Une cadillac en or massif

Judy Holliday's best comedy vehicle, a wonderful adaptation of George Kaufman and Howard Teichmann's play, about a struggling actress in New York City who owns ten shares of stock in a large corporation; perplexed as to why the board members do so little and get paid so much, she attends a stockholder's meeting and soon has all the power-suits reeling. Richard Quine directs the proceedings with an assured touch, and teaming Holliday with her "Born Yesterday" stage co-star Paul Douglas was a terrific move (they have a built-in rapport). Douglas gets one of his funniest roles as the former Chairman of the Board who has gone to work in Washington, D.C., setting up a finale which mixes together a touch of Frank Capra with a bit of "Born Yesterday". Some may complain the theme of government--coupled with a wise-beyond-her-own-knowledge heroine--is too close to Judy's previous hit. While that may be true, the actress is so good at playing the innocent gal taking on the corporate sharks, it's not worth quibbling over. Big laughs from start to finish, with a doozy of a tag and fantastic comic support from Fred Clark, John Williams, Neva Patterson, and Madge Blake. ***1/2 from ****

Sometimes it takes just one persistent person who indirectly or directly fumbles upon someone else's questionable tactics and then all hell breaks loose. It has happened in the real financial world. Two financial scandals that come quickly to mind are Enron and Bernie Madoff. Judy Holliday is perfect playing the somewhat ditzy small time shareholder who attends her first annual shareholders meeting of the huge conglomerate International Projects and as she is so excited she finds the nerve within herself to ask the board members why their salaries are so rich compared to all other employees of the company. This simple question and the board members shallow responses leads Miss Laura Partridge (Judy Holliday) to ask even more embarrassing questions that the Board members cannot seem to answer with any type of confidence for the shareholders attending the board meeting.

As the noose tightens the conniving Board Members strategize how to shut Miss Partridge up by hiring her as an office manager only to keep her close and under their control which backfires on them. Miss Partridge strikes up an impromptu conversation at a local diner after the meeting with the retiring Chairman of the Board Mr. Edward L. McKeever (Paul Douglas) and as luck and love happens when the two collide they set out on a plan to disrupt the corruption of the cheating Board of Directors.

This film was originally developed for live theater and turned into a successful film version led by the personal touch of the ditzy and cute Judy Holliday's performance. I give it a 6 out of 10 IMDb rating.

This is one of the last Capra-esque, indeed Kaufman-esque, well-made movies, even though it's release was well into the fifties. The socio and geo-political ramifications perhaps resonate even more so in our post-Enron and present Halliburton era. Aside from being hilarious and utterly entertaining ( I imagine even more so on the live stage with a raucus audience), the story poses the eternal question of personal integrity, simple honesty, and common decency; and that multinational corporations and super-power governments should be less occupied with "getting away with it" or "not getting caught"; rather more so with "doing the right thing" and producing the best for everyone. This film should be taught. Instead, it's slowly disappearing from the geopolitical landscape; i.e., it's becoming harder to find in video stores.

I would run out of positive adjectives if I had to write a review. Judy Holliday gives her best performance. If you see this film, you will want to see her other classics. Paul Douglas shines as a scrupulous businessman.

It is truly rare to come across a movie that does everything so well.

Conversely, it is truly sad that the 'feel good' genre of movies seem to have gone the way of the dinosaur

Every character actor here is on point. And there are plenty of them. The talent particularly of Judy Holliday cant be overstated, as she moves seemingly effortless between comedic and romantic scene changes. Even the pairing of the 'loudmouth' Paul Douglas is great for her, as the two of them trade punches with ease when their voices are turned up a few decibels. The story moves along quickly with no gaps or awkward pauses in the script, and it works up to a very Capra-like ending which practically leaves you on the edge of your seat. It's not an easy one to find, but if you come across this movie, hang on to it.