Judy Holliday is one of the lost generation of 1950s stars. She is in that group with Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Grace Kelly, and Shirley Booth who gained stardom in motion pictures, but either died prematurely (Dean, Monroe, Holliday), or made few movies (Dean, Booth, Kelly, and Holliday), or left the motion pictures for other areas of public attention (Booth with her stage and television work, Kelly as Princess of Monaco). Holliday, Booth, and Kelly won the Oscar for best actress (Monroe never did - Dean was nominated but never won). But she is probably the least remembered, although she made as many films as Kelly, and more than either Booth or Dean. Moreover, the elderly Booth never really had a film following (unlike her stage following), and Dean was representative of a new type of film hero like Monty Clift and Marlon Brando. Holliday was more accessible, as a representative of urban, mid-century America.
What was her best film? BORN YESTERDAY (her Oscar performance) is usually the one mentioned, or IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU (as Gladys Glover, the woman who creates her own publicity and fame), or THE MARRYING KIND? To me though, her best performance is THE SOLID GOLD CADILLAC. It takes off from where BORN YESTERDAY left. That film dealt with corporate corruption of politics (Billy Dawn's boyfriend Harry buying an influential Congressman). The corruption there is the creation of of a cartel controlling (through garbage dumps) scrap metal sales. In SOLID GOLD CADILLAC, Harry's junk empire is replaced by a major Wall Street corporation created by Paul Douglas. Douglas' McKeever had a strong hand controlling his fellow directors, but he's taken a "dollar-a-year" job in Washington (his fellow directors hope he'll send the corporation valuable government contracts - he doesn't). Once he leaves, the others (John Williams, Fred Clark, Ralph Dumke, and Ray Collins) take over, and as the narrator (George Burns) says - "Did I tell you they were crooks?...Boy were they crooks!"
It would have been smooth sailing but for two problems. Before he left, McKeever attended a final stockholders meeting. One shareholder (who owns only a couple of shares) is Laura Partridge (Holliday). She happens to demand explanations for various of the actions of the firm in the last year. To silence her they make her a secretary - quasi officer. She is used to keep in touch with the shareholders as a public relations figure. The other problem is due to Harry Harkness (Hiram Sherman) the brother-in-law of the firm's President Jack Blessington (John Williams). Harkness has to be given a job at the demand of Blessington's wife (Harkness' sister). He is a total idiot, best used to playing polo. His "abilities" send the firm reeling, and with the antics of Ms Partridge raises the blood pressure of the firm's bosses, particularly the firm's comptroller Clifford Snell (Fred Clark - possibly his best comic performance).
The forces of greed (the corporate officers) and the forces of good (Douglas and Holliday when they join forces) confront each other in the last half hour of the film: who will run the great company. All I will say is that it comes down to who owns more of the company.
As a look at the financial culture of the Eisenhower years (and even now, in the wake of Enron and other scandals) THE SOLID GOLD CADILLAC can't be beaten. As a showcase of Judy Holliday's friendly, common sensible urbanite taking on the corrupt it is wonderful. Witness her momentarily getting the upper hand over the villains when she uncovers an particularly stupid action by Sherman regarding a company subsidiary. The four directors silently listen to her lecture and agree to her demands, and at the end are glaring at the embarrassed Sherman. If you want to see Holliday at her best comic performance (my opinion), I recommend this film for that purpose.
What was her best film? BORN YESTERDAY (her Oscar performance) is usually the one mentioned, or IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU (as Gladys Glover, the woman who creates her own publicity and fame), or THE MARRYING KIND? To me though, her best performance is THE SOLID GOLD CADILLAC. It takes off from where BORN YESTERDAY left. That film dealt with corporate corruption of politics (Billy Dawn's boyfriend Harry buying an influential Congressman). The corruption there is the creation of of a cartel controlling (through garbage dumps) scrap metal sales. In SOLID GOLD CADILLAC, Harry's junk empire is replaced by a major Wall Street corporation created by Paul Douglas. Douglas' McKeever had a strong hand controlling his fellow directors, but he's taken a "dollar-a-year" job in Washington (his fellow directors hope he'll send the corporation valuable government contracts - he doesn't). Once he leaves, the others (John Williams, Fred Clark, Ralph Dumke, and Ray Collins) take over, and as the narrator (George Burns) says - "Did I tell you they were crooks?...Boy were they crooks!"
It would have been smooth sailing but for two problems. Before he left, McKeever attended a final stockholders meeting. One shareholder (who owns only a couple of shares) is Laura Partridge (Holliday). She happens to demand explanations for various of the actions of the firm in the last year. To silence her they make her a secretary - quasi officer. She is used to keep in touch with the shareholders as a public relations figure. The other problem is due to Harry Harkness (Hiram Sherman) the brother-in-law of the firm's President Jack Blessington (John Williams). Harkness has to be given a job at the demand of Blessington's wife (Harkness' sister). He is a total idiot, best used to playing polo. His "abilities" send the firm reeling, and with the antics of Ms Partridge raises the blood pressure of the firm's bosses, particularly the firm's comptroller Clifford Snell (Fred Clark - possibly his best comic performance).
The forces of greed (the corporate officers) and the forces of good (Douglas and Holliday when they join forces) confront each other in the last half hour of the film: who will run the great company. All I will say is that it comes down to who owns more of the company.
As a look at the financial culture of the Eisenhower years (and even now, in the wake of Enron and other scandals) THE SOLID GOLD CADILLAC can't be beaten. As a showcase of Judy Holliday's friendly, common sensible urbanite taking on the corrupt it is wonderful. Witness her momentarily getting the upper hand over the villains when she uncovers an particularly stupid action by Sherman regarding a company subsidiary. The four directors silently listen to her lecture and agree to her demands, and at the end are glaring at the embarrassed Sherman. If you want to see Holliday at her best comic performance (my opinion), I recommend this film for that purpose.