The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956)

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

That's what Laura Partridge (Judy Holliday) will find out when she interrupts the annual stockholder's meeting and creates a menace to the bores who get astronomical salaries for doing practically nothing. Before she can object to the passing on the minutes of the previous meetings, she is given a do-nothing executive position to pacify small stockholders like herself, and stirs the whole company's pot into a frenzy. The very funny Broadway play (which starred the very different Josephine Hull) focused on a sweet little old lady, but was intelligently altered as a vehicle for Holliday.Paul Douglas, Holliday's co-star from the original stage version of "Born Yesterday', is wonderfully witty (and sweet!) as the founder of the company who becomes Holliday's ally in Washington where he now works in a government job. There's no stopping this team against the ruthless idiocy of the likes of Ray Collins, Fred Clark (in a hysterically funny snarky performance!) and John Williams, showing that big business cannot survive without the little people.

Although all the events that take place in this timely farce are highly improbable, JUDY HOLLIDAY is so adept at making a believable character out of her ditsy blonde that she makes the whole plot seem plausible by the time she steps into her solid gold Cadillac for the final Technicolor scene shot at Rockefeller Plaza. Today's headlines full of corporate greed and big bonuses for men in high places makes the plot more relevant than ever.She turns up at a stockholders meeting at the start with a whole bunch of seemingly innocuous questions, wondering how much the stuffed shirts who run the huge corporation make when all they have to do is show up at board meetings four times a year. And even though she only owns 10 shares of stock, she upsets the apple cart of some crooked members of the Board of Directors and has them scrambling to find ways to make her disappear. The slimiest one of all (played by FRED CLARK) thinks that murder is a possible option.But then they set her up in an office (with nothing to do), hoping that she just fades away and giving her secretary strict instructions to keep her nose out of their business. Naturally, Holliday takes charge with her own ideas about contacting the small stock holders with letters she dictates to her secretary--and, well, you can pretty much guess what happens next.The script has some bright and witty moments, played to the hilt by an expert cast including PAUL DOUGLAS, JOHN WILLIAMS, RAY COLLINS and NEVA PATTERSON, but Richard Quine's direction is rather unimaginative and the film never quite soars into the stratosphere of bright farce that it's striving for. A tighter pace would have helped.Judy Holliday's perky performance as the naive stockholder seems more like a retread of previous parts than anything else, but she does brighten things up considerably whenever she has a clever line, and Paul Douglas is amusing as the business man she impresses.

Lots of commentators here have been referring to Capra. This is enlightening: this comedy, this story of an honest little woman against the riches and corrupt guys who run a corporation, lacks a great director. And Capra sure would have been the best choice to make this movie more than just marginally good.Look, the storyline is good because it was rehearsed and played so many times on stage and so are the actors since they were already in the play or had a chance to see it. But the mise en scene is lame. So many important if not climactic scenes are shot on the same level as the rest... it's a pity. The movie's breath is that of a dozing director. No rush, no hush, and certainly no plush nor blush.Bottom line: a very good play with very good actors unfortunately shot at stage level, not movie level.Personal: in my opinion: Paul Douglas was a bit too old or too common to be a love interest. If I can daydream of Capra helming this one why not attach Jimmy Stewart?

Wonderful, perfect romp with Judy Holliday doing what she does best...make us laugh, cry and fall in love with her and her characters.Her acting in Solid Gold is as perfect as can be. The script and wonderful character actors, Paul Douglas, Fred Clark, Paul Collins and Neva Patterson, who support her, do their very best to bring this whimsical story to life. Judy may not be a household name to most - but to me, she will be one of the inextinguishable shining angels in the celluloid firmament. Her legacy will live on as long as we want to laugh at ourselves. This movie is a must-see comedy if you like to feel good.