I don't care what the critics say. This was still another excellent Julie Andrews vehicle and she is magnificent as the late Gertrude Lawrence. The latter, a star in her own right, tempestuous, and in a way, afraid of life and what it had to offer her. Career oriented she had a daughter who seemed to want to keep her distance from her.Daniel Massey was wonderful as Noel Coward. He seemed to become Lawrence's guidance counselor; she knew who to run to each time there was a crisis in her life.The film traces Lawrence's humble beginnings to her success in British revue and ultimately on Broadway.To keep the film upbeat, nothing is mentioned regarding her death in 1952 while performing The King and I on Broadway.

As a cohesive film, I would have rated this film a 4. As a showcase for the phenomenal Julie Andrews, then at the peak of her powers, I would give it a 10. As a compromise, I give it an 8. I can add little to the other discussions of this film and, all these years later, my little comment will do little to alter anyone's opinion of it. I do wish, however, that it would be released on Bluray, with the intermission music restored. The picture, when compared with the recent Bluray release of Hello, Dolly! is rather faded and washed out. Julie's terrific music numbers and the fantastic sets and costumes deserve first-class treatment.

Forty-five years have passed since this film debuted! A notorious flop in its day, the film looks better all the time. An old-fashioned, full-throttle musical starring diva Julie Andrews as diva Gertrude Lawrence in a series of musical numbers with dramatic scenes interspersed. As biography, it's bosh, but as entertainment it's aces.Andrews is superb as Lawrence, capturing the blazing talent and her inability to deal with reality and men. The film nicely captures the razzle dazzle of Broadway in the 20s and 30s when there were such things as stars on stage. The musical numbers of terrific. The costumes are eye popping. Only the story lags.I suspect that those who say Andrews is "stiff" in this film haven't seen it. Andrews is a whirlwind of singing, dancing, and acting as she covers Lawrence's life from early adulthood til her marriage to Richard Aldrich in 1940 and her triumph in LADY IN THE DARK.Co-stars include the marvelous Daniel Massey as Noel Coward, Richard Crenna as Aldrich, Michael Craig, Robert Reed, Anthony Eisley, Jenny Agutter, Beryl Reid, Bruce Forsythe, and Alan Oppenheimer as Charlot.Look quick for Conrad Bain, Tony Lo Bianco, J. Pat O'Malley, Anna Lee, Ballard Berkeley, Bernard Fox, and Don Crichton (CAROL BURNETT SHOW dancer)in the "Limehouse Blues" number.STAR! ranks as one of Julie Andrews' very best performances. And that's saying a lot.

I was fourteen years old in 1968 and just barely knew who I was, let alone who Gertrude Lawrence was, yet I loved musicals, the 1920's, and gorgeous period clothes (still do, on all accounts), so my Mother bought movie tickets for us to the roadshow engagement of Star! My Mother remembered Gertrude Lawrence and didn't like the movie right from the get-go; I wanted to like it more than I did, and after all these years, I finally understand why. Star! simply isn't as much fun to watch as Funny Girl was and still is. Star! came out roughly a month after Funny Girl, and the movie audience wasn't ready to embrace another musical biography, especially after Barbra Streisand conquered the world. Also, Star! was a "kitchen sink-er," as I call it;the filmmakers threw everything into it, whether everything belonged or not. Nevertheless, the music is wonderful, both Ms. Andrews'singing and Lennie Hayton's liquid-gold orchestrations, and the movie is gorgeous to look at. Watch it on DVD, and keep a crossword puzzle or craft project close to hand for the dreary stretches between songs!