So much average

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Tycoon Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford) is in Washington to buy up politicians. He's a crass, volatile, self-made junk man. Paul Verrall (William Holden) is a reporter doing a story on him. Jim Devery (Howard St. John) sets up Harry's loud girlfriend Emma "Billie" Dawn (Judy Holliday) as a corporate officer and suggests that Harry marry her to avoid her testifying against him. After uncouth Billie causes trouble, Harry hires Paul to teach her manners.Judy Holliday is the stand out performer. The character is out of this world. She has a voice of her own. My only problem is that she gets together with Paul way too soon. It'd be better if they build up to the romance after the beating. This is smartly written and loads of fun.

Worried that his girlfriend will embarrass him due to her poor education and lack of finesse, a crooked businessman hires a reporter to tutor her and gets more than he bargained for in this George Cukor comedy based on a successful play. The film was a hit in its day and was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, but whether modern audiences will get much out of it is debatable. There are some interesting dynamics as the businessman thinks he is so smart by getting his assets signed under his ignorant girlfriend's name, only for the tables to turn on him as she grows wise. The basic premise though is pretty slim; it is essentially a one-joke comedy and as stars William Holden and Judy Holliday lock lips within five minutes of beginning their tutorage sessions, none of the character dynamics are fleshed out in much depth. Judy Holliday's performance though is the main aspect that will cause one's mileage to vary. Her shrill, high-pitched voice perfectly suits the 'dumb blonde' stereotype she is playing at the start of the film, but as she continues to talk with the same inflections and oddly accented mannerisms even as she becomes more educated, it is honestly a bit of a strain on the ears.

Judy Holiday reprises her stage role in the play of the same name, as the kept uneducated mistress(Billie) of wealthy corrupt uncouth junkyard and scrap metal kingpin dealer Harry Brock, who has come to Washington with his lawyer to bribe a congressman or two to talk up some legislation he wants passed that will increase his earnings from foreign supply sources.Judy is an extreme caricature of the stereotypical childlike dumb blond. Her speech is quite distinctive: virtually the same as that of the better remembered Jean Hagen, who played a similar type of character in "Singing in the Rain". I'd swear they must be the same woman! Since the latter film was released a couple years after this one, I have to wonder if Jean's characterization was based upon Judy's performance here? Of course, those who are familiar with "My Fair Lady" will see some similarities between Eliza Doolittle and Judy's Billie. Harry provided Billie with virtually anything she desires, several times declaring that "I love that broad". On the other hand, the chauvinist in him often treats her like dirt and occasionally even slaps her hard across the face. Billie's lack of sophistication and social graces is an embarrassment to Harry in the Washington scene. Apparently, he has kept her in virtual isolation, so why she has not absorbed any social graces. Hence, Harry hires acquaintance reporter Paul Verrall(William Holden) to teach her some rudiments of social graces and other knowledge so that she might receive congressman's wives socially. Paul takes her sightseeing around Washington and explains the significance of some of the historic documents and the men behind them, and gives her books to read. Surprisingly, she gradually warms up to the idea. They kiss at one point, but he declines an invitation to share her bed, on moral grounds. At first, she is hurt, but later recognizes that this is a good trait in a future husband. Later, he asks her to marry him, but she declines, saying she can't believe that he could find her an adequate wife. But, in the end, she changes her mind, while rejecting Harry's sudden demand that she marry him(based on advice by his lawyer, so that she can't legally testify against him).Some of Harry' holdings have been signed over to her to hide the fact that he is a kingpin of an illegal cartel.Judy won the Oscar for her portrayal of Billie. However, we should ask how realistic is her portrayal? Most women who approach her extreme state of ignorance are immigrants, with little command of the English language. However, she doesn't appear to fit that category. I question whether, at a subliminal level, Billie might represent an extreme perception of women in general, being relatively powerless even in 1950. The point then would be that, given an adequate chance, most women could adequately perform in roles traditionally assumed exclusively or nearly so by men. We might also wonder whether it is plausible to expect a supremely well educated intellectual, such as Paul, to marry a woman such as Billie because he feels sorry for her, or thinks he can gradually mold her into his ideal woman. He's made some progress in educating her, but it's not clear how much more he can accomplish with her... Again, we might ask if there is a subliminal intent to apply Billie's extreme case to women in general? At this time, women in general had less formal education than men and were much less likely to have employment outside of the home, save for certain roles. The message would be that women could still be lovable and adequate marriage partners even if they were poorly educated and had limited contacts outside of their home and social groups.

Many other reviewers extol the abilities and excellent performance of Judy Holliday in "Born Yesterday." Her Oscar-winning performance as Billie Dawn is the highlight of this film. Still, Broderick Crawford as Harry Brock lends much energy to help drive this film. Made from a highly successful Broadway play, "Born Yesterday" touches on several social issues of the day. The ditzy blonde from a chorus line who becomes a paramour of a rich businessman. The greedy man of new riches who rose from the streets on his own, doing anything to others to get where he got – with no apparent conscience or care for anyone else. The self-centered but insecure big man who thinks he can buy his way into or out of anything. The loud, demanding lout who lavishes jewels and furs on his "kitten" one moment and the next is abusing her with vitriol or physical strikes. Into this crazy twosome comes William Holden's Paul Verrall. I liked Holden in this reserved role, and I think many reviewers may have missed something about his part. I see his character, with a sense of humor and calm reality about him, as a leveler in the action and drama. Without his easy-going and unintimidated poise, I think the violent nature of Harry Brock would have over-powered the film. Perhaps to the point that audiences – women especially, would find this much too brutal a character. But, Holden's cool Verrall doesn't jump through hoops for Brock, as Brock is used to so many others doing. Instead Verrall faces Brock, aware that the big man could pulverize him physically, but unafraid nevertheless. As a result, Brock backs off and he goes off muttering about the faults of everyone else. Howard St. John does a very good job as Jim Devery, Brock's legal beagle and lawyer on call. He keeps his conscience in check with alcohol. And, Larry Oliver as Norval Hedges plays a member of congress trying to help an obviously big contributor get an amendment to a bill that will greatly benefit his business. I understand that the Broadway role of Holden's part was greatly enhanced since he was the biggest drawing card for the film. But that's OK, as I noted above. He didn't steal the thunder of Holliday or Crawford, but he was a catalyst that seemed to keep the big boss from going completely berserk. The movie makers knew what they were doing in the casting and scripting of this film. Judy Holliday was a very talented actress who died of breast cancer in 1965 at age 43. She had only 16 films to her credit, but several were tremendous movies. She surely would have had many more fine roles had she lived longer. A favorite scene from this film was of Billie and Harry playing gin rummy. The looks on his face are a hoot as she picks up and quickly moves cards around in her hand. Within a few cards or picks from the pile, she lays her hand down with gin. Then, his shady character quickly counts off the cards he's stuck with in his hand, "28" one time, "34" another, and so on. We all know he's cheating, and she knows it too, repeating his count rhetorically, and he restating it as fact. What a riot as the uneducated not-so-dumb blonde takes the big man (also uneducated) to the cleaners.After reading, visiting museums, and studying a great deal with Verrall as her tutor, Billie would make a remark that showed her new knowledge. But often, she would utter a malapropism. One of my favorites was a line toward the end of the film when she stands up to Harry and his crooked ways. Verrall corrects the word, and she repeats it, but the humor is in the original utterance: "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhibit (sic) it."