Tricky Movie Trivia I Movie Reviews I Famous Movie Quotes

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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

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Bette Davis was named #2 on The Greatest Screen Legends actress list by the American Film Institute and the 10th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly not only because she was a great actress, but also because she knew how to pick good parts.

Below are famous movie quotes from 10 indelible Bette Davis characters. See how many of the quotes you can match with the movies!

In which movies did a Bette Davis character say:

1. “Get outta here, Luke Standish! You smirkin’ Judas!”

2. “I didn’t bring your breakfast, because you didn’t eat your din-din!”

3. “I find one should never look for admirers while at the same time one is falling to bits.”

4. “I didn’t want to be born. You didn’t want me to be born either. It was a calamity on both sides.”

5. “I’ll admit I may have seen better days, but I’m still not to be had for the price of a cocktail, like a salted peanut.”

6. “Sherry, the next time you do NOT want to see anybody, just let me know, and I’ll usher them right in.”

7. “I think I’ll have a large order of prognosis negative!”

8. “This is 1852 dumplin’, 1852, not the Dark Ages. Girls don’t have to simper around in white just because they’re not married.”

9. “Good riddance to bad rubbish.”

10. “You’re going to have a big wedding whether you like it or not! And if you don’t like it, you don’t have to come!”

Scroll down to see the answers.

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Answers

1. The character Charlotte Hollis said, “Get outta here, Luke Standish! You smirkin’ Judas!” in Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte.

2. The character Baby Jane Hudson said, “I didn’t bring your breakfast, because you didn’t eat your din-din!” in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

3. The character Fanny Trellis Skeffington said, “I find one should never look for admirers while at the same time one is falling to bits.” in Mr. Skeffington.

4. The character Charlotte Vale said, “I didn’t want to be born. You didn’t want me to be born either. It was a calamity on both sides.” in Now, Voyager.

5. The character Margo Channing said, “I’ll admit I may have seen better days, but I’m still not to be had for the price of a cocktail, like a salted peanut.” in All About Eve.

6. The character Maggie Cutler said, “Sherry, the next time you do NOT want to see anybody, just let me know, and I’ll usher them right in.” in The Man Who Came to Dinner.

7. The character Judith Traherne said, “I think I’ll have a large order of prognosis negative!” in Dark Victory.

8. The character Julie Marsden said, “This is 1852 dumplin’, 1852, not the Dark Ages. Girls don’t have to simper around in white just because they’re not married.” in Jezebel.

9. The character Mildred Rogers said, “Good riddance to bad rubbish.” in Of Human Bondage.

10. The character Agnes Hurley said, “You’re going to have a big wedding whether you like it or not!

If you like Bette Davis, you might also enjoy these Tricky Movie Trivia movie reviews:

Now, Voyager
All About Eve

Posted April 24, 2008 Comments(1)

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I was saddened to learn of the passing of Charlton Heston last yesterday. He wasn’t just a star of classic movies to me; I actually met Mr. Heston years ago and can attest to the fact that he was a courtly gentleman in the old tradition.

How we met

Sometime in the 1990s while I still lived in Los Angeles, I attended a fancy fundraising dinner as the “date” of my friend, comedienne Kathy Buckley. Neither of us had a significant other at the time, so she gave me a treat by letting me accompany her to the chic event.

The soirée was to raise money for an organization for the deaf. Being deaf herself and an insanely compassionate motivational speaker who gives a lot of herself to worthy causes, Kathy was the keynote speaker. As such, we sat at the head table with Charlton Heston and his wife, and the master of ceremonies, whose name I won’t mention, and his wife.

The reason I won’t mention the MC’s name is that he was quite famous in the 1970s for playing a cool and kind TV dad on a very popular sitcom that ran for years. Had he acted appropriately that evening, I would be happy to mention his name. But because of his behavior that night, I neither want to give him any publicity, nor do I want to ruin the memories of people who grew up watching his show.

From cool to uncool in a flash

To set the scene for the evening’s events, you have to understand where I was coming from at the time. I was the rabidly left-of-center executive director of an organization I founded to provide childcare for homeless children. (That’s how I met Kathy. She volunteered with the organization.) As a card-carrying liberal, I came to the dinner table that night prepared to absolutely hate Charlton Heston for his outspoken opinions about guns. I sat directly across the table from him, so I expected to squirm all evening from being in such close proximity to this person who embodied everything I detested.

In the meantime, on my immediate right was TV Dad. I thought, “How cool that I get to sit next to him!” After only a few moments, however, I realized, not so cool. Cranky beyond belief, this icon proceeded to not only complain about everything he could think of, but was abusive to his wife in the process. I initially tried to make conversation with him, but not only did that prove to be impossible; I didn’t even want to after just a few minutes of listening to him be completely obnoxious.

The old don’t-judge-a-book-by-its-cover thing

To escape, I had no choice but to focus my attention across the table toward Charlton Heston. And it’s a good thing, too; because that caused me to have one of the biggest lessons I had learned up to that point in my thirty-something life: DO NOT judge a book by its cover. As I listened to Mr. Heston speak, I was absolutely enraptured by his manner and the way he made everyone, including the show-biz nobody sitting in my chair, feel completely at ease. I don’t remember anything he said that evening; I just remember the way he said it and the kindness that radiated from him. As a result, sometimes (I wish I could say it was all the time) when I’m tempted to judge people before I know all the facts, his face pops into my head. And his death won’t diminish that.

So I say farewell to a man who gave me — and maybe many others over the years — an important life lesson. Goodbye, Mr. Heston, we’ll miss you.

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A final note: Obviously, I had no idea who Mr. Heston really was before I went to that fundraiser — and even after, although my opinion had changed. For example, I had no idea he was a civil rights activist, which I found out today while researching photos for this post.

Posted April 6, 2008 Comments(3)