Cover Image: A Star Is Born

A Star Is Born

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Member Reviews

A Star is Born, by Lorna Luft and Jeffrey Vance, analyzes all the movie versions of this story, but the book is primarily about the 1954 film directed by George Cukor, starring Judy Garland and James Mason and produced by Judy Garland's husband and Lorna Luft's father, Sid Luft.

This movie is called "the Film that Got Away" because, according to the authors of the book, that even though the film was a hit with audiences,it was cut to the point where it didn't make sense to squeeze in more showings per day. And Judy Garland got blamed for the fiasco.

There have always been fans and critics who preferred the version released in 1937, directed by William Wellman and starring Fredric March and Janet Gaynor. I always liked the way Wellman's film tied the settlement of the West into a movie about movie stars on the verge of the second world war.

The character of the movie star's grandmother, who tells her granddaughter what it was like to travel in a covered wagon, is by the end of the movie the most modern character in the story, addressing a radio audience in a mink at a movie premiere.

This book is also fun for those who like the seventies version starring Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. Neil Diamond was considered for the role, but instead he did his own remake of The Jazz Singer in 1980.

(Thanks to NetGalley and Running Press for a digital review copy.)

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I"m a huge fan of the movie, so this book was a great look inside the making. Love that Ms. Garland's daughter helped to co-author the book. Great for Old Hollywood fans, or the legions of fans Ms. Garland still has.

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Judy Garland was the epitome of a movie star. She could dance, act in comedies and dramas, and boy could she sing! The second A Star Is Born, starring Judy Garland and James Mason, is my favorite of the three incarnations, soon to be four. It has always been one of my favorite movies. To me it is classic Hollywood.
This is a wonderful book, written by Lorna Luft, Judy’s daughter with Sid Luft, and writer Jeffrey Vance. There is so much trivia and gossip about Judy Garland, and Hollywood and Broadway. My favorite trivia is that after filming was completed on A Star Is Born, Sid Luft bought all of the iconic furniture to furnish their family home! Ms. Luft said that they literally lived on the movie set.
This book is as much a biography and personal memoir as it is a well-researched history of the film industry. It is a must for movie lovers and highly recommended.

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I've always admired Judy Garland. She's without a doubt one of the best actresses of all time. But still, I think there are lots of things people don't know about her, and this book helps a lot. It's very interesting to read these stories. Also, the graphic work is really well done. Such beautiful photos!

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I received this free copy from netgalley.com for an honest review.
This was a quick read and I loved that! I love everything about Judy Garland and fell in love with Lorna when I first saw her in Grease 2. I was ecstatic to find this book.
I love the premise of following Judy through the process of A Star is Born. I loved the detail from Lorna on her memories of seeing this movie for the first time. I adored the photos that were included as well. The one section that threw me off was the chapter regarding Barbara Streisand and her remake of A Star is Born. For me, it felt rushed and it was just thrown in there for filler. I know this is still in the works, so forgiving the format and unaligned pages was easy to do.
I give this book 4 Stars. Hoping to hear more from Lorna in book world.

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