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Born Yesterday

Film

"Born Yesterday" gives off a hard shine. Flash and luxurious living, expensive hotel apartments, vulgar behaviour and the capitalist self-made man at his worst sound unpleasant in combination. This transplanted play with a sentimental story of the education of the dumb broad in democracy and decency is not an inspired film but it is well worth seeing.

The dialogue of the characters rattles along like a gun, so fast in fact that it is not always possible to catch the cracks. Nevertheless the laughter keeps the story moving and helps the story over the necessarily sticky bits.

Judy Holliday as the dumb broad and Roderick Crawford as the racketeer Junkman are the centrepieces of the plot. The solution to the problem is not offered and retribution is a long way from the junkman, but it is encouraging to see the criticism so strongly voiced.

We can recommend this film without any reservations unless you have very touchy scrupled about blunt language. Best scene: the game of gin rummy. Worst scene: being inspired by the Jefferson monument.

As the story went along one little moral came out of it without the assistance of the story. Democracy is a very easily abused system and the number of ignorant people in it are a constant inducement to the unscrupulous and a danger to the majority of us. Those who want democracy at once everywhere should make a point of seeing "Born Yesterday."

Thin film will be screened at the Regent Theatre shortly.