Born Yesterday

Movie Review: Born Yesterday

Year of Release: 1950
Country of Origin: USA
Director: George Cukor
Cast: Judy Holliday, Broderick Crawford, William Holden

Plot outline: A wealthy junk dealer hires a newspaper reporter to "educate" his sassy girlfriend (IMDb).

Born Yesterday satirizes the corruption of Washington politics that allows wealthy businessmen to buy favours from Congressmen while showing that an ignorant woman is not necessarily stupid after all. I found all three main characters tiresome. The "menace" businessman, who is all bluster, boasting, and brutality. Real menaces are far more crafty. Then there's the incorruptible reporter, who thinks Judy Holliday is wonderful even though her speaking voice reminds me of an old criticism of Crosby, Stills, and Nash: "Their harmonies are like needle pricks upon the brain." Holliday was a good actress. The problem is her character. She is forced to talk like the stereotype of a dumb blonde. And if she's not really a dumb blonde, then why offend our ears with the screeching lingo? The basic themes of the movie are valid. Also, the movie is made with the best of intentions, and the production quality is suitable. The problem is, the characters are caricatures. The bossman is too strident, the heroine too shrill, and Eliza Doolittle's Professor Higgins is far too smug. The best characters are drawn in shades of gray. I say start over, without Mussolini, Betty Boop, and Geraldo Rivera as role models. (BK)

My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars