Later Hollywood career thumb|Judy Garland, star of A Star Is Born In December 1952, Cukor was approached by Sid Luft, who proposed the director helm a musical remake of A Star Is Born (1937) with his then-wife Judy Garland in the lead role. Cukor had declined to direct the earlier film because it was too similar to his own What Price Hollywood? (1932), but the opportunity to direct his first Technicolor film and work with screenwriter Moss Hart and especially Garland appealed to him, and he accepted.McGilligan, 217–18. Getting the updated A Star Is Born (1954) to the screen proved to be a challenge. Cukor wanted Cary Grant for the male lead and went so far as to read the entire script with him, but Grant, while agreeing it was the role of a lifetime, steadfastly refused to do it, and Cukor never forgave him. The director then suggested either Humphrey Bogart or Frank Sinatra tackle the part, but Jack L. Warner rejected both. Stewart Granger was the front runner for a period of time, but he backed out when he was unable to adjust to Cukor's habit of acting out scenes as a form of direction.McGilligan, pp. 219–20. James Mason eventually was contracted, and filming began on October 12, 1953. As the months passed, Cukor was forced to deal not only with constant script changes but a very unstable Garland, who was plagued by chemical and alcohol dependencies, extreme weight fluctuations, and real and imagined illnesses. In March 1954, a rough cut still missing several musical numbers was assembled, and Cukor had mixed feelings about it. When the last scene finally was filmed in the early morning hours of July 28, 1954, Cukor already had departed the production and was unwinding in Europe.McGilligan, pp. 224–26. The first preview the following month ran 210 minutes and, despite ecstatic feedback from the audience, Cukor and editor Folmar Blangsted trimmed it to 182 minutes for its New York premiere in October. The reviews were the best of Cukor's career, but Warner executives, concerned the running time would limit the number of daily showings, made drastic cuts without Cukor, who had departed for Pakistan to scout locations for the epic Bhowani Junction in 1954–1955. At its final running time of 154 minutes, the film had lost musical numbers and crucial dramatic scenes, and Cukor called it "very painful".McGilligan, pp. 236–37. He was not included in the film's six Oscar nominations.
Later Hollywood career thumb|Judy Garland star of A Star Is Born In December 1952 Cukor was approached by Sid Luft who proposed the director helm a musical remake of A Star Is Born (1937) with his then-wife Judy Garland in the lead role Cukor had declined to direct the earlier film because it was too similar to his own What Price Hollywood (1932) but the opportunity to direct his first Technicolor film and work with screenwriter Moss Hart and especially Garland appealed to him and he acceptedMcGilligan 217–18 Getting the updated A Star Is Born (1954) to the screen proved to be a challenge Cukor wanted Cary Grant for the male lead and went so far as to read the entire script with him but Grant while agreeing it was the role of a lifetime steadfastly refused to do it and Cukor never forgave him The director then suggested either Humphrey Bogart or Frank Sinatra tackle the part but Jack L Warner rejected both Stewart Granger was the front runner for a period of time but he backed out when he was unable to adjust to Cukor's habit of acting out scenes as a form of directionMcGilligan pp 219–20 James Mason eventually was contracted and filming began on October 12 1953 As the months passed Cukor was forced to deal not only with constant script changes but a very unstable Garland who was plagued by chemical and alcohol dependencies extreme weight fluctuations and real and imagined illnesses In March 1954 a rough cut still missing several musical numbers was assembled and Cukor had mixed feelings about it When the last scene finally was filmed in the early morning hours of July 28 1954 Cukor already had departed the production and was unwinding in EuropeMcGilligan pp 224–26 The first preview the following month ran 210 minutes and despite ecstatic feedback from the audience Cukor and editor Folmar Blangsted trimmed it to 182 minutes for its New York premiere in October The reviews were the best of Cukor's career but Warner executives concerned the running time would limit the number of daily showings made drastic cuts without Cukor who had departed for Pakistan to scout locations for the epic Bhowani Junction in 1954–1955 At its final running time of 154 minutes the film had lost musical numbers and crucial dramatic scenes and Cukor called it "very painful"McGilligan pp 236–37 He was not included in the film's six Oscar nominations