150 Word Review: 'Born Yesterday' (1950)
"Superb"
Two forces besides love power the post-war romantic-comedy Born Yesterday: a misty-eyed belief in the core principles of American democracy and Broderick Crawford's Harry Brock, a loud, rude, dimwitted millionaire who arrives in Washington to buy a corrupt congressman. He is a timely villain, an uncouth thug who only cares about himself.
Brock drags along his mistress, a blonde-haired ditz named Billie, played by Judy Holliday, who gives a fantastic comedic performance as a squeaky-voiced dame who is easy to underestimate. Billie is feisty, a streetwise ex-showgirl who is too rough around the edges for DC's high society. Enter William Holden's Paul Verrall, a brainy do-gooder journalist who interviews Brock only to be hired by him to educate his moll.
Oh, he educates her. First, books. Second, questions. Then, a few stolen kisses. Billie wasn't born... you know. There are fireworks between Holden and Holliday, like the Fourth of July.
I watched recently and enjoyed.
Judy Holliday in this role is beyond perfect. It’s one for the ages. And when you look up who she beat to win the Oscar, your eyebrows will raise very high.