CREATIVE PROCESS: GEORGE CUKOR/JUDY GARLAND

AS A CREATIVE PERSON MR. DE WITT LOVES TO PULL THE CURTAIN BACK AND GET INSIDE THE PROCESS..."A STAR IS BORN" GEROGE CUKOR MASTERPIECE AND MISS JUDY GARLAND TOUR DE FORCE PERFORMANCE...A PRODUCTION 3YRS IN THE MAKING, RIDDLED WITH PROBLEMS...JUDY'S FRAGILE MENTAL STATE, HER HUSBAND SID LUFT'S VERY HANDS ON PRODUCING TECHNIQUES, MR. CUKOR'S NEED FOR PERFECTION, AND THE STUDIO'S INTERFERENCE ( WARNER BROS. CUT 30MIN FROM THE ORIGINAL 181MIN CUKOR VERSION!). IN THIS CLIP THE MOVIES SHOW-STOPPER "THE MAN THAT GOT A WAY" WAS FILMED 3 DIFFERENT WAYS OVER THE COURSE OF 5 MONTHS UNTIL MR. CUKOR WAS PLEASED.

HERE ARE ALL THREE TAKES OF JUDY GARLAND SINGING "THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY" FROM "A STAR IS BORN."

THE TOP IMAGE IS THE FIRST TAKE, FILMED ON OCTOBER 21ST, 1953, FEATURING JUDY IN A PINK BLOUSE. THE CAMERAMAN COULD NOT GIVE CUKOR WHAT HE WANTED: "LOW LIGHT LEVELS, THE IMPRESSIONISTIC FEELING OF THE MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, GARLAND MOVING IN AND OUT OF POOLS OF LIGHT," SO HE WAS FIRED.

CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE COSTUME AND SET AND THE NUMBER WAS RE-FILMED ON OCTOBER 29TH (THE MIDDLE IMAGE).

GENE ALLEN: "THE FIRST TIME IT LOOKED AS IF WE HAD PAINTED A SET TO LOOK LIKE A BAR. SO TO GIVE IT A SLIGHTLY IMPRESSIONISTIC LOOK I...PUT A SCRIM BETWEEN THE MUSICIANS AND THE BACK BAR. IF YOU LOOK VERY CAREFULLY AT THAT SCENE YOU CAN SEE THE SCRIM NAILED DOWN ON THE FLOOR..." (LOOK FOR TOM NOONAN'S SHADOW ON THE SCRIM!)

EARL BELLAMY: "WHEN JUDY SANG TO PLAYBACK, YOU COULDN'T HEAR ANYTHING...SHE WANTED ME TO START AT FULL BLAST AND THEN SHE TOPPED IT...YOU COULD HEAR JUDY CLEAR AS A BELL, AND SHE SANG RIGHT WITH IT..."

GARLAND DID 27 TAKES OF THE NUMBER OVER THREE DAYS, BOTH PARTIAL AND COMPLETE. BUT "CUKOR HAD HER DOING BITS OF BUSINESS BEFORE THE SONG, AND ALL OF THAT ACTION DIDN'T REALLY FIT THE SONG - IT WAS JUST TOO BUSY. AND SHE DIDN'T LOOK GOOD - HER COSTUME WAS WRINKLED, IT DIDN'T FIT RIGHT." AND THE COLOR WAS WRONG: TOO BROWN.

IT WAS FILMED FOR A THIRD TIME IN FEBRUARY OF 1954, WITH NEW HAIRSTYLE AND COSTUME AND A NEW SET USING REDS AND BLUES (THE BOTTOM IMAGE).

NOW MR. DE WITT HAS NO PROBLEM WITH A DO OVER, HOWEVER, HE PREFERS THE FIRST TAKE... IT'S MORE OF A RAW PREFORMANCE...SORRY GEORGE...THANKS "MARKNYC5" ON YOUTUBE FOR BACKSTORY INFO AND THIS GREAT CLIP!