First Star

Judy Holliday (1921-1965) was foremost a Broadway star and made only a handful of movies (about 10 in all with many of her earlier roles being uncredited extras). She was investigated in 1952 for ties to communism that resulted in her being blacklisted from radio and television for about three years. She died of breast cancer in 1965, but while her career in film was relatively short, she made some really great films and here are my favorites.

Adam's Rib (1949), Directed by George Cukor - The main stars of this movie is of course Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn but Judy Holliday definitely lights up the screen in all her scene (she was nominated for a Golden Globe). In the movie, Tracy is responsible for prosecuting Judy Holliday for shooting (in the shoulder) her cheating husband and is defend by Hepburn. Without being in the movie, Judy Holliday would not have be cast in her signature role of Billie in Born Yesterday. When the rights to the play were purchased, the study was hesitant to cast a Hollywood unknown in a major role. Tracy and Hepburn were instrumental in getting her cast in Adam's Rib and based on her performance in this film, she was cast in Born Yesterday.

Born Yesterday (1950) Directed by George Cukor- This is truly Judy Holliday's masterpiece. She was an understudy to Jean Arthur (another actress that I will being writing about later) while it was on Broadway until an illness forced Jean Arther to leave the play. Born Yesterday is the story of the girlfriend of a less-than-honest businessman (Broderick Crawford) and her transformation from a "dumb blonde" to confident and independent woman under the tutelage of an honest journalist (William Holden). Holliday is able to be vulnerable, strong, funny, sympathetic, and intelligent throughout the film and shifts between these attributes so seamlessly and effortlessly. How fantastic was Judy Holliday's performance? She won the Oscar over Gloria Swanson for Sunset Boulevard, Anne Baxter for All About Eve, and Bette Davis for All about Eve. In Born Yesterday, Judy Holliday single-handily show that it can take a lot of intelligence to play and not everyone can do it. For more proof of this, see the 1993 remake with Melanie Griffith. It is worth watching this movie for the scene that Broderick Crawford and Judy Holliday play gin alone. And the rest of the movie is pretty good too.

The Bells Are Ringing (1960) directed by Vincent Minnelli - This is Judy Holliday's last film and although it is not her best, it is the only movie in which she sings. Like Born Yesterday, Judy Holliday played the lead (Ella Peterson) in the Broadway play and translated her role to the screen version. The plot of the movie is Judy Holliday's character works at an answerphone service and gets involved in her clients' lives. Mistaken identities and misunderstandings can make the movie feel a little cliched at time, but Holliday is able to rise above the rough patches in the plot and making the movie enjoyable. I'm not the biggest Dean Martin fan, but Judy Holliday is so charming, warm, and funny, that I had no problems watching the Dean Martin parts. And since Judy Holliday was a singer throughout her career, The Bells are Ringing is one of the few chances modern audiences have to see Judy Holliday sing and dance.

There are a few more Judy Holliday films (including It Should Happen to you with Jack Lemmon), but I think these 3 films are good jumping off point. In a majority of her roles, Judy Holliday played a dumb blonde but she played it with such warmth, humor, and intelligence, it's hard not to love her.




While writing this post, I realized that I really enjoy films directed by George Cukor, so I will have to add him to the list of potential directors (any one who can direct both The Women and Gaslight (1944) deserves to be celebrated). And he also directed to most men in Academy Award winning performances despite being known as a "woman's director".