The Moviegoer

"Born Yesterday" has been born in celluloid, with a silver spoon in its mouth. First of all, it's a faithful version of Garson Kanin's play, almost line for line. It has an excellent cast, one which for a change, seems to understand words. And it has Judy Holiday, who played Billie Dawn for years on Broadway. Miss Holliday alone would be enough.

It is apparent that the few movie stars who can act come from Broadway. Most movie moguls prefer to overlook this, but occasionally there are exceptions. One Mr. S. Sylvan Simon, of Beverly Hills, California, deserves another swimming pool for realizing that Kanin's blonde chorus girl could only be played by Miss Holliday. Her Billie Dawn is not just dumb, or beautiful; she is charming in a down-to-earth way, and is wonderfully alive. The kid has a personality as big as a house.

Miss Holliday is most of "Born Yesterday," but there are other important parts. Harry Brock, the junk tycoon, is played by Broderick Crawford; William Holden plays Paul Verrall, a crusading reporter. Both give good, straightforward performances, and get author Kanin's ideas across well. Crawford's Harry Brock is not quite up to what Paul Douglas achieved on the stage, however. Crawford plays the junkman as a surly oaf and a menace--both of which he is, of course. But the part is a comic one as well, and Mr. Crawford hasn't done much to earn laughs. After all, "Born Yesterday" is a comedy.

The screen adaptation has one addition--an amusing Washington travelogue. For the most part the dialogue changes are small, but anyone who knows the play well will find them interesting. For instance, the corrupt Senator of the Broadway version has become a corrupt Congressman. Paul Verrall used to work for the New Republic, but that isn't mentioned any more. Billie's reference to a toilet is guarded; and more inexplicably, she no longer hums "Anything Goes" in the card-playing scene.

Billie still asks Verrall, "Are you one of these talkers, or would you be interested in a little action?" and she still has a yearning to "be like the Happy Peasant." It's good to have her back again.