The Solid Gold Cadillac

Sometimes it takes just one persistent person who indirectly or directly fumbles upon someone else's questionable tactics and then all hell breaks loose. It has happened in the real financial world. Two financial scandals that come quickly to mind are Enron and Bernie Madoff. Judy Holliday is perfect playing the somewhat ditzy small time shareholder who attends her first annual shareholders meeting of the huge conglomerate International Projects and as she is so excited she finds the nerve within herself to ask the board members why their salaries are so rich compared to all other employees of the company. This simple question and the board members shallow responses leads Miss Laura Partridge (Judy Holliday) to ask even more embarrassing questions that the Board members cannot seem to answer with any type of confidence for the shareholders attending the board meeting.

As the noose tightens the conniving Board Members strategize how to shut Miss Partridge up by hiring her as an office manager only to keep her close and under their control which backfires on them. Miss Partridge strikes up an impromptu conversation at a local diner after the meeting with the retiring Chairman of the Board Mr. Edward L. McKeever (Paul Douglas) and as luck and love happens when the two collide they set out on a plan to disrupt the corruption of the cheating Board of Directors.

This film was originally developed for live theater and turned into a successful film version led by the personal touch of the ditzy and cute Judy Holliday's performance. I give it a 6 out of 10 IMDb rating.

I would run out of positive adjectives if I had to write a review. Judy Holliday gives her best performance. If you see this film, you will want to see her other classics. Paul Douglas shines as a scrupulous businessman.

Judy Holliday's best comedy vehicle, a wonderful adaptation of George Kaufman and Howard Teichmann's play, about a struggling actress in New York City who owns ten shares of stock in a large corporation; perplexed as to why the board members do so little and get paid so much, she attends a stockholder's meeting and soon has all the power-suits reeling. Richard Quine directs the proceedings with an assured touch, and teaming Holliday with her "Born Yesterday" stage co-star Paul Douglas was a terrific move (they have a built-in rapport). Douglas gets one of his funniest roles as the former Chairman of the Board who has gone to work in Washington, D.C., setting up a finale which mixes together a touch of Frank Capra with a bit of "Born Yesterday". Some may complain the theme of government--coupled with a wise-beyond-her-own-knowledge heroine--is too close to Judy's previous hit. While that may be true, the actress is so good at playing the innocent gal taking on the corporate sharks, it's not worth quibbling over. Big laughs from start to finish, with a doozy of a tag and fantastic comic support from Fred Clark, John Williams, Neva Patterson, and Madge Blake. ***1/2 from ****

The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956) : Brief Review -

Judy Holliday is SOLID in this golden-hearted comedy. Judy Holliday does it again. Don't ask me how, but she did it. There was something about this woman and her persona that made her genuinely look funny. Other contemporary actresses had to do a lot other than deliver dialogues to bring laughter, but Judy was doing it effortlessly. I may be wrong or too early to state that Judy Holliday was the funniest lead actress ever to appear on the big screen. Richard Quine's comedy is about a jobless woman who gets gifted stocks by her dead neighbour, and her curious question scares the hell out of the company's management team. The best way to get rid of her questions was to get her on their side, albeit unknowingly. So, she is appointed as a stockholder manager, a meaningless position with a handsome salary for a woman of her background. She then starts work of her own and falls in love with a retired chairman. However, the management has their own plans and their own secrets that they want to hide. It all comes down to the chairman and the woman teaming up to fight against the crooks for the sake of the small shareholders of the company. The Solid Gold Cadillac has a simple story with a strong screenplay. The love story here is simply adorable. A retired, honest man and a peculiar woman-gosh, that's too much fun and too much cuteness. It lives up to the most acclaimed and universally appealing formula of generosity and positivity. That's what makes it a good and meaningful film. Judy is solid in the role of Laura Patridge. Watch her asking questions, raising hands, and adding humour of her own, and you have 24-carat entertainment made for you. Paul Douglas is excellent, and to play a role of that age, you need someone like him. Richard Quine has made a fine comedy with solid characters and an awkwardly lovable romance that you wouldn't want to miss.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.

I taped it several years ago from my local PBS station and several times a year I run it again. It's as fresh today as it was when first viewed. Judy Holliday was a gem. She died much too early. Her fans missed a lot because of her untimely passing. Also, her pairing with Paul Douglas in this movie was inspired