Born Yesterday (1950)

A tycoon hires a tutor to teach his lover proper etiquette, with unexpected results.

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Garson Kanin (play), Albert Mannheimer (screenplay)

Stars:

Judy Holliday, William Holden, Broderick Crawford

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Judy Holliday	...	Billie Dawn
Broderick Crawford	...	Harry Brock
William Holden	...	Paul Verrall
Howard St. John	...	Jim Devery
Frank Otto	...	Eddie
Larry Oliver	...	Congressman Norval Hedges
Barbara Brown	...	Anna Hedges
Grandon Rhodes	...	Sanborn
Claire Carleton	...	Helen

Storyline

Uncouth, loud-mouth junkyard tycoon Harry Brock descends upon Washington D.C. to buy himself a congressman or two, bringing with him his mistress, ex-showgirl Billie Dawn. Brock hires newspaperman Paul Verrall to see if he can soften her rough edges and make her more presentable in capital society. But Harry gets more than he bargained for as Billie absorbs Verall's lessons in U.S. history and not only comes to the realization that Harry is nothing but a two-bit, corrupt crook, but in the process also falls in love with her handsome tutor.

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Plot Keywords:

national film registry | political satire | education | rye whiskey | man wears eyeglasses | 

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Taglines:

A perfectly swell motion picture!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

To help build up Judy Holliday's image, particularly in the eyes of Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn, Katharine Hepburn deliberately leaked stories to the gossip columns suggesting that her performance in Adam's Rib (1949) was so good that it had stolen the spotlight from Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. This got Cohn's attention and Holliday won the part in Born Yesterday (1950).

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Goofs

The position of the screen with bookshelf picture on it changes several times during the last scene in that room. It varies was being nearly closed (almost flat) to varying degrees of being opened.

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Quotes

Jim Devery: All you have to do is be nice - and no rough language.
Billie: I won't open my mush.

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Connections

Featured in TCM Guest Programmer: Elaine Stritch (2007)

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Soundtracks

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36, 2nd movement
(uncredited)
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Played at the outdoor concert
Also played on the phonograph

User Reviews

Ms. Dawn Goes To Washington

A brilliant Judy Holliday performance is the main attraction in this witty, brisk adaptation of Garson Kanin's Broadway success. As a gangster's moll who gradually awakens to her civic responsibility, Holliday expands her dumb-broad persona from her previous film with Cukor, Adam's Rib, into a character who's sweet, memorable and surprisingly tough.

Born Yesterday is a suitable companion piece to Frank Capra's Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, a much more self-consciously "important" film that imparts similar messages about political corruption and the responsibility of individuals to require ethical governance. The message is arguably more powerfully imparted here - filtered through the perspective of the selfish, spoiled and barely-literate Ms. Dawn - than in the film focused on Jimmy Stewart's eloquent (and intimidatingly ethical) Mr. Smith, an "everyman" who is vastly morally superior to most audience members.

William Holden is relaxed and charming as the Henry Higgins-ish newspaper man tasked with opening Billie's eyes and Broderick Crawford is suitably broad and menacingly raspy as her corrupt, vulgar boyfriend. However, the movie is all Holliday's from the opening scenes, which play on the audience's lack of familiarity with the actress by presenting her as a refined, statuesque beauty in an extended sequence until, at last, she squawks out her first lines in nearly impenetrable, helium-voiced Brooklynese to hilarious effect.

A richly deserved Best Actress Oscar for the newcomer Holliday, despite formidable competition from grande dames Bette Davis (All About Eve) and Gloria Swanson (Sunset Boulevard).

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

Born Yesterday

Filming Locations:

National Archives Building - 700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1