Judy Holliday and William Holden in “Born Yesterday” (Columbia, 1950)
“Born Yesterday” (Columbia, 1950). A crooked, hot-tempered businessman hires a brainiac to help teach his beautiful, uneducated girlfriend how to behave and converse better in polite society. In turn, the girlfriend figures out the power of thinking for herself. It’s an acclaimed, tour de force performance from the great Judy Holliday–she played the role on the Broadway stage in 1946 and won the Academy Award® for Best Actress in a Leading Role for this film in 1950. Also stars William Holden as the tutor and Broderick Crawford as the rich and crappy boyfriend. Definitely worth watching and thinking about. (And definitely not to be confused with the dreadful 1993 remake.) Based on the stage play by Garson Kanin. Written by Albert Mannheimer. Directed by George Cukor. “I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.”
Stanford Clark 