Une cadillac en or massif

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.

What can you say about Judy Holliday? Her timing was always absolutely perfect. Her facial expressions frequently making speech unnecessary. In Solid Gold Cadillac she gives a magical portrayal as Laura Partridge, the supposedly, dumb blonde, part time actress with no appreciation of Shakespeare, ("You don't even get to sit down unless you're a king" - a typical Holliday line), but who is nonetheless shrewd enough to see through the corrupt shenanigans of the board of directors of a multi-national company in which she owns just ten shares. The partnering of Judy Holliday and that fine actor, Paul Douglas, as Edward L. McKeever, the upright, down to earth and totally incorruptible founder of the company, who is (according to Laura Partridge) "scared of girls", works like a dream. The film also has excellent support from Ray Collins, Arthur O'Connell, Neva Patterson, John Williams and of course Fred Clark, as Snell, the oily, slippery company treasurer, a real nasty piece of work. I defy anyone not to boo and hiss whenever he appears. In addition to being a delightful romantic comedy, this is also a tale of good fighting to overcome evil, and the little people of this world getting together and refusing to be trampled by a big faceless conglomerate. If you've never seen this picture before, or maybe never seen a Judy Holliday movie, you're in for a treat.

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 have seen this movie about three times, and each time I am taken aback by the sweetness and honesty of the character Laura Partridge, as played by Judy Holiday. Even though the plot is predictable, I still enjoy watching a woman of character (who first comes across as a dizzy dame) as she continues to outsmart the cynical "opposition." A sweet comedy, and a good escape from the "real world."

Wonderful, perfect romp with Judy Holliday doing what she does best...make us laugh, cry and fall in love with her and her characters.

Her acting in Solid Gold is as perfect as can be. The script and wonderful character actors, Paul Douglas, Fred Clark, Paul Collins and Neva Patterson, who support her, do their very best to bring this whimsical story to life.

Judy may not be a household name to most - but to me, she will be one of the inextinguishable shining angels in the celluloid firmament.

Her legacy will live on as long as we want to laugh at ourselves.

This movie is a must-see comedy if you like to feel good.