Not Born Yesterday-With William-Judy Holliday’s Born Yesterday

 

 

 

DVD Review

By Sam Lowell

Born Yesterday, starring Judy Holliday, Broderick Crawford, William Holden, directed by George Cukor, from a play by Garson Kanin, 1950

Some films come at you quietly, some like the film under review, the film adaptation of Garson Kanin’s Broadway play, Born Yesterday, come screaming at you, literally, and from the first scene. So once you get that idea under your belt you are able to sit back and watch some serious professional actors go about their business of making a play come alive on the screen (these adaptations don’t always have such a happy results). Watch too, maybe squinting a lot, what would today be a politically incorrect take, a very politically incorrect take, on the relationship between a power-crazed man and a salt of the earth woman. And watch too the play of forces in a power struggle, a not very far from today’s Washington political reality slice of life from the 1950s.

Here’s how this beauty, directed by the talented romantic comedy director from that period George Cukor, played out. Big-mouthed (like I say from the get-go) Harry, a no nonsense, by the school of hard knocks, never give a sucker an even break book gangster big time junk magnate from Jersey, played by Broderick Crawford, last seen in this space playing a loud-mouthed Huey Long-type politician in the successful film adaptation of Robert Penn Warren’s All The King’s Men, and his “honey,” an ex-showgirl, also loud, Billie, and supposedly dumb to boot, played to Oscar-winning perfection by Judy Holliday, encamp in Washington in order to “buy” a congressman in order to further Harry’s business interests. Fair enough, done all the time as we know now from the infinitely resourceful lobbyists who clutter up K and 14^th Streets, but Harry has, as the Harrys of the world usually do, a problem with hanging around Washington with what he comes to consider, with a little help from his lawyer, a dumb cluck of a dame even if he does love her in his own caveman way (with a couple of slaps thrown in when she gets out of line-see what I mean about the politically, legally too, incorrect stuff in this one). So Harry, taking a unconscious leaf from Pygmalion, hired a journalist, Paul, played by William Holden, last seen in this space face down in Norma Desmond’s swimming pool up in the high numbers on Sunset in Sunset Boulevard to “un-dumb” her (don’t worry this is a romantic comedy so Holden will not face the gauntlet this time).                       

Earnest Paul takes his student Billie in charge and gives her some book-learning, some basic civics lessons circa the 1950s when we were all a little more naïve about the real processes of government, and a well-travelled tour of the various historical sights which dot and define the Washington landscape. And Billie, in the end, learns her lessons well, too well for power-hungry Harry. She does her part to foul up Harry’s best laid plans, aided by the idealistic Paul. Harry, well Harry finds out that even with a ton of dough Washington is a tough town to break into, to keep the power-brokers bought. Top the whole thing off with a little romance between teacher and student (improbable to me since Ms. Holliday did not seem to be Mr. Holden’s type off his previous and subsequent cinematic track record but we will let that pass) and you have a very fine 1950s production with some great, if loud, dialogue, especially Ms. Holliday’s come-backs at Harry when he is in one of his rages.