Born Yesterday (1950 film)
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| Born Yesterday | |
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 Original film poster |
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| 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 |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
- For the 1993 remake, see Born Yesterday (1993 film)
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.
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[edit] Plot summary
Uncouth tycoon Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford) goes to Washington, DC with his brassy mistress, Emma 'Billy' Dawn (Judy Holliday), and his crooked lawyer, Jim Devery (Howard St. John), to "influence" a politician or two.
He becomes disgusted with Billy'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, Billy 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 Billy to hide them from the government. When Harry needs to get them back, he comes into conflict with Billy'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.
[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
Judy Holliday as Emma "Billie" Dawn
Broderick Crawford as Harry Brock
William Holden as Paul Verrall
Howard St. John as Jim Devery
Frank Otto as Eddie
Larry Oliver as Congressman Norval Hedges
Barbara Brown as Mrs. Hedges
Grandon Rhodes as Sanborn
Claire Carleton as Helen
