Born Yesterday
Directed by George Cukor
Written by Albert Mannheimer from a play by Garson Kanin
1949/USA
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Repeat viewing/my DVD collection
[box] Harry Brock: Shut up! You ain’t gonna be tellin’ nobody nothin’ pretty soon!
Billie Dawn: DOUBLE NEGATIVE! Right? [/box]
Think what you will about the line-up for the 1949 Best Actress Oscars. It is impossible for me to think anyone else deserved the award while actually watching Judy Holliday in this movie.
Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford) is a self-made man. He refuses to say he deals in scrap metal, preferring to refer to himself as being in the junk business. He has travelled to Washington, DC to grease some legislation on scrap steel with strategically placed bribe. His traveling companion is his fiancee of seven years, prototypical dumb blond Billie Dawn (Holliday). Both Harry and Billie are hardly fit for polite society. Since Harry is clearly beyond reform, Harry’s lawyer suggests that he get someone to educate Billie on the social graces.
Unfortunately for Harry, he hits on the idea of hiring Paul Verrall, an investigative reporter who dropped by to interview him. Paul gives Billie an education far beyond anything Harry could imagine and wins her heart in the process.
Despite all the patriotic speeches that come out of Holden’s character, I really love this movie. Crawford and Holliday are hilarious together and separately. Not since Jean Harlow and Wallace Beery went at it in Dinner at Eight has there been such a duo. The almost silent gin rummy game between the two of them makes me laugh out loud every time. I don’t know who got the idea of casting Holden as an intellectual. He did his best. Holliday could be annoying as hell but I find her absolutely endearing. Recommended.
Holliday won the Academy Award for Best Actress. The film was nominated in the categories of Best Picture; Best Director; Best Writing; Screenplay; and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White.
Trailer
Clip – from the gin game
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