VIDEO : TRAVOLTA'S PART OF THE COMEBACK TRADITION.

Byline: Robert Bianco Special to the Daily News

When it comes to comebacks, John Travolta's really has been phenomenal.

An instant star, thanks to ``Welcome Back, Kotter'' and ``Saturday Night Fever,'' Travolta saw his career collapse just as quickly, done in by such monumentally bad choices as ``Staying Alive'' and ``Perfect.''

Even small successes such as ``Look Who's Talking'' did little to alter the general impression that his stint as a big-time movie star was over forever.

Then came ``Pulp Fiction,'' ``Get Shorty'' and a brand-new public perception. Suddenly, Travolta is one of America's most bankable stars, capable of turning a small comedy like ``Michael'' into the Christmas season's biggest movie, and powering a sappy fable like ``Phenomenon'' (1996, Touchstone, priced for rental) past the $100 million mark.

Unsure whether to be magical or prosaic, ``Phenomenon'' is never fully satisfying as drama or allegory. But Travolta's charm carries the movie along - not as well here as in ``Michael,'' where his star power is working at full throttle, but well enough to get you through a rental evening.

After ``Perfect,'' who knew we'd ever say something like that again?

While Travolta's comeback has been spectacular, it isn't unprecedented. Here are some other comebacks to consider:

Katharine Hepburn: Dismissed as ``box office poison,'' Hepburn turned to playwright Philip Barry, who wrote ``The Philadelphia Story'' (1940, MGM/UA; $14.95) for her. What Barry gave her was an act of contrition: Hepburn plays a snooty ``goddess'' socialite who must be humbled before she can find true love - and audience acceptance. Darn if it didn't work.

Frank Sinatra: Though no one ever doubted Sinatra's ability as a singer, his '40s movies owed most of their success (and continued acclaim) to co-star Gene Kelly. By the early '50s he had lost both his movie and record contract and was on the verge of professional extinction. Realizing it, he campaigned hard for his role in ``From Here to Eternity'' (1953, Columbia TriStar; $19.95), even accepting a massive pay cut. It won him an Oscar and a new career.

Judy Garland: Sometimes a great movie can move a star in another direction. Though ``A Star Is Born'' (1954, Warners; $19.95) was a triumph for Garland, who had been off the screen since MGM dropped her contract in 1950, it didn't revive her film career. It did, however, help launch her on a long concert tour that cemented her position as an American icon.

Candice Bergen: After years of mostly terrible reviews, Bergen was rediscovered as a comic actress in ``Starting Over'' (1979, Paramount; $14.95). While it may not have led to any other great films, it did lead to ``Murphy Brown.'' You don't think they cast her because they were impressed by ``The Group,'' do you?

George Burns: The late, much loved comedian actually had two separate careers. The first ended in 1958, with the retirement of his wife, Gracie Allen. The second began in 1975, with his Oscar-winning turn in ``The Sunshine Boys'' (MGM/UA; $14.95). He worked steadily thereafter until his death last year.

Fred Astaire: Though we tend to think of Astaire's career as being one of uninterrupted success, he actually hit such a dry spell in the '40s, he announced his retirement in 1946. Two years later, however, when Gene Kelly was injured, MGM asked Astaire to take over ``Easter Parade'' (MGM/UA; $19.98). The film re-established him as a musical star - a position he never relinquished.

Don Ameche: Few actors went longer between film hits than Ameche. Best known to '40s audiences as the love interest in Fox musicals, he went through years of semiretirement before ``Trading Places'' (1983, Paramount; $14.95) brought him back to Hollywood; a comeback confirmed by an Oscar-winning turn in ``Cocoon'' (1985, Fox; $19.98).

John Wayne: Though he never stopped working, critics stopped paying much attention - until ``True Grit'' (1969, Paramount; $14.95). It won him an Oscar and gave him a role to play, in various forms, for the rest of his career.

The Marx Brothers: Most people thought the Marx Brothers were through when the failure of ``Duck Soup'' cost them their Paramount contract. But MGM's Irving Thalberg thought otherwise, and gave them their biggest hit: ``A Night at the Opera'' (1935, MGM/UA; $19.95). If he hadn't, who knows if they would have lasted long enough to see ``Duck Soup'' re-evaluated as a classic?

Gloria Swanson: A great star of the silent era, Swanson found her career effectively over with the advent of sound - a fact exploited brilliantly by Billy Wilder in ``Sunset Boulevard'' (1950, Paramount; $14.95). It was a one-movie comeback, but it gave her a role that is likely to be remembered for as long as people remember American movies.

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Photo: John Travolta and Robert Duvall in ``Phenomenon,'' Touchstone's newly released video.