fredric march give a magnificent performance and probably the best of his career and a norman maine and the actor whose career be in the descendant a that of his wife and vikki lester and be in the ascendant in this and the first official version of a star be bear and ( the 1932 film what price hollywood roughly tell the same story ) . march display just the right degree of brashness and of knowingness and and a combination of ego and a real actor almost complete lack of ego . it a miraculous piece of work . a lester and janet gaynor be touchingly blank but the star quality she be mean to display seem conspicuously absent while ( in the 1954 musical remake judy garland be almost too much a star ) . it seem inconceivable that she could eclipse march on screen ( even with his drinking ) . if lester be a star and possibly a great actress gaynor keep the secret to herself . the script for this version be partly write by dorothy parker and alan campbell and it show . it an acerbic and and at time and savage movie about the movie and quite cynical for a major studio picture of it day . it be very well direct by william wellman who draw first rate performance from the support cast and in particular lionel stander a a heartless and slime ball studio hack . this remain the best of the three version to come thus far .