Judy Holliday richly deserved her Oscar for this wonderful film; Broderick Crawford was wonderful, too. Of the modern tellings of the Pygmalion story with which I am familiar (the others being "One Touch of Venus" and "My Fair Lady"), this is by far the best. Why? Because the female lead character's tutor, instead of instilling mere social refinements in the unschooled Billie/Liza character, helps her find the soul hidden so deep inside of her that even she starts out thinking she is selfish and shallow.
There are too many great scenes here to review them individually. The gin rummy game is justly famous. SPOILER: But what brought a tear to my eye was when, during her final face down with Harry, her abusive junk dealer fiancé, Harry Brock, demands to know who is a better man than he and Billie names her own father. In fact, Billie has not seen her father for five years and admits that in that time she has only thought about him once. He is a broken down, $25 a week elevator operator in New York, but he has the life values in which Harry is totally lacking. With the help of her tutor, she comes to realize that it is character, not wealth or power, that matters. I love this movie and hope that it's reputation will grow for future generations of film buffs.
There are too many great scenes here to review them individually. The gin rummy game is justly famous. SPOILER: But what brought a tear to my eye was when, during her final face down with Harry, her abusive junk dealer fiancé, Harry Brock, demands to know who is a better man than he and Billie names her own father. In fact, Billie has not seen her father for five years and admits that in that time she has only thought about him once. He is a broken down, $25 a week elevator operator in New York, but he has the life values in which Harry is totally lacking. With the help of her tutor, she comes to realize that it is character, not wealth or power, that matters. I love this movie and hope that it's reputation will grow for future generations of film buffs.