The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956) Judy Holliday, Paul Douglas
Judy Holliday Takes On Big Business and George Burns narrates this very funny movie classic about big business, crooked executives and politics.

With so much talk about banks going under and the dismal view of stock market, it is a perfect time to dig out your dusty VHS tape player and watch The Solid Gold Cadillac again.

At the beginning of The Solid Gold Cadillac, the camera slowly pans a tall skyscraper in New York City, an unseen Burns states, "In this country today, more people are investing in the stock market than every before." This is the audience’s introduction to Laura Partridge (Judy Holliday) who is attending her first stockholder’s meeting at International Projects where she owns 10 shares of the companies stock.

Laura creates an uproar when she questions the salaries of the Chairman of Board of Directors, Jack Blessington (John Williams) and his cronies. This line of questioning is unexpected and unwelcome. The narrator has already warned the audience that these men are crooks; now that Edward McKeever former CEO (Paul Douglas) has resigned to go to Washington, the boys will have free rein of the company and its money. Unfortunately for them, Partridge turns up at subsequent meetings, generally making a nuisance of herself by putting their huge salaries and perks in jeopardy with her questions and probing.

Blessington devises a plan to keep Laura Partridge out of their hair by hiring her. The board members disagree; Blessington explains, “If you can’t crush them, join them. If you can’t kill them, acquire them.” This is met with cynicism, “How do we know [we can‘t kill her], until we’ve tried.” When Partridge asks "What sort of work would I do?" the response is vague, "It would be sort of general work—nothing specific, but you would be in charge of it." She is given an office, a secretary, but no responsibilities. However, they don’t know Laura Partridge.

The humor in The Solid Gold Cadillac is fun, light and intelligent. The board of directors, Clifford Snell (Fred Clark), John ‘Jack’ Blessington (John Williams), Alfred Metcalfe, (Ray Collins) and Warren Gillie (Ralph Dumke) are so wickedly bad, so corrupt, that it is a joy watching their antics. While they don’t exactly rub their hands together and say, “now then, what shall we do with you my pretty”, they do devise a second plan to get rid of Laura Partridge because the first one backfires and makes her exceedingly popular with the small stockholders.

The Solid Gold Cadillac is one of Judy Holliday’s best films. She won the 1956 Golden Globe for Best Actress in a musical or comedy for her portrayal of Laura Partridge.

This stylish movie classic does not feel dated. You can find the DVD The Solid Gold Cadillac at Amazon.com, but it is quite pricy. Check other sources. If you have a VHS tape player you can get a used tape at a very reasonable price at Amazon. For Holliday fans, it is well worth the effort to do some checking.

See more Judy Holliday (1921-1965) information at http://www.thegoldenyears.org/holliday.html