IMDb > Born Yesterday (1950)
Born Yesterday
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Born Yesterday (1950) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   3,428 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Up 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

George Cukor

Writers:

Garson Kanin (play)
Albert Mannheimer (screenplay)
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Contact:

View company contact information for Born Yesterday on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

28 May 1951 (Sweden) more

Genre:

Comedy | Romance more

Tagline:

A perfectly swell motion picture!

Plot:

A million dollar Tycoon hires a tutor to teach his lover proper etiquette. full summary | add synopsis

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 9 nominations more

User Comments:

A good story and incredible performances make this a film not to be missed... more (54 total)


Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Judy Holliday ... Emma 'Billie' Dawn

Broderick Crawford ... Harry Brock

William Holden ... Paul Verrall
Howard St. John ... Jim Devery
Frank Otto ... Eddie
Larry Oliver ... Congressman Norval Hedges
Barbara Brown ... Mrs. Hedges
Grandon Rhodes ... Sanborn
Claire Carleton ... Helen
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Additional Details

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

Harry Cohn, the head of Columbia, paid $1 million for the film rights, intending it to be a vehicle for his hottest female star, Rita Hayworth. His star, however, wasn't interested as she'd just married Prince Aly Khan. One thing Cohn didn't want was for Judy Holliday to reprise her Broadway role. He relented when he saw how effectively George Cukor used her in Adam's Rib (1949). more

Goofs:

Continuity: In the beginning of the film, Billie puts her fur coats, one by one, on the porter's right arm. In the next shot, when Eddie puts the last one, all the fur coats are on the porter's left arm. more

Quotes:

Harry Brock: Don't you feel good? You want a aspirin?
Jim Devery: No, no, I'm fine. In fact, considering I've been dead for sixteen years I'm in remarkable health.
more

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997) (V) more

Soundtrack:

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 36, 2nd movement more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
42 out of 46 people found the following comment useful.
A good story and incredible performances make this a film not to be missed..., 16 September 2000
10/10
Author: Doug Phillips (janabro@aol.com) from Seattle, Washington

One of my favourite films of all time, this Broderick Crawford, Judy Holliday, William Holden vehicle was magnificently written by Garson Kanin and superbly directed by George Cukor.

Cukor did something that is seldom done with any film: He decided to rehearse `Born Yesterday' as if it were a play (which it was on Broadway and of which Judy Holliday performed the role of Billie Dawn 1,200 times) and had a complete theater built on one of the studio's soundstages and filled it with an audience so he could perfectly time the laughs and the pauses so the movie-going public wouldn't miss a thing.

This bit of directing genius is part of what is responsible for the remarkable film that is `Born Yesterday.'

The other part of the equation is the casting of Broderick Crawford as the slimy, junk dealer turned multi-millionaire, Harry Brock.

Rita Hayworth was originally slated to star as Billie Dawn but when she married Ally Khan and put her screen career on hold the producers ran through an entire list of potential candidates… It was only with great reluctance that they finally decided to use Judy Holliday in the role she created on Broadway – not believing she was a big enough `name' to pull in audiences.

Lucky break for them: She went on to win the first Oscar ever awarded to an actress for a comedic role.

Her every movement, glance and word is a study in brilliance of the not-so-dumb blonde, Billie Dawn.

Unfortunately Judy Holliday's career was cut short when she died of breast cancer just a few weeks short of her 44th birthday – who knows what kind of work she could have accomplished had she only lived.

`Born Yesterday' went on to receive five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, but the only award went to Judy Holliday for Best Actress; she also won the Golden Globe in the same category that year.

This is a finely crafted tale of greed, corruption and the ultimate price that must be paid by those that believe they can manipulate the law and the government by for and of the people.

It is a brilliant movie and should not be missed.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Born Yesterday (1950)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Ju-dy, Ju-dy, Ju-dy!! She Deserved That Oscar csu16387
this is a COMEDY?? j_hughes2000
anti-capitalist twob_ornot
the marriage license itmaylooklikeawalnut
What song is this? celestey-1
Bill Holden is hot with those glasses ladylavende
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