Before Gaga, Barbra and Judy: Watch the original 'Star is Born' for free

I've been listening to Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga sing "Shallow" on repeat for days in anticipation of this weekend's release of "A Star is Born," the latest adaptation of a 1937 film about an aspiring actress - not an aspiring singer. All subsequent versions have been music-driven: Judy Garland sang for James Mason in 1954, and Barbra Streisand took the stage with Kris Kristofferson in 1976.

But the original film, directed by William A. Wellman ("Wings," the first Oscar winner for best picture) from a screenplay whose writers include Dorothy Parker, is the prototypical story of a small-town girl trying to make it in Hollywood. The girl is Esther Blodgett (Janet Gaynor, the first Oscar winner for best actress!), who becomes "Vicky Lester" after a hilarious scene with film producer Oliver Niles (Adolphe Menjou) and an incredulous press agent (Lionel Stander). She first catches the eye of Hollywood star Norman Maine (Fredric March) as he's stumbling, drunk, all over the Hollywood Bowl; before long they're playing lovers in a costume drama.

Here's a dialogue exchange from that movie within the movie: "I've loved you my whole life," he says. "You've only known me for two days," she replies. "That's when my life began."

Did you swoon? Then you'll swoon for the first, perfectly old-fashioned hour of this movie, a Technicolor product of the same golden age that gave us "Gone With the Wind" and "The Wizard of Oz." The starry-eyed setup turns tragic as Maine's alcoholism takes hold - and steals the spotlight in Esther's story. The last scene, in which Esther pays loving tribute to a man who slapped her at the Academy Awards earlier in the film, may make you cringe in 2018.

You can find out for free thanks to Tubi, an ad-supported service that you can watch at tubitv.com or an app found on your phone or smart TV. It's also available to subscribers of FilmStruck and Amazon Prime, as well as digital rental and sale platforms.

'They're all gonna laugh at you!'

The bucket of blood. The hand reaching out from the grave. The religious fervor of Piper Laurie's Oscar-nominated performance. And the scariest thing of all, high school.

"Carrie," Brian De Palma's 1976 film adaptation of the novel that made Stephen King famous, returns to the big screen at 7 p.m. next Wednesday, Oct. 10, thanks to the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Elk Grove Theatre, 1050 Elk Grove Town Center, Elk Grove Village. (Whew, that was a lot of Elk Groves.) You can see Sissy Spacek's awkward teen unleash her explosive powers for just $5, and enjoy the Q&A with local critic Patrick Bromley.

Get your tickets online at classiccinemas.com, or relive the chilling classic at home with your Amazon Prime, Hulu or Epix subscription.

• Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald multiplatform editor. Follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH.