Episode 42: A Star is Born

It was not long ago that you could not go into any grocery store without hearing on the loudspeaker songs from Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s version of A Star is Born. Many know that this was based partially on a 1970s film starring Barbra Streisand. But even earlier there were two other versions. The first, made in 1937, stars Janet Gaynor and Fredric March. In the first movie the leading lady has her eyes set on conquering Hollywood as an actress rather than a singer. The following version, made in 1954, is well cast with Judy Garland and James Mason in a familiar storyline but in a time when Hollywood is dominated by technicolor musicals, and is also aware of its ratings battle with television. The melancholic story of an underdog just beginning to make it big and reaching their dream life, paired with a star at the peak of their fame but struggling with alcoholism and substance abuse is a story that strikes at the heart and evidently continues to appeal to each generation.