Born Yesterday (1956)

A loutish and vulgar but rich junk dealer (Paul Douglas recreating his stage role) brings his ditzy mistress (Mary Martin) with him on a business trip to Washington D.C. Feeling her ignorance will be a liability, he hires a journalist (Arthur Hill) to educate her and give her manners. This plan works only too well. Based on the play by Garson Kanin and directed by its author. Kanin's play made a star out of Judy Holliday who owned the role of Billie Dawn. The big surprise here is how good Mary Martin is in the part. Oh, Holliday still owns the role but Martin is probably the last actress you'd think of when casting the part but she pulls it off beautifully. The play holds up reasonably well although it gets less interesting the smarter Martin's character gets. Douglas does just fine although it's a one dimensional part and Hill is adequate though of the three leads, it's the least absorbing role. With Otto Hulett and Larry Oliver.