alcohol. I'm old enough to remember Judy Garland's television specials in the 1950s and 1960s, and my grandparents (whom I lived with) commenting each time about how Garland looked and that she "wouldn't be alive much longer". And their predictions that she'd commit suicide successfully before long. Nevertheless, she was a grand actress, and her musical numbers here (especially "The Man Who Got Away") are truly impressive.The film is also remarkable because of co-star James Mason. Not usually of my favorites, although aside from Ronald Colman, the actor with the most distinctively charming voice. But he is excellent in this film.Jack Carson and Charles Bickford, in supporting roles, are excellent, as well.Well worth a watch, and this will end up on the DVD shelf of anyone who follows Judy Garland. And, this outshines the earlier and later versions of the story.