born yesterday

the year: 1950

the genre: comedy


the cast: Judy Holliday (Emma "Billie" Dawn); Broderick Crawford (Harry Brock); William Holden (Paul Verrall)

the plot: Uncouth, loud-mouth junkyard tycoon Harry Brock descends upon Washington D.C. to buy himself a congressman or two, bringing with him his mistress, ex-showgirl Billie Dawn. Brock hires newspaperman Paul Verrall to see if he can soften her rough edges and make her more presentable in Capital society. But Harry gets more than he bargained for as Billie absorbs Verall's lessons in U.S. history and not only comes to the realization that Harry is nothing but a two-bit, corrupt crook, but in the process also falls in love with her handsome tutor.


listen for: "Shut up! You ain't gonna be tellin' nobody nothin' pretty soon!" "DOUBLE NEGATIVE! Right?" "Right."


did you know: that to help build up Judy Holliday's image, particularly in the eyes of Columbia Pictures chief Harry Cohn, Katharine Hepburn deliberately leaked stories to the gossip columns suggesting that her performance in Adam's Rib was so good that it had stolen the spotlight from Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. This got Cohn's attention and Holliday won the part.


also listen for: "How about the story of your life?" "Oh no. Much too long... and mostly untrue."


count: how many times Billie "looks it up".


extra bonus points: if you can list who starred in the 1993 remake.


you can watch the movie in parts starting here.

sabrina

the year: 1954

the genre: romance


the cast: Audrey Hepburn (Sabrina Fairchild); Humphrey Bogart (Linus Larabie); William Holden (David Larabie); Ellen Corby (Miss McCardle)


the plot: Sabrina is the daughter of the Larrabee family's chauffeur and has been in love with David Larrabee all her life. David doesn’t know she exists. When Sabrina goes to Paris for a few years, she returns a very attractive and sophisticated woman, and David is quickly drawn to her. David's brother Linus sees this and fears that David's imminent wedding may be endangered. If the wedding is canceled, so is a corporate merger with the bride's father. So, Linus tries to keep Sabrina away from David, and the best way to do that is to charm her himself.


count: how many soufflés actually turn out like they should, in the cooking class.


don’t miss: what rhymes with “glass.”


check out: Joe College, with a touch of arthritis.


listen for: “Once upon a time, on the north shore of Long Island, some 30 miles from New York, there lived a small girl on a large estate. The estate was very large indeed and had many servants. There were gardeners to take care of the gardens, and a tree surgeon on a retainer. There was a boatman to take care of the boats: to put them in the water in the spring, and scrape their bottoms in the winter. There were specialists to take care of the grounds: the outdoor tennis court and the indoor tennis court, the outdoor swimming pool and the indoor swimming pool. And there was a man of no particular title who took care of a small pool in the garden for a goldfish named George.”


also listen for: “Voilà! An egg. Now, an egg is not a stone; it is not made of wood, it is a living thing. It has a heart. So when we crack it, we must not torment it. We must be merciful and execute it quickly, like with the guillotine.”


did you know: Although Edith Head won an Oscar for Best Costume on Sabrina, most of Audrey Hepburn's "Parisian" ensembles were, in fact, designed by Hubert de Givenchy and chosen by the star herself. However, since the costumes were actually made in Edith Head's Paramount Studios costume department, some felt that that was enough of a technicality to nominate Edith, instead of Monsieur Givenchy. Edith Head refused to be shown alongside Givenchy in the credits, so she was given credit for the costumes, even though the Academy's votes were obviously for Hepburn's attire.


extra bonus points: if you can name the two things one should never have in Paris.