Random thoughts:
I saw about 2/3rds of the 1950s version of A Star is Born with Judy Garland and James Mason on Cinemax this afternoon. Must be a restored version because there were several scenes where the audio continued, but studio still b & W shots were used.
Delightful movie. Garland acted her most natural, that is, more like the woman we saw on tv in the 60s. She sang The Man Who Got Away, her great theme song, probably more so than Rainbow, and sang it in the style she used in her cabaret career.
Big sound stage sets and scenes shot on the streets of Los Angeles, giving us, in the theme park words, a Hollywood that never was.
And James Mason was stunning, attractive, interesting.
I hate cautionary tales, particularly Hollywood ones, and that part of the story was of course predictable. Sad that it foreshadowed Garland's own demise.
