A loutish junk tycoon (Broderick Crawford) travels to
Washington D.C. to buy a Senator and hires a journalist (William Holden) to
cultivate his ditsy, equally unrefined girlfriend (Judy Holliday). As the pair
inevitably hit it off, she is also informed of the nature of her boyfriend’s
business and his bullying personality. From Garson Kanin’s hit stage play which
also starred Holliday, Born Yesterday contains often dumb, cornball humor and
is occasionally amusing while much of it is an uninspired civics lesson.
Holliday is the quintessential ditsy blonde (in an Oscar winning role), Holden
is stiff as a foil to Crawford, the latter being entertaining as the brute.
*** out of ****