Judy Garland's 1954 "A Star is Born" is almost as famous for the uproar caused by the roughly 30 minutes that were trimmed from it AFTER the movie had debuted across the country. Warner Brother executives felt that the greater amount of times the movie could be shown (thanks to the deletions) would mean higher profits. Their strategy backfired, and the sales of the movie trailed off when the public wasn't as enamored with the less compelling film that resulted. Here is a still from one of the musical segments removed after the first preview, "When My Sugar Walks Down The Street." During the "Born in a Trunk" sequence, Garland's character learns that her mother has passed away and she must fill mama's shoes on the stage, singing and dancing this joyous tune while silently mourning her loss. That's showbiz folks.
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2 comments:
1954's "A Star is Born" is the one Judy Garland movie I still have yet to see. I didn't realize it was directed by George Cukor, my favorite director of women's films. I'll have to check it out. Thanks, Dave.
Contrast that action with today: "Director's Cuts" that include material that was poorly written, upset the movie's pace or pursued side plots of no interest. Longer must be better, right? No, there was probably a very good reason you and your editor dropped that material right into the cutting bin to begin with. There are a few good director's cuts out there but they are vastly outnumbered by the mediocre. Rant over.
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