Tricky Movie Trivia I Movie Reviews I Famous Movie Quotes

I’m not usually a fan of shrill, but loud ex-showgirl Billy Dawn in the 1950 version of Born Yesterday is actually a joy to behold. In the deft hands of Judy Holliday, original playwright Garson Kanin and screenwriter Albert Mannheimer, Billy Dawn has depth that allows you to be patient with her decibel level — and even enjoy it.

In this Pygmalian-like story, Billy is the kept woman of rich man Harry Brock, played by Broderick Crawford. Both are fine with that arrangement until Harry’s business dealings as a well-to-do junk dealer take him to Washington so he can do a little influence peddling and buy a few national officials. As always, Billy comes along. But for the first time in their long relationship, she’s perceived as a liability because her lack of polish makes her stand out in stuffy Washington D.C.

Enter William Holden in the form of Paul Verrall, a newspaper reporter whom Harry hires to educate Billy and “smarten her up a little.” Engaging Verrall to spend so much time with Billy was a little like letting the fox into the hen house, because as a reporter he was well aware of Harry’s slimy reasons for being in Washington. But he doesn’t flat-out warn Billy about Harry. Instead, Billy sees the light for herself as the story unfolds. And that light does more than educate her about who she’s been living with; it shines on everyone around her and exposes their motives — for good or for bad.

There was a lot of controversy surrounding the casting of Born Yesterday. Although Holliday played the role for four years on Broadway to rave reviews, Columbia head Harry Cohn thought she was too fat for the movies. He tried to give the film role to Rita Hayworth but she knew it wasn’t right for her. Using the excuse that she wanted to spend time with her new husband Prince Aly Kahn, she turned it down. Cohn then tried to draft Celeste Holm, Lucille Ball, Marie McDonald, Shelly Winters, Evelyn Keyes, Paulette Goddard, Ida Lupino and Lana Turner but none of them were right for the job. In the end, he returned to Holliday and asked her to reprise the part she had already perfected on Broadway.

As a result of many years of embodying Billy Dawn, even Holliday’s most subtle movements are perfect: from the way she wiggled her pinky while tallying her cards after beating Harry at gin rummy, to the way she screamed, “W-h-a-a-a-a-a-a-t?” like a bleating goat across Harry’s expensive suite and to the duck noise she made that sounded completely natural, even though it was coming out of a beautiful woman’s mouth.

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And Holliday wasn’t the only one who perfected her role. Director George Cukor actually had the actors rehearse the script like a play. They even gave six performances in front of live audiences so they could hone the timing of the jokes. This relentless pursuit of excellence resulted in Oscar nominations for Best Director, Best Writing, Screenplay, Best Picture and Best Costume Design, and a Best Actress Oscar and Golden Globe for Judy Holliday. Her win was quite a feat, because she was up against Anne Baxter and Bette Davis for All About Eve, Eleanor Parker for Caged and Gloria Swanson for Sunset Blvd.

Because the original version of Born Yesterday was crafted with such distinction, it was brave of Melanie Griffith to try to recreate the role of Billy Dawn in 1993. But to my surprise, Melanie carved out her own unique portayal, while managing to maintain the best aspects of the character Judy Holliday established. In my opinion, that makes both versions of Born Yesterday well worth the popcorn.

Other Tricky Movie Trivia classic movie reviews:
To Kill a Mockingbird
My Man Godfrey
Now, Voyager
The Enchanted Cottage
All About Eve

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No one likes war, but until humans get their act together, it’s a fact of life. And just because we don’t like it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t honor those who fought.

This Memorial Day, remind yourself of the sacrifices of those who came before you by watching one or more of the war movies below. And while you’re at it, test your knowledge of these classic films by seeing how many questions you can get right in this challenging movie trivia quiz:

1. Which famous star turned down the lead role in Twelve O’Clock High, which ultimately went to Gregory Peck instead?

2. Which TWO famous actors turned down the starring role in King Rat, which went to George Segal?

3. Which famous actress refused the lead role in The Diary of Ann Frank because she had lived in Holland during the war and had seen Nazi street executions and the herding of Jews into boxcars, so she felt the role would be too painful for her?

4. Which war-movie production was temporarily halted because of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968?

5. Which war movie starring Robert Mitchum is reputed to be the favorite of any of his films?

6. The original director of the shipboard movie Mister Roberts quit after getting into a fist-fight with Henry
Fonda and was replaced by Mervyn LeRoy. Who was the original director?

7. Which Howard Hawks war film released in 1949 was shot in Germany during an especially cold winter that caused star Ann Sheridan catch pleurisy and Cary Grant to contract hepatitis?

8. Which movie was named after the location of a battle that was still being fought while
the script was being written?

9. Which 1949 war movie starring Audie Murphy as himself required 50,000 rounds of
ammunition, 300 pounds of dynamite, 10 cases of 40-percent dynamite and 600 pounds of blasting powder to recreate the battle scenes?

10. Which famous actor starred in the movie Tora! Tora! Tora! that depicts the bombing of Pearl Harbor and was present during the actual bombing in 1942?

Scroll down to see the answers.

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1. John Wayne turned down the role in Twelve O’Clock High.

2. Paul Newman and Steve McQueen were both offered the starring role in King Rat.

3. Audrey Hepburn turned down the role of Anne Frank to avoid facing painful memories she didn’t want to relive. The part was given to newcomer Millie Perkins instead.

4. Production for The Bridge at Remagen was temporarily halted because of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. The cast and crew were removed from the area in taxis, except for one of the actors, Robert Logan, who stayed behind so he could film the invasion.

5. Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison was reputed to be Robert Mitchum’s favorite movie role.

6. The original director of Mister Roberts was John Ford.

7. The movie that was beset by so much illness in Germany was I Was a Male War Bride.

8. The script for Back to Bataan was written while the Battle of Bataan was still being fought. As a result, numerous rewrites were needed.

9. To Hell and Back is the Audie Murphy movie that required so much firepower.

10. Jason Robards, who played Lt. General Walter C. Short in Tora! Tora! Tora!, was actually present during the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

You might also be interested in these other Tricky Movie Trivia holiday-related posts:

Irish Movies for St. Patrick’s Day
Movies About Moms for Mother’s Day
Easter Classic Movies Trivia Quiz
Romantic Movies for Valentine’s Day
Father’s Day Movie Trivia Quiz