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Showing posts with label Janet Gaynor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Janet Gaynor. Show all posts

Saturday, February 4, 2012

A star is born 1937 - Is the price of stardom a broken heart?


IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029606/
IMDB rating: 7,7


Directors: Jack Conway, William A. Wellman
Main Cast: Janet Gaynor, Fredric March, Adolphe Menjou, May Robson, Andy Devine, Owen Moore, Peggy Wood



"A Star is born came into being when producer David O. Selznick decided to tell a 'true behind-the-scenes' story of Hollywood. The truth, of course, was filtered a bit for box-office purposes, although Selznick and an army of screenwriters based much of their script on actual people and events. (Especially the marriage of Barbara Stanwyck and Frank Fay. The latter was a huge Broadway star who just started to wash up and his young wife's career in Hollywood began to take off. The writers were at great pains to insist at the beginning of the movie that 'all resemblance to any person is purely coincidental...' and all of that. But everyone in Hollywood knew at the time.) A star is born showcased Janet Gaynor's last great performance and established one of the screen's most enduring tales of tragic love. A triumph of top-grade production values, writing, and acting, it represented the zenith of efforts from United Artists in the late 1930s, and remains entertaining and relevant when viewed by current-day audiences. This is one of the best films of the 1930s, particularly notable for the acting and the high level of technical work, as director William Wellman adroitly combines a rich visual style with the luminous performances of the film's stars. An honorary Oscar selected by a panel of cinematographers went to Howard Greene's Technicolor work, helping to change Academy rules two years later to recognize color cinematography as a separate category from Black & White. The film received seven Oscar nominations overall, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress for Gaynor, and Best Actor for Fredric March, winning for Wellman and co-scripter Robert Carson as Best Original Story." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/a-star-is-born-v46638/

DVD links:


Thursday, November 17, 2011

State fair 1933 - A wonderful movie with charms, warmth and virtue


IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024610/
IMDB rating: 7,0


Director: Henry King
Main Cast: Janet Gaynor, Will Rogers, Lew Ayres, Sally Eilers, Norman Foster, Louise Dresser



"The 1933 State Fair was the first of three film versions of the Phillip Stong bestseller. Some consider it the best of the three because of its stricter adherence to the source material and the presence of star Will Rogers.
The original film State Fair has suffered an ignominious fate, owing - ironically enough - to the consequences growing out of the virtues that made it so notable in the first place. The story, by Phillip Strong, was a good one, about a family that finds joys and some unexpected personal trials while attending the Iowa State Fair. Henry King, who'd made his mark on pictures a dozen years earlier with the rural tale Tol'able David, did some of his best sound work in that milieu on this particular picture. And that's not surprising, given that he had the opportunity to work tandem with Will Rogers, Louise Dresser, and Janet Gaynor. King had a light touch as a director, giving his actors room to do what they did best, and they all ran with it, and the results were so impressive that they ended up inspiring Rodgers and Hammerstein to try their hand at film scoring a dozen years later. And that musical version eclipsed the very work that had inspired them in the first place. This movie has many of the same virtues that one found in the other films of Rogers and Gaynor, plus King's ability to move a story along. The warmth of the characterizations radiates from the screen, and even those who have grown up on the more familiar films of the R&H musical version may be impressed with the straight dramatic approach that one finds here." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/state-fair-v111659

Download links:


http://www.filefactory.com/file/5h8hfiii2lkh/n/State.Fair.1933.DvDRip.avi