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Born Yesterday Overview:

Born Yesterday (1950) was a Comedy - Drama Film directed by George Cukor and produced by S. Sylvan Simon.

SYNOPSIS

Holliday at her best as the unschooled girlfriend of a domineering scrap-iron tycoon who hires egghead Holden to tutor off the rough edges. Guess who falls in love? Based on Garson Kanin's Broadway play. Remade in 1993 with Melanie Griffith.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Born Yesterday was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2012.

Academy Awards 1950 --- Ceremony Number 23 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best ActressJudy HollidayWon
Best Costume DesignJean LouisNominated
Best DirectorGeorge CukorNominated
Best PictureColumbiaNominated
Best WritingAlbert MannheimerNominated
See More Oscar Winners

Born Yesterday BlogHub Articles:

Broderick Crawford, Judy Holiday, and William Holden in “Born Yesterday”

By Stephen Reginald on Feb 19, 2024 From Classic Movie Man

Broderick Crawford, Judy Holiday, and William Holden in “Born Yesterday” Born Yesterday (1950) is an American comedy directed by George Cukor and starring Broderick Crawford, Judy Holiday, and William Holden. Holiday recreated her role as Billie Dawn which she played on Broadway. Cr... Read full article

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER: The Subtle Messages of BORN YESTERDAY (1950)

By Lara on May 19, 2016 From Backlots

A few days ago, as I spent a sick afternoon at home, I was pleased to discover the delightful Born Yesterday (1950) playing on TCM. This is a movie that has always fascinated me–Judy Holliday’s performance as the dim-witted Billie Dawn won her an Oscar for the Best Actress of 1950, i... Read full article

Born Yesterday (1949)

By Beatrice on Jun 20, 2015 From Flickers in Time

Born Yesterday Directed by George Cukor Written by Albert Mannheimer from a play by Garson Kanin 1949/USA Columbia Pictures Corporation Repeat viewing/my DVD collection Billie Dawn: DOUBLE NEGATIVE! Right? Think what you will about the line-up for the 1949 Best Actress Oscars.  It is impossibl... Read full article

Born Yesterday (1950) (2)

on May 5, 2014 From Journeys in Classic Film

**This post is written as part of the Romantic Comedy Blogathon hosted by Backlots.  Be sure to head over after reading and check out the other participants.** The most dangerous thing to give a person is a book.  Or in this case the movie Born Yesterday.  A surface level analysis of George Cuko... Read full article

SUTS Blogathon: Born Yesterday (1950)

By Duke Mantee on Aug 20, 2013 From Spoilers

“For classic movie lovers, TCM’s annual Summer Under the Stars month-long programming event is like Christmas, the Oscars, the Super Bowl, and every Hollywood red carpet gala rolled into one. For 31 days, fans are treated to an embarrassment of cinematic riches – a collection of films feat... Read full article

See More Born Yesterday Articles

Born Yesterday Quotes:

Billie Dawn: You an' your big numbers, you don' watch out, you'll be wearing one across yer chest!
Harry Brock: Shut up! You ain't gonna be tellin' nobody nothin' pretty soon!
Billie Dawn: DOUBLE NEGATIVE! Right?
Paul Verrall: Right.
Billie Dawn: How about the story of your life?
Paul Verrall: Oh no. Much too long... and mostly untrue.
Paul: A world full of ignorant people is too dangerous to live in.
Harry Brock: Don't you feel good? You want a aspirin?
Jim Devery: No, no, I'm fine. In fact, considering I've been dead for sixteen years I'm in remarkable health.
See More Quotes from Born Yesterday
Born Yesterday Facts
In his autobiography, Garson Kanin wrote that Harry Cohn paid the record $1 million for the films rights because he had heard that Kanin said he "wouldn't sell the rights to Harry Cohn for any amount - not even a million dollars."
Garson Kanin claimed that he modeled the part of the obnoxious junk dealer Harry Brock after Harry Cohn, but that the studio chief never realized it.
Garson Kanin sold Born Yesterday to Columbia Pictures for $1 million, setting a record for the highest price ever paid for a film property.
The Broadway production of "Born Yesterday" opened at the Lyceum Theater on February 4, 1946 and ran for 1642 performances. Judy Holliday reprises her role in the movie.
Paul Douglas, who created the role of Harry Brock on stage, turned down the chance to play him in the movie adaptation because the part had been considerably reduced for the film. He later went on to star opposite Judy as Edward L. McKeever in the 1956 film, The Solid Gold Cadillac where Judy once again plays a ditsy blonde who ends up outsmarting her opponents.
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