A Star Is Born | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | William A. Wellman |
Screenplay by | |
Story by |
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Produced by | David O. Selznick |
Starring | |
Cinematography | W. Howard Greene |
Edited by |
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Music by | Max Steiner |
Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
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Running time | 111 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1.2 million[2] |
Box office | $2.37 million (worldwide rentals)[3] |
A Star Is Born is a 1937 American Technicolor drama film produced by David O. Selznick, directed by William A. Wellman from a script by Wellman, Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker, and Alan Campbell, and starring Janet Gaynor (in her only Technicolor film) as an aspiring Hollywood actress, and Fredric March (in his Technicolor debut) as a fading movie star who helps launch her career. The supporting cast features Adolphe Menjou, May Robson, Andy Devine, Lionel Stander, and Owen Moore. At the 10th Academy Awards, it became the first color film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The movie's plot is heavily based on a previous Hollywood production, What Price Hollywood? released in 1932 though not as widely known. This movie however would garner popularity and kickstart a legacy which lead to it being remade three times: in 1954 (directed by George Cukor and starring Judy Garland and James Mason), in 1976 (directed by Frank Pierson and starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson), and in 2018 (starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, who also directed). Unlike the original film, the three remakes are all musical films.