One Of Judy Garland's Most Beloved Musicals Has A Cut That Is Impossible To Watch Today

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The first version of "A Star is Born," directed by William Wellman, was released in 1937, and starred Fredric March as Norman Maine, a slumping Hollywood star whose career has been nearly destroyed by alcoholism. Janet Gaynor starred as Esther Blodgett, stage name Vicki Lester, an up-and-coming singer who Norman takes under his wing. He may or may not be able to salvage his own career, but Norman still succeed vicariously through Vicki. He stops drinking. Naturally, the two begin a doomed romance, and audiences sense that it's only a matter of time before alcoholism rears its ugly head. Maine will not survive to the end.

Wellman's film was acclaimed enough to be nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, the first color film to hold the distinction. It lost to "The Life of Emile Zola" that year, but its reputation remained strong. Strong enough, in fact, for director George Cukor to remake it in 1954. By every measure, Cukor's version is superior, boasting a more sensitive story, better performances, and more notable musical numbers. For my money, Cukor's version of "A Star is Born" is the best one (and recall that "A Star is Born" was remade two more times in 1976 and 2018). It really captures the natural sadness and mutual desperation of the characters, and why their love and their careers are so important. Even the 2018 remake with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga doesn't hit quite so hard.

The cut of Cukor's "A Star is Born" runs 181 minutes — the original premiere length — but there have been multiple cuts to the movie over the years, with at least one extended edit lost to time. It's been a long road getting back to the 181-minute version, a path that once took the film down to 154 minutes and back.

"A Star is Born" debuted with its 181-minute cut, premiering at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood, California on September 26, 1954. It was an awards darling, but it seems that some critics felt that the movie was too long. Warner Bros., just as they might today, felt that a shorter film would allow theaters to cram in more showings per day, and, hence, earn them that much more in ticket sales. According to a 1954 article in the New Your Times, published on October 22, "A Star is Born" was to be pulled from theaters, re-cut, and re-released. The new version was to have a full 27 minutes excised, making a 154-minute cut the "standard" version that most audiences would see. The shorter version was released on November 1. It would be interesting to learn if Academy voters saw the 181-minute cut or the 154-minute cut. 

The scenes that were edited out were all "talky" bits, where Vicki and Norman developed their relationship. The shorter version also removed two songs: "Lose That Long Face" and "Here's What I'm Here For." Ironically, the shortening of "A Star is Born" blew up in Warner Bros.' face. The shorter version was way less successful than the 181-minute version, and ticket sales dropped off sharply. According to the Lost Media Wiki, theater owners wrote angry letters to Warner over the debacle. Not only did they feel that "A Star is Born" had been vandalized, but their theaters were suffering as a result. Overall, "A Star is Born" lost money for the studio, earning only $6 million on a pricey $5 million budget. Judy Garland was nominated for an Oscar, but lost to Grace Kelly in "The Country Girl."

As quoted in Lorna Luft's book "A Star is Born: Judy Garland and the Film that Got Away," Cukor felt that the shorter edit was directly responsible for Garland's loss.

Frustratingly, the 154-minute cut of "A Star is Born" was the only cut widely available to the public. The original version was re-released in 1969, shortly after Garland died, but was only exhibited for a few showings. In 1981, the Academy felt it was high time that "A Star is Born" be fully restored back to its original 181 version. Sadly, by then, a lot of the excised footage had gone missing. Scenes had to be culled from various film vaults, and some missing footage was even rescued from the collection of a notorious film bootlegger. The Burbank sound archive had the complete audio for the film, but a full seven minutes of actual film was still missing. The restoration was completed, with the missing footage replaced by production stills. This new cut, released in 1983, only ran 176 minutes. 

Rumors have long swirled that a full 181-minute print still exists somewhere, but it has yet to surface. A few minutes of "A Star is Born" are forever lost. 

And there's still more missing footage out there besides. According to Patrick McGilligan's 1991 book "George Cukor: A Double Life," Cukor and his editor Folmar Blangsted initially assembled a cut of "A Star is Born" that ran a whopping 196 minutes. Some scenes were added without Cukor's input. the 196-minute cut was only ever shown to test audiences, however. Although it received a positive response, Cukor felt, perhaps, that "Star" could be streamlined, and he chopped it down to the 181-minute version seen at the film's premiere. The missing 15 minutes has never been located, although Cukor never really wanted audiences to see them. I would trust Cukor's judgment; he remains one of the best. 

Until a full print emerges, we'll have to content ourselves with the 1983 version.