Take Judy Holliday as an example. In 1949, she got recognized for her work in Adam's Rib. The following year she would be in Born Yesterday, a role that she originated on Broadway and would earn her an Oscar.
Born Yesterday has Holliday as Billie Dawn, an ex-showgirl who is the girlfriend of junkyard tycoon Harry Brock (Broderick Crawford). Harry and Billie's relationship has taken a turn for the worse; their main form of communication is yelling at one another (I personally love Holliday's shrill "What?"). Fed up by Billie's uncivilized ways (the irony being that he's the boor), Harry hires Paul Verrall (William Holden) to teach her a few things.
Billie knows she's stupid (she admits it to Paul early on), but through Paul's teachings she realizes one thing: that Harry is a crook. She also learns how to stand up for herself, something she was unable to do before.
The main reason for why Born Yesterday isn't forgotten is because of Holliday's Oscar win. She won over Bette Davis and Gloria Swanson, both of whom were frontrunners that year. That doesn't mean that Holliday was the wrong choice. She provided a bit of spunkiness to the category for that year.
My Rating: *****
What do you think of Holliday? I have nothing against her, I watched only one film with her, so maybe that's the reason I don't really like her, but she seemed so artificial.
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