Missing 'A Star Is Born' footage: librarian held a scene, seven minutes remain lost

In 1984, film librarian Merle Ray Harlin was charged with stealing 419 films, and investigators found a scrap in his vast collection that turned out to be a missing scene from the 1954 film A Star Is Born starring Judy Garland.

Only four minutes of missing footage from A Star Is Born were recovered from Harlin’s stash. The discovery underscored that many films in his collection could have been lost to history, and that more losses may exist beyond those already identified.

Viewers of the original screened cut now encounter an abrupt change about 41 minutes into the film, when motion stops and the sequence briefly consists of still images, leaving the film feeling incomplete.

Seven minutes of the full cut remain presumably lost, and who took those final minutes is not known. A Star Is Born (1954) is now streaming.

Key Topics

Culture, Merle Ray Harlin, Judy Garland, Hollywood, Missing Footage, Film Preservation