“Mind if I take just one more look?”
(He wouldn’t become mentorandlover until the ‘37 film, however.)
That male star is on a downward trajectory, wrestling with alcoholism and addiction as his own career dwindles.
Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock
He pushed for Gaynor, with whom he had recently madeSmall Town Girl.
The ‘37 version leans least on the established star personas of its leads.
As an extension of that, the film is also far more cynical than its more modern iterations.
(As the world becomes more cynical,A Star Is Borngrows more earnest.)
There are numerous other sequences in the 1937ASIBthat were drawn from Wellman’s own life.
Even after three versions ofASIBspanning eight decades, don’t expect Hollywood to stop looking back anytime soon.
