The Solid Gold Cadillac

Judy Holliday's best comedy vehicle, a wonderful adaptation of George Kaufman and Howard Teichmann's play, about a struggling actress in New York City who owns ten shares of stock in a large corporation; perplexed as to why the board members do so little and get paid so much, she attends a stockholder's meeting and soon has all the power-suits reeling. Richard Quine directs the proceedings with an assured touch, and teaming Holliday with her "Born Yesterday" stage co-star Paul Douglas was a terrific move (they have a built-in rapport). Douglas gets one of his funniest roles as the former Chairman of the Board who has gone to work in Washington, D.C., setting up a finale which mixes together a touch of Frank Capra with a bit of "Born Yesterday". Some may complain the theme of government--coupled with a wise-beyond-her-own-knowledge heroine--is too close to Judy's previous hit. While that may be true, the actress is so good at playing the innocent gal taking on the corporate sharks, it's not worth quibbling over. Big laughs from start to finish, with a doozy of a tag and fantastic comic support from Fred Clark, John Williams, Neva Patterson, and Madge Blake. ***1/2 from ****

The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956) : Brief Review -

Judy Holliday is SOLID in this golden-hearted comedy. Judy Holliday does it again. Don't ask me how, but she did it. There was something about this woman and her persona that made her genuinely look funny. Other contemporary actresses had to do a lot other than deliver dialogues to bring laughter, but Judy was doing it effortlessly. I may be wrong or too early to state that Judy Holliday was the funniest lead actress ever to appear on the big screen. Richard Quine's comedy is about a jobless woman who gets gifted stocks by her dead neighbour, and her curious question scares the hell out of the company's management team. The best way to get rid of her questions was to get her on their side, albeit unknowingly. So, she is appointed as a stockholder manager, a meaningless position with a handsome salary for a woman of her background. She then starts work of her own and falls in love with a retired chairman. However, the management has their own plans and their own secrets that they want to hide. It all comes down to the chairman and the woman teaming up to fight against the crooks for the sake of the small shareholders of the company. The Solid Gold Cadillac has a simple story with a strong screenplay. The love story here is simply adorable. A retired, honest man and a peculiar woman-gosh, that's too much fun and too much cuteness. It lives up to the most acclaimed and universally appealing formula of generosity and positivity. That's what makes it a good and meaningful film. Judy is solid in the role of Laura Patridge. Watch her asking questions, raising hands, and adding humour of her own, and you have 24-carat entertainment made for you. Paul Douglas is excellent, and to play a role of that age, you need someone like him. Richard Quine has made a fine comedy with solid characters and an awkwardly lovable romance that you wouldn't want to miss.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

This is one of the last Capra-esque, indeed Kaufman-esque, well-made movies, even though it's release was well into the fifties. The socio and geo-political ramifications perhaps resonate even more so in our post-Enron and present Halliburton era. Aside from being hilarious and utterly entertaining ( I imagine even more so on the live stage with a raucus audience), the story poses the eternal question of personal integrity, simple honesty, and common decency; and that multinational corporations and super-power governments should be less occupied with "getting away with it" or "not getting caught"; rather more so with "doing the right thing" and producing the best for everyone. This film should be taught. Instead, it's slowly disappearing from the geopolitical landscape; i.e., it's becoming harder to find in video stores.

Wonderful, perfect romp with Judy Holliday doing what she does best...make us laugh, cry and fall in love with her and her characters.

Her acting in Solid Gold is as perfect as can be. The script and wonderful character actors, Paul Douglas, Fred Clark, Paul Collins and Neva Patterson, who support her, do their very best to bring this whimsical story to life.

Judy may not be a household name to most - but to me, she will be one of the inextinguishable shining angels in the celluloid firmament.

Her legacy will live on as long as we want to laugh at ourselves.

This movie is a must-see comedy if you like to feel good.

What can you say about Judy Holliday? Her timing was always absolutely perfect. Her facial expressions frequently making speech unnecessary. In Solid Gold Cadillac she gives a magical portrayal as Laura Partridge, the supposedly, dumb blonde, part time actress with no appreciation of Shakespeare, ("You don't even get to sit down unless you're a king" - a typical Holliday line), but who is nonetheless shrewd enough to see through the corrupt shenanigans of the board of directors of a multi-national company in which she owns just ten shares. The partnering of Judy Holliday and that fine actor, Paul Douglas, as Edward L. McKeever, the upright, down to earth and totally incorruptible founder of the company, who is (according to Laura Partridge) "scared of girls", works like a dream. The film also has excellent support from Ray Collins, Arthur O'Connell, Neva Patterson, John Williams and of course Fred Clark, as Snell, the oily, slippery company treasurer, a real nasty piece of work. I defy anyone not to boo and hiss whenever he appears. In addition to being a delightful romantic comedy, this is also a tale of good fighting to overcome evil, and the little people of this world getting together and refusing to be trampled by a big faceless conglomerate. If you've never seen this picture before, or maybe never seen a Judy Holliday movie, you're in for a treat.