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.

Image via Wikipedia

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

Source: Wikipedia

I have to say, though; I don’t get it. My take is that it’s a movie with greatness at its heart with lots of fluffy show-biz-type stuff covering it up. The fluffiness comes mostly from a stellar cast that for some reason thought campy would play better than sincere. Many of the characters vamp instead of speak and whine instead of interact, which grows old after just a few minutes. This came as a surprise to me because Miss Bette Davis (along with everyone else in All About Eve) obviously can act. Just one example of that is Now, Voyager, which features BD at her most subtle best.

The rest of the fluff comes from a script that takes itself just a little too seriously. This was another surprise. According to the archival interviews, Eve was the only script in which Davis — famous for angering writers and producers by rewriting scripts — never changed a word because she felt it couldn’t be improved.

Having said all that, I hope I haven’t completely poisoned you against All About Eve. There is some witty dialog, and the themes in the movie are just as timely and worthwhile today as they were in 1950. In fact, you could even say the character of Eve is a timeless icon. Throughout the movie, she worms her way into everyone’s hearts, smiling while she stealthily scratches and claws her way to the top. Sycophantic and obsessed, Eve brought herself from waiting every night by the stage door of the theater where her idol Margo Channing stars in a hit play to finally eclipsing the object of her affection. It reminded me a lot of the time I spent in corporate America.

Without giving away the ending, I’ll tell you that it all works out as the old “what comes around goes around” kicks in for Dear Eve. The ending is actually where the script comes to life for me. There’s an ominous quality to it because we know justice is at hand. I couldn’t help having a Cheshire cat grin as the film reached its conclusion because I knew Eve was going to get a taste of her own medicine — even if it was only going to be off-camera. Whatever the movie’s flaws, that fact actually made it worth the popcorn to me.

Movie trivia from All About Eve

• Tallulah Bankhead, Susan Hayward, Marlene Dietrich, Claudette Colbert, Ingrid Bergman and Gertrude Lawrence were all considered for the part of Margo Channing before Darryl F. Zanuck hired Bette Davis.
• According to the casting director’s list, Ronald Reagan and Nancy Davis (eventually, Mrs. Reagan) were considered for the roles of Bill Sampson and Eve Harrington.
• Bette Davis was in the process of breaking up with husband William Sherry while she was making All About Eve. Her raspy voice in the film is due a burst blood vessel in her throat from screaming at her soon-to-be-ex-husband. Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz liked the quality it gave her voice so he encouraged Davis not to try to change it.
• Zsa Zsa Gabor kept coming to the set because she was jealous of her husband George Sanders’ scenes with Marilyn Monroe.
• Bette Davis fell in love with co-star Gary Merrill while shooting All About Eve. They married in July 1950, which was just a few weeks after filming wrapped. They eventually divorced years later.

Other Tricky Movie Trivia classic movie reviews:

• To Kill a Mockingbird
• My Man Godfrey
• Now, Voyager
• The Enchanted Cottage
• Born Yesterday

You might also be interested in our trivia quiz about famous movie quotes from Bette Davis movies.

Blue also manages to keep up with celebrity gossip, as well as provide tips for film production professionals. I don’t know how he gives such comprehensive coverage while running a production company, but he does a great job.

Blue’s latest project is the launch of the biggest movie blog carnival ever created, so if you’re like me and just can’t get enough information about movies, check out the 34 diverse movie blogs.

The Enchanted Cottage is probably one of the best romantic movies you’ve never seen.

Set in 1942 and released in 1945, the film uses WWII as the backdrop for a fairy-tale-like story of two ugly ducklings who find love. Even if you don’t like fantasy movies, you’ll probably like this one. And if you like romantic classic movies, this is one you won’t want to miss.

Beautiful Dorothy McGuire (Claudia in Gentleman’s Agreement) plays Laura Pennington, who’s considered homely by just about everyone she runs across in the movie. It’s a testament to McGuire’s acting skill (with a little credit thrown in for the make-up man) that she pulls off being so unattractive. And speaking of the make-up man, he worked overtime turning Robert Young’s (Father Knows Best, Marcus Welby, M.D.) Oliver Bradford into a character who could have been right at home in an episode of The Twilight Zone.

What makes this film so special is its power to evoke emotion. If you’ve ever been on the outside of anything, you’ll feel a kindred spirit with Laura Pennington as she sits in the war-time canteen while everyone dances but her. The same holds true for Oliver Bradford’s struggle with his war injury and resulting disfigurement. Young makes you understand just how frustrated his character must be.

The two unfortunates are joined by Herbert Marshall as blind composer and piano player Major John Hillgrove. It’s through his metaphorical eyes that we’re given clues on how to view the film, and maybe even life itself. When his character explains how he only truly learned to see after he lost his actual sight, you begin to understand the depth of the story.

Hillgrove’s blindness isn’t the only reference to sight in the movie. In fact, the idea that sight is relative is at the heart of the story. Although they retain their physical sight, Oliver and Laura begin to see each other through new eyes, which is a revelation for both of them. This new vision — created by love — is then challenged by the outside world. Oliver and Laura almost succumb to other people’s vision of them, but in the end, they decide that the only view of life that matters to them is their own.

This movie has not been released on DVD, but it’s available on VHS. Also, occasionally American Movie Classics (AMC) plays it, along with an introductory conversation by Robert Osborn and Whoopi Goldberg. If your cable system has On Demand, you also might be able to find it there.

The Enchanted Cottage cast

• Dorothy McGuire: Laura Pennington

• Robert Young: Oliver Bradford

• Herbert Marshall: Major John Hillgrove

• Mildred Natwick: Mrs. Abigail Minnett

• Spring Byington: Violet Price

• Hillary Brooke: Beatrice Alexander

• Richard Gaines: Frederick “Freddy” Price

• Alec Englander: Danny “Taxi” Stanton

• Robert Clarke: Marine Corporal

• Eden Nicholas: Soldier

Movie trivia

• Composer Roy Webb was nominated for the “Best Score, Comedy or Drama” Academy Award for The Enchanted Cottage, but didn’t win. In addition to the score, he wrote the piano concerto Herbert Marshall plays in the film, which was also played at a live Hollywood Bowl concert in 1945.

• Dorothy McGuire died of heart disease on September 13, 2001 at the age of 85. She leaves behind a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is located at 6933 Hollywood Boulevard.

I hope you enjoyed this classic movie review! To be updated whenever there’s a new movie review or movie trivia quiz, please subscribe using the free subscription options in the sidebar.

More Tricky Movie Trivia classic movie reviews:

• To Kill a Mockingbird
• My Man Godfrey
• Now, Voyager
• All About Eve
• Born Yesterday

No self-respecting Superbad movie review would be complete without mentioning that the “f” word was used 186 times — and the unrated version of the movie was only 118 minutes long (114 for the rated version). That’s an average of approximately 1.6 uses of the word per minute.

But even if you don’t like to hear the “f” word sprayed around like water out of an open fire hydrant, there’s plenty to like about this movie. And you don’t even have to be in high school. Actually, writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg were younger than that when they wrote the movie; they were only 13. That’s probably what made the movie so appealing to me. (Although, I like all Seth Rogen movies.) I sure wouldn’t want to be that young again, but it’s fun to be taken there again for two hours or so.

If I had to reduce the movie to an elevator pitch (a description that can be heard in the time it takes to go on an elevator ride), here’s how it would play out: “Three alcohol-obsessed boys go on a local road trip to find said alcohol and get girls. Hilarity ensues.”

But if I were to describe it for grown-ups who might want to watch the movie, I would add some details you probably wouldn’t expect if you only heard the elevator pitch: There’s a beating heart at the center of Superbad. Main characters Seth, Evan and Fogell (aka McLovin), two of which are named after writers Rogen and Goldberg, alternate between being obnoxious teenagers and semi-enlightened beings. This vacillation elevates the movie above being just an f-bomb-filled, trashy-talkfest. The characters’ going back and forth between doing the right thing and very wrong things makes it a lot like life. Hey, there are a lot of supposed adults out in the world who don’t have these kids’ grasp on the fact that they need to take some responsibility for their behavior.

But don’t let me make the movie seem too high-tone; it’s not. It wasn’t meant to be. It was meant to be just a funny teenage movie with a lot of cussing and plenty of laughs. And in that, it succeeded.

Movie trivia

• Filming locations (all in California):

* California State University, Northridge (parking lot scene)
* Los Angeles
* Culver City
* El Segundo High School, El Segundo
* Glendale (convenience store)

• Explicit drawings of penises used in the film were drawn by David Goldberg, Evan Goldberg’s brother. Seth Rogen also used another family member in the movie: When the characters of Seth and Evan are running from the police through people’s backyards, Seth Rogen’s father Mark Rogen appears as the baseball-bat-wielding dad.

Watch trailers for the movie at the official Sony Pictures Superbad Web site

I hope you enjoyed this movie review. Be sure to take our movie trivia quiz about Superbad and other Seth Rogen films. (We’ve already given you one of the answers in this movie review!)

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