BORN YESTERDAY (DVD/P&S/WS 1.33/MONO/ENG-SP-PORT-CHIN-KOR-THAI-SUB) DVD

Born Yesterday
Garson Kanin's Broadway hit was transferred to the screen with only a few passing nods to the stricter censorship required by films. Judy Holliday won an Oscar for her portrayal of Billie Dawn, a strident, dim-bulbed ex-chorus girl who is the mistress of millionaire junk tycoon Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford). In Washington to put a few senators and congressmen in his pocket (the better to lay the groundwork for an illegal cartel), the rude-and-crude Brock realizes that the unrefined Billie will prove an embarrassment. Thus he hires idealistic but impoverished Paul Verrell (William Holden) to pump some intelligence and "class" into Billie. Paul does his job too well; by awakening Billie's social and political consciousness, he turns the girl into Brock's most formidable foe in his efforts to buy influence in DC. Along the way Paul and Billie fall in love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Broderick Crawford as Harry Brock Judy Holliday as Billie Dawn William Holden as Paul Verrall Howard St. John as Jim Devery Frank Otto as Eddie Larry Oliver as Norval Hedges Barbara Brown as Mrs. Hedges Grandon Rhodes as Sanborn Claire Carleton as Helen

Crew Harry Horner - Art Director Jean Louis - Costume Designer George Cukor - Director Charles Nelson - Editor Frederick Hollander - Composer (Music Score) Morris W. Stoloff - Musical Direction/Supervision Joseph Walker - Cinematographer S. Sylvan Simon - Producer Albert Mannheimer - Screenwriter Garson Kanin - Play Author

Born Yesterday
Born Yesterday is remembered today primarily for Judy Holliday's Oscar-winning comic performance. At its release, though, it was considerably more controversial, generating protests that proclaimed the film Communist-sympathizing for suggesting that American politics could be corrupt. The core of the story is largely borrowed from George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, with Broderick Crawford as the authority figure who hires William Holden to tutor the coarse but good-natured Holliday. The film's emphasis is humor, not politics, with Crawford's character intended primarily as Holliday's foil rather than as any sort of serious social commentary. Certainly, crooked politicians were nothing new to motion pictures, but the film was released into an era of Anti-Communism when even the smallest criticism of the U.S. government was perceived as serving the Communist cause. So strong was this mood that Holliday was investigated by the FBI -- and cleared via a personal message from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover to studio chief Harry Cohn. Audiences today will likely wonder what all the fuss was about, particularly the reaction of gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, who thought Holliday's Best Actress Oscar was an immoral disgrace. ~ Richard Gilliam, All Movie Guide
 

Albert Mannheimer: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Screenplay (nominated) George Cukor: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Director (nominated) George Cukor: Golden Globe, Best Director (nominated) Jean Louis: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Black and White Costume Design (nominated) Judy Holliday: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Actress (winner) Judy Holliday: Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama (nominated) Judy Holliday: Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or C (winner)

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Picture (nominated) Golden Globe, Best Picture (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English, Spanish, Por, KO, TH Sound Processing: 5.1: 5 full-range channels. Includes 3 for the front speakers, 2 surround channels for rear speakers, & 1 low-frequency effects (LFE) channel to carry deep bass effects 1: PCM mono Additional Features: Digitally mastered audio and video Production notes Interactive menus Audio: English [mono] Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, Thai Vintage advertising Talent files Theatrical trailer Bonus trailers Scene selections DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 140 min Part of Series: Columbia Classics   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 0. Scene Selections 1. Start [:52] 2. The Washington Statler [3:28] 3. Jim Devery [2:01] 4. The Interview [7:13] 5. Corporate Officer [2:51] 6. The Hedges [6:14] 7. "Dumb Broad!" [2:27] 8. Harry's Proposition [1:18] 9. Stupid but Happy [5:29] 10. Beating His Brains Out [7:12] 11. Tipping the Paperboy [4:02] 12. Capitol Building [1:57] 13. Library of Congress [2:00] 14. Explaining His Piece [4:43] 15. A Letter From Father [2:58] 16. The National Gallery [3:39] 17. Jefferson Memorial [:41] 18. Trouble [4:24] 19. Tom Paine [3:12] 20. Anti-Social [2:02] 21. 306,434 [3:13] 22. Cartel! [1:47] 23. "I Hate My Life." [7:07] 24. Calling Tom Jefferson [1:43] 25. Waiting for Dawn [5:40] 26. Leaving for Good [3:38] 27. Stolen Papers [9:27] 28. "License Please." [:41]