Born Yesterday (1950 film)

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Born Yesterday

Original film poster
Directed by George Cukor
Produced by S. Sylvan Simon
Written by Garson Kanin (play)
Albert Mannheimer
Starring Judy Holliday
Broderick Crawford
William Holden
Music by Frederick Hollander
Cinematography Joseph Walker
Editing by Charles Nelson
Distributed by Columbia
Release date(s) December 26, 1950
Running time 103 min.
Country US
Language English
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Born Yesterday is a 1950 film directed by George Cukor, which tells the story of a corrupt tycoon who brings his showgirl mistress with him to Washington when he tries to buy a Congressman. He hires a journalist to educate his girlfriend, and in the process, she learns just how corrupt her boyfriend is.

The screenplay was written by Albert Mannheimer, based on the play Born Yesterday by Garson Kanin.

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

Uncouth tycoon Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford) goes to Washington, DC with his brassy mistress, Emma 'Billie' Dawn (Judy Holliday), and his crooked lawyer, Jim Devery (Howard St. John), to "influence" a politician or two.

He becomes disgusted with Billie's ignorance and lack of manners (though he himself is much worse) and hires a tutor for her, Paul Verrall (William Holden). Blossoming under Paul's encouragement, Billie turns out to be much smarter than anybody knew and begins thinking for herself. The two fall in love.

Meanwhile, Devery had persuaded Harry to sign over many of his assets to Billie to hide them from the government. When Harry needs to get them back, he comes into conflict with Billie's new-found independence. She and Paul use her leverage to escape from Harry's domination; she promises to give him back his property little by little as long as he leaves them alone.

This film shows more post-WWII Washington D.C. than any other film of its time.

[edit] Awards and nominations

The film won the Academy Award for Best Actress (Holliday) and was nominated for Best Costume Design, Black-and-White, Best Director, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay.

The film also won the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical or Comedy (Holliday), and was nominated for the awards for Motion Picture Drama, Best Motion Picture Actress - Drama (Holliday), and Best Motion Picture Director (Cukor).

The film also won a Jussi Award (the main film award in Finland) for Foreign Actress (Holliday), and was nominated for the Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Award and the Writers Guild of America Best Written American Comedy Award (Mannheimer).

[edit] Cast

[edit] External links

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Films directed by George Cukor

Grumpy (1930) • Virtuous Sin (1930) • The Royal Family of Broadway (1930) • Tarnished Lady (1931) • Girls About Town (1931) • A Bill of Divorcement (1932) • Rockabye (1932) • What Price Hollywood? (1932) • Dinner at Eight (1933) • Our Betters (1933) • Little Women (1933) • David Copperfield (1935) • No More Ladies (1935) • Sylvia Scarlett (1935) • Camille (1936) • Romeo and Juliet (1936) • Holiday (1938) • Zaza (1939) • The Women (1939) • The Philadelphia Story (1940) • Susan and God (1940) • Two-Faced Woman (1941) • A Woman's Face (1941) • Her Cardboard Lover (1942) • Keeper of the Flame (1942) • Gaslight (1944) • Winged Victory (1944) • A Double Life (1947) • Edward, My Son (1949) • Adam's Rib (1949) • Born Yesterday (1950) • A Life of Her Own (1950) • The Model and the Marriage Broker (1951) • The Marrying Kind (1952) • Pat and Mike (1952) • The Actress (1953) • A Star Is Born (1954) • It Should Happen to You (1954) • Bhowani Junction (1956) • Les Girls (1957) • Wild Is the Wind (1957) • Heller in Pink Tights (1960) • Let's Make Love (1960) • The Chapman Report (1962) • My Fair Lady (1964) • Justine (1969) • Travels With My Aunt (1972) • The Blue Bird (1976) • Rich And Famous (1981)