. . . sometimes nicknamed as "The Razzies." Before Kanye West's parents were even born, another Space Cadet barged on-stage during a Tinseltown Awards Acceptance Speech to wrest notoriety from the Jaws of Acclaim. Alfred Hinkle, as one-time Oscar Gloater "Norman Maine," takes a dump during on his wife's Big Movement into the A-List, demanding that HE be crowned with not one, not two, but THREE Golden Raspberries for his Hat Trick of turning in the year's three worst performances by an actor in a leading role. During the interminable moments during which the tipsy celebrities gathered together wait for the band to drown out Norm's Drunken Rant, one half expects a Time-Traveling Wesley Snipes or Ice Cube to arrive from @Razziesowhite to shove Mr. Hinkle off his low horse themselves. (Speaking of which, with the not-so-Boffo Box Office for COLLATERAL BEAUTY, it seems that NOW would be the perfect time to rehash a fourth Big Screen version of A STAR IS BORN. This new Urban Edition would cast Will Smith as Norm, of course, and his Shrinking Violet Real Life spouse Jada seems perfectly suited to take on the Esther becoming Vicki role.)

What price does Hollywood cost? Five years after Lowell Sherman and Constance Bennett asked that question, a new film, unofficially based upon that almost forgotten classic, came along, and created a legend which has (thus far) spawned two remakes, one even more famous than itself. Hollywood has always created dreams that turned into nightmares, not only for the young hopefuls who came out from the middle of nowhere and ended up jumping off the Hollywood sign, but for those who had made it and were branded "has-beens". Think of the fictional Norma Desmond and the Hudson Sisters. Think of the real life sign jumper Peg Entwistle, as well as dwindling stars like John Barrymore, Ramon Novarro, Montgomery Clift and others who couldn't handle the pressures that hit them for various reasons and ended up with somewhat tragic finales. Hollywood can present much beauty, but for those inside the business, it is a living hell.Esther Blodgett (Janet Gaynor) is a young hopeful from hundreds of miles from Hollywood who longs to come to "Tinseltown" and work with the legends like the fictional Norman Maine (Fredric March), an Oscar Winner slowly falling down the ranks thanks to bad publicity, bad films, and especially, way too much booze. She struggles for months even just to get the rent paid and is on the verge of quitting when a miracle happens. By chance, she meets Mr. Maine who takes a liking to her (having earlier "shusshed!" her at a concert) and presents her to movie mogul Oliver Niles (Adolph Menjou) as a potential new star. She's fresh and unique, likable and talented, perky and sober. In short, she's everything Norman Maine is not. Her rise will mark his downfall, and yet nobody knows other than a few people that it was his confidence in her which helped build her star even brighter than his own."Esther Victoria Blodgett!", press agent Lionel Stander shouts, aghast. Cutting out "Blodgett", Niles comes up with "Vicky Lester", telling everybody to shout out "Say Vicky Lester!", to which Stander cynically replies "Vicky Vicky". But a bit part isn't enough for her, and at Norman's request, she gets the female lead in his newest film which is a smash for her but a critical slap for him. His pictures continue to bomb, and hers are hits, winning her an Oscar which results in his public humiliation. By this time, Norman and Victoria are married (under their real names), the offended Stander is outraged, and the stage is set for a finale both tragic and triumphant.As much as we have been warned about Hollywood success, we haven't learned that only a few rise to the top and stay there without any type of scandal. Norman Maine, whether being Lowell Sherman's version in "What Price Hollywood" or March's or James Mason or even Kris Kristofferson, can't bear a morning shoot without a drink, and for each drink he takes marks another notch towards his downfall. Gaynor, pretty much a has-been herself after being replaced at 20th Century Fox with Shirley Temple taking over the "leading star" spot, needed a hit like "A Star is Born" and is outstanding. She's comical (imitating a variety of stars at a Hollywood party) and touching, while March is profound, even in Norman's most drunken state.Playing a film studio owner/lead producer much like Selznick or Goldwyn, Menjou is a gentle patriarchal figure, loyal to March's Norman but unable to help him get another leading role thanks to the proved failures of his past. Stander is gruff and even nasty, letting his vile towards Norman spill out so evilly that you know that even the strongest person fighting to stay sober would be tempted to break their pledge. Andy Devine is amusing as Gaynor's confidante, with May Robson authoritative as her beloved grandmother and an unbilled Clara Blandick dominating every moment of the opening scene as the movie-hating aunt.Everything about this film is outstanding, with excellent Technicolor photography and a structure which has the film open and end as if it were the visions inside the opening shot of the first page of the screenplay and its last as the film wraps up. William Wellman was a master of storytelling and utilized Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell's screenplay to almost become a "Hollywood Bible" to indicate the ten commandments of becoming a star with "Hell" being big stars becoming has-beens for breaking these rules.

A rising young Hollywood actress marries a washed-up alcoholic star in the original version of the story that was remade twice. While March is fine as usual as the actor whose boozing ruins his career, Gaynor seems all wrong in the role that Judy Garland made her own. Gaynor has neither the looks nor the charisma needed to make it believable that a movie star would fall flat for her or that the movie-going public would make her an overnight sensation. Menjou heads a good supporting cast that includes veteran character actors Stander and Devine in early roles. The cast also includes Robson, who was born thirty years before Hollywood was founded!

A Hollywood love story, with the participants at cross-purposes in their respective careers, and alcohol a constant troubling factor. Though not profound--and steeped in sentiment, besides--this initial version of "A Star Is Born" makes a direct connection with the audience based on empathy for its characters, not songs or razzle-dazzle. Janet Gaynor, though a very big star in the 1930s, hasn't attained a large latter-day following for (most likely) the very reason she became an attraction initially: her giving, unselfish nature makes her a prime victim for love's heartaches, and one longs for her Esther Blodgett/Vicki Lester to mature on-screen. However, the set-up for this collapseable union doesn't allow for grown-up emotions, and Gaynor remains a noble, twinkling doormat for fading actor Fredric March. If you can get passed the tearjerker angle (which also permeated the 1954 and 1976 remakes), this look at early Hollywood is surprisingly canny and sharp, and the deep, rich Technicolor makes it a marvel to look at. Story idea lifted from 1932's "What Price Hollywood?", with a screenplay worked on by at least ten different writers (some credited, some not). **1/2 from ****