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 14th 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.
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