Born Yesterday - George Cukor
Such a simple plot and executed so well. This would be 10/10 apart from a few personal issues.
Harry, Broderick Crawford (Highway Patrol & Rawhide), is a bigshot junker who has come to Washington with his girl. He is here to pay off congressmen to get a bill passed to protect his business.
That’s the situation. The problem is that his girl, Billie, Judy Holliday (The Solid Gold Cadillac & Adam’s Rib), is as dumb as a post. This causes lots of problems early on as they meet with senators and their families.
There is a journalist who is onto Harry’s case, and Harry hires him to teach Billie not to be so dumb. The thing is, Billie likes being dumb.
She isn’t really dumb; she just knows what she likes. There is this awesome scene where Harry and she are playing Gin Rummy.
He is giving her a talking to that she had better smarten up, as she silently destroys him at the game. She realises that she had better learn something if she wants her high-flying life to continue.
The journo, Paul, William Holden (The Network & The Bridge Over the River Kwai), returns. She is interested, and they kiss. She is really excited about everything she is learning.
She starts reading Paul’s articles. Her response to one of them is: “I think it’s the best thing I’ve ever read, but I didn’t understand a word of it.”
As she learns things, she learns more about her rights and how bad Harry is, not just to her.
They get into a big fight, which is a beautiful scene. This is because, as they go at it, they have to pause every few lines as a maid crosses back and forth through the room while cleaning.
Harry begins to glimpse what he has created, and there is an awful scene where he beats her.
She gets her own back. She and Paul get the files that prove his wrongdoing. She has begun to understand the paperwork that she has been forced to sign.
It all comes together in a big final scene, which is just fantastic. They win, and the awful Harry is ruined.
The dialogue in this film is just incredible. The script could be from today. My only gripe is that Billie’s voice is just awful, and as the main character, we hear a lot of it.
