Wonderland Burlesque's Let's All Go To The Movies: I Wanna Be A Star! - Part 2 of 3

Wonderland Burlesque's

Let's All Go To The Movies

I Wanna Be A Star!

Part 2 of 3

This is the second of three Let's All Go To The Movies posts where we'll be going deep in the heart of Hollywood to learn all about the entertainment industry and its dirty, dirty ways via film. What better way to get the real dirt?

Today? We're bound for Hollywood - with three of the four films which borrowed heavily from another film we'll be taking a look at later in this series. Ah, Hollywood - if it worked the first time, it will work a fourth!

Now, with some of these movies there's a great deal of lore to unpack, so let's get to it!

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Star For A Night

(1936)

(A mother of three who is now blind comes to America to visit her grown children whom she believes - based on what they've written her in the past - are successful and thriving. One is even a star on Broadway! To keep the charade going, all three must find ways to keep Mama in the dark!)

(This remake of 1933's Lady For A Day is a drama directed by Lewis Seiler and stars Claire Trevor, Jane Darwell, Arline Judge, Evelyn Venable, Hattie McDaniel, and Dean Jagger.)

Claire Trevor

(Claire Trevor appeared in 65 feature films from 1933 to 1982, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in 1948's Key Largo. In addition she received nominations for her roles in 1937's Dead End and 1954's The High and the Mighty.)

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A Star Is Born

(1937)

(A young woman who dreams of stardom comes to Hollywood. She soon meets a famous actor whose career is on the skids due to his battle with alcohol. As her star rises, his descends and when he finally comes to realize his best days are long behind him, things end tragically.)

(This Technicolor drama film produced by David O. Selznick was directed by William A. Wellman and stars Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, along with Adolphe Menjou, May Robson, Andy Devine, Lionel Stander, and Owen Moore.)

(This film has a number of similarities to 1932's What Price Hollywood?, directed by George Cukor. Based on a story by Adela Rogers St. Johns, the plot was 'borrowed' from the real life story of actress Colleen Moore and her husband producer John McCormick - a lifelong alcoholic - and the life and death of director Tom Forman, who committed suicide following a nervous breakdown.)

(Film historians believe that the marriage of Barbara Stanwyck and actor Frank Fay was the film's real-life inspiration. In addition, silent film star John Bowers has also been identified as an inspiration for the Norman Maine character, due to the dramatic suicide-by-drowning scene near the end of the film. Bowers, despondent because he was unable to make the transition from silent films to talkies, drowned himself in November of 1936 after discovering that a film he'd wanted to do had already been cast. Matinee idol Norman Kerry - the 'Clark Gable' of the 1920's - has also been cited as a possible source.)

 

 (Producer Selznick approached George Cukor and asked him to direct A Star Is Born. However, Cukor felt the plot was too similar to What Price Hollywood? and declined - not that he wouldn't get a second chance. In addition, RKO - the studio responsible for What Price Hollywood? - toyed with the idea of filing a plagiarism suit citing all the similarities in the story, but chose not to - fearing bad blood between the studios would mean they couldn't borrow each other's actors.)

(Although she was given screen credit and nominated for an Oscar, it's not known exactly how much Dorothy Parker contributed to this film's finished script - not even by Dorothy Parker. When the Algonquin Round Table regular first saw the film, she was proud of her contribution and boasted about both the script and the film, but in later life Parker believed she'd contributed nothing of significance.)

(The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including best actor and actress nods for March and Gaynor, but neither won. Ironically, only writers William A. Wellman and Robert Carson walked away with an Oscar - for Best Original Story!)

(Janet Gaynor was the first actress to receive an Oscar for Best Actress at the first Academy Awards ceremony on May 16, 1929. In the scene in which her character wins an Oscar, it's Gaynor's own Oscar she's holding. Fredric March had also won the Oscar for Best Actor - in 1932, However, unlike Gaynor's, March's Oscar never makes an appearance.)

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Star Dust

(1940)

(Partially based on Linda Darnell's early experiences in Hollywood, a young woman gets a Hollywood contract from a talent scout only to be rejected because she's too young. With stars in her eyes, she falls head over heels for a contract player who helps her dreams of stardom come true.)

(This comedy drama was directed by Walter Lang and stars Linda Darnell, John Payne, Roland Young, and Charlotte Greenwood.)

(Originally, during the Grauman's Chinese Theatre courtyard scene, Darnell and Payne were to compare foot and hand imprints with a number of deceased stars, including Marie Dressler, Douglas Fairbanks, and Jean Harlow, however, the studio decided this was in bad taste and might upset audiences, so those of Mary Pickford, Harold Lloyd, Tyrone Power, and Don Ameche were used instead.)

Linda Darnell

(Linda Darnell progressed from modeling as a child to acting in theater and film. She made her first film in 1939, and appeared in supporting roles in big-budget films for 20th Century Fox throughout the 1940's and was a frequent co-star of Tyrone Power.)

(Darnell was forever giving studio heads and publicists a hard time. When it came to the press, she spoke her mind. In 1940, during the shooting of Star Dust, she was dating age appropriate teen idol Mickey Rooney. However, in 1942, at the age of 19, she eloped with a cameraman twenty-two years her senior. A hard drinker, he introduced her to alcohol and the actress developed a reputation for being hardheaded and hot-tempered. Addiction and weight problems quickly followed.) 

(She fought with studio heads, tired of being cast for her looks rather than her acting abilities - she wanted to be taken seriously as an actress. She got her wish. She established herself as a lead actress after her role in 1947's Forever Amber. She also won critical acclaim for her work in 1948's Unfaithfully Yours and 1949's  A Letter to Three Wives.)

(Tragically, Darnell died in 1965 due to burns she'd received in a house fire at her former secretary's house in Glenview, IL. Trapped on the second floor of the home by heat and smoke, the fire had started in the living room due to careless smoking. She died the next day. Darnell was still in high demand in Hollywood; her former secretary's daughter noted that the actress was mulling over three different contracts at the time of her death.)

 

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A Star Is Born

(1954)

(A movie star whose career is on the wane, meets a showgirl when he drunkenly crashes her act one night. A friendship develops, which blossoms into romance. As her star continues to rise, his plummets, causing tension between the two, which ultimately ends in tragedy.)

(This musical drama, based on the 1937 film of the same name, was directed by George Cukor, written by Moss Hart, and stars Judy Garland and James Mason with Jack Carson and Charles Bickford.)

(Garland was on her best behavior during the early days of shooting, but slowly reverted to her previous bad habits By February, the production was 41 days behind schedule due to her calling in 'sick'. The thing is, after she would call in sick, the next day George Cukor would read in Louella Parsons' gossip column that Garland had spent the night singing at a nightclub or spent the day at the races. In late March, she took two weeks off to get herself off all prescription medications. Ultimately, the production would drag on for nine months.)

(But, when she worked? She worked hard. To Cukor's amazement, Garland did 27 takes of The Man Who Got Away over a period of three days - belting it out full volume each time, refusing to lip sync. Cukor also had a reputation for pushing actresses to an emotional brink and then capturing it on film. For Garland's dressing room breakdown scene. he drove her so hard that she threw up before the first take. Then he made her do the scene over and over until he had it just right. After the final take, Garland was sobbing uncontrollably. He came up to her quietly, put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Judy, Marjorie Main couldn't have done that any better!")

(Once the production wrapped and Cukor left for a vacation to scout locations for his next film, Luft and Warner Brothers felt the movie lacked the kind of classic production number which audiences had come to expect in a Judy Garland movie. Longtime Garland collaborator and friend, Roger Edens was hired and the so-called 'Born in a Trunk' sequence was created, adding 18 minutes to the running time of an already long and over-budget film.)

(When filming was completed, Garland stole the furniture from the sets of the film and decorated her home. Producer Jack L. Warner learned of this after she invited him over after the film's premiere.)

(Under consideration for the role of Norman Maine was some of Hollywood's best: Humphrey Bogart, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Gary Cooper, Henry Fonda, Errol Flynn, Cary Grant, Ray Milland, Richard Burton, Gregory Peck, Tyrone Power, Frank Sinatra, John Hodiak, James Stewart, Glenn Ford, Stewart Granger, and Robert Taylor. But, ultimately, the role was cast by... Marlon Brando?)

(Granger was the front runner for the role, but, after rehearsing with Cukor, he backed out because he disliked Cukor's habit of acting out scenes as a form of direction. Garland suggested Hodiak, her co-star in 1946's The Harvey Girls, but he was unavailable. Both Garland and Sid Luft lobbied for Sinatra, but he was nixed because he was considered box office poison at the time. Olivier was talked about, but Jack L. Warner wasn't enthusiastic about him. Warner also rejected Bogart as an option. Burton was offered the role, but he was too busy filming 1953's The Robe. Clift turned down the role because he felt that the subject matter hit too close to home.)

(And, most curious of all... Grant, who had a long working relationship with Cukor, was

interested enough to do a read-through of the script and agreed it was the part of a lifetime. He initially accepted, then turned down the role. The reasons varied: he cited semi-retirement. Then he said he was more interested in spending time traveling with his then wife, Betsy Drake. After Grant's death, his widow revealed that Garland's drug addiction made the actor have second thoughts and drop out of the film. Cukor never forgave him for turning down the opportunity.)

(Finally, Cukor offered the role to Marlon Brando on the set of 1953's Julius Caesar. "Why would you come to me?" asked Brando. "I'm in the prime of my life... If you're looking around for some actor to play an alcoholic has-been, he's sitting right over there." Brando was pointing at his costar James Mason and Mason got the part!)

(Garland and Mason bonded during filming, becoming such good friends that Liza Minnelli asked him to deliver the eulogy at her mother's funeral in 1969.)

(The first preview was a triumph for Garland. As she left the theatre, fans shouted at her, "Don't cut a single minute of it." The second preview was equally successful. At this point the film ran 196 minutes.)

(However, shortly before the premiere, Cukor cut the film down to 181 minutes. While the musical segment cut from the 'Born In A Trunk' segment would eventually be restored in the most recent DVDs of the film, all the other footage has never been recovered and is believed to have been burned.)

(After the film opened and and the reviews were in, Harry Warner, head of the studio's business side, decided it was too long. As is, theatres could only manage one showing per day. To fix this, he ordered 30 minutes be chopped out. Cukor, Luft and Garland all protested vigorously. The cuts effected scenes which dealt with the development of the lead character's relationship. But their concerns fell on deaf, greedy ears. To make matters worse, the studio melted the negative from the cut scenes to retrieve the film's silver content. All for naught - Warner's plan backfired spectacularly: word of the cuts generated a great deal of negative press and a strong backlash against the film. Despite the glowing early reviews, promising opening, and general goodwill, attendance dwindled and Warner Brothers lost big at the box office.)

(Garland was nominated for an Oscar as best actress and Mason was nominated for best actor -just like Janet Gaynor and Fredric March before them. In fact, the film was nominated for six awards. Garland couldn't attend the 1955 Academy Awards because she was in the hospital, having giving birth to her third child, Joey Luft. When Hedda Hopper reported that she'd lost to Grace Kelly for 1954's The Country Girl by a mere six votes, Groucho Marx fired off a telegram calling her loss "the biggest robbery since Brink's." Garland took the loss hard, viewing it as Hollywood's rejection of her. It was a heartbreak from which she never really recovered.)

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A Star Is Born

(1976)

(After too many years on the road, a cynical, talented rock star watches his career spiral ever downward as he slides into a life of booze and drugs. However, things change for the better when he meets a talented singer who turns his head and his life around. He takes her under his wing, sharing stages while showing her the ropes - both the best and the worst show biz has to offer. Trouble is, they're at different stages in their lives; she's falling in love... while he's falling apart.)

This musical romantic drama was directed by Frank Pierson, written by Pierson, John Gregory Dunne, and Joan Didion, and stars Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson.

(The development of this incarnation of the now familiar story has quite the pedigree.

The idea to of changing the story's setting from Hollywood to the world of rock 'n roll was originally conceived with Carly Simon and James Taylor in mind. But Taylor refused, saying he'd had enough of movies after his "torturous" debut in 1971's Two-Lane Blacktop. Peter Bogdanovich was approached to direct this version as a potential vehicle for his then-girlfriend Cybill Shepherd. They declined. Cher, Liza Minnelli, Helen Reddy, and Diana Ross were all considered. Ross was interested, but Motown founder Berry Gordy refused to release her to work on the film. Streisand initially turned down the film - then titled Rainbow Road, but her then-boyfriend, hairdresser Jon Peters, persuaded her to reconsider.

(At one time or another Arthur Hiller, Hal Ashby, Robert Altman, Sidney Lumet, Mark Rydell and Jerry Schatzberg were all slated to direct. Rydell actually signed on, but when Streisand refused to play the role as Janis Joplin, he bailed... and went on to make The Rose with Bette Midler three years later.)

(The director, Frank Pierson, was so frustrated working with Barbra Streisand that he wrote a first-person account detailing the experience which was published in both New York and New West magazines. He painted a picture of Streisand as an "egocentric, manipulative, and controlling" star. Part of the problem? She and Pierson disagreed about the necessity of a couple of minor scenes. When he put his foot down and said 'no', she went behind his back and directed the scenes herself. The article hit the stands just prior to the film's release; Streisand and Pierson never worked together again.)

(Streisand was not the only one on the set to have issues with Pierson. Kristofferson did not get along with the director at all.. According to Kristofferson, Pierson was a World War II veteran who looked down on the actor for being in the Army, but not going to Vietnam. Kristofferson later said: "I was too drunk to give a shit." That said, Kristofferson wasn't all too keen on working with Streisand, either. "Filming with Barbra Streisand is an experience which may have cured me of the movies." As for claims that Kristofferson fashioned his character after Jim Morrison: "That's a good idea but it's not true. I don't think I ever met Morrison. A lot of people said we looked alike – shirts off, beards – but that washed-up rock star was more about me.")

(Once Streisand came on board - as both star and producer - the search for the male lead began in earnest. Initially she wanted Elvis Presley for the part, going so far as to fly to Las Vegas to see Elvis after one of his performances in 1975. Backstage, Streisand talked to him directly, trying to convince him to play the part. Elvis actually wanted to do it, but Colonel Tom Parker said 'no'. The Colonel was angry that Streisand had not come to talk to him first, he also didn't want Elvis playing a washed-up rock star. But Streisand didn't take no for an answer. She persisted and then Parker named his terms: Elvis' name appeared above the title and above Streisand's. He also requested a ridiculous amount of money - so much, that Warner Brothers, Streisand and Jon Peters co-producers - put the kibosh on the idea, citing the fact that Elvis hadn't been in a film since 1969 and no one was sure he still had pull at the box office.)

(Streisand's second choice was Marlon Brando. He declined. Neil Diamond and Kenny Loggins were both approached, but both were too busy meeting touring commitments. British singers Alan Price and Mick Jagger were also under consideration. Then, when Kristofferson was finally chosen - the deal almost fell through over a disagreement about music rights.)

(In the end... the film came in ahead of schedule and under budget. It turned out to be the second highest-grossing film of that year; a huge box office success, grossing $80 million on a budget of $6 million. To say nothing of the mega hit the accompanying soundtrack became - the image of Kristofferson looking into Streisand's eyes was inescapable.)

(All of the clothing she wore in the film came from Streisand's own closet. The actual credit reads: "Miss Streisand's clothes from... her closet.")

(Oddly, this is he only version of A Star Is Born (out of the four) where the two leads were not nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Actress. The film did get four nominations, with Streisand and lyricist Paul Williams taking home the Oscar for Best Original Song. The song also won an Emmy for song of the year. And when it came to the Golden Globes? Six nominations - six wins! And who wasn't nominated for any? Director Frank Pierson. That'll learn ya!)

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And that's all for now.

Tune in next week.

Same time, same channel!

Movie Trailer: A Star Is Born - 1937

Movie Trailer: A Star Is Born - 1954

Movie Trailer: A Star Is Born - 1976