A Star is Born (1937)

Farm girl Esther Blodgett (Janet Gaynor) buys a one-way ticket to Tinseltown with a gift from her grandmother, who warns her, “For every dream of yours that may come true, you’ll pay the price in heartbreak.” She becomes an overnight box office sensation, in contract with the same studio as her new husband, matinee idol Norman Maine (Frederic March). But as her star rises, his finally burns out, plunging him deeper into alcoholism and depression. The first of five versions of Cukor’s What Price Hollywood? (1932), William A. Wellman’s Technicolor remake is a poignant melodrama about humility, self-sacrifice, and unconditional love.