A Star Is Reborn: Gaynor & Garland & Streisand & Gaga: The Most Filmed Hollywood Story of Love Found and Lost

Film historian Hofler (The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson) provides a chatty and entertaining behind-the-scenes account of the many lives of the classic film A Star Is Born. The movie was first made (starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March) in 1937 as a loose take on actress Barbara Stanwyck’s tumultuous marriage to vaudeville star Frank Fay; as the young Stanwyck’s star rose, Fay’s dimmed and he descended into alcoholism, precipitating the relationship’s demise. Hofler overviews the film’s remakes, including in 1954 as a comeback vehicle for Judy Garland; a 1976 version set in the rock and roll industry starring Barbra Streisand (whose gutsy character, Hofler asserts, was a kind of corrective to her real-life relationship with boyfriend Jon Peters, who tried to exert “all-encompassing” control over her career); and a 2018 version starring Lady Gaga in her Oscar-nominated film debut. While Hofler’s prose can be clunky, fans will delight in his attention to detail and trivia, including alternate casting options (Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant were considered as potential costars with Garland; Beyoncé was originally envisioned as the star of the 2018 remake). Informative and enjoyable, this will be popcorn for fans of the movie. (Jan.)