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.

What can you say about Judy Holliday? Her timing was always absolutely perfect. Her facial expressions frequently making speech unnecessary. In Solid Gold Cadillac she gives a magical portrayal as Laura Partridge, the supposedly, dumb blonde, part time actress with no appreciation of Shakespeare, ("You don't even get to sit down unless you're a king" - a typical Holliday line), but who is nonetheless shrewd enough to see through the corrupt shenanigans of the board of directors of a multi-national company in which she owns just ten shares. The partnering of Judy Holliday and that fine actor, Paul Douglas, as Edward L. McKeever, the upright, down to earth and totally incorruptible founder of the company, who is (according to Laura Partridge) "scared of girls", works like a dream. The film also has excellent support from Ray Collins, Arthur O'Connell, Neva Patterson, John Williams and of course Fred Clark, as Snell, the oily, slippery company treasurer, a real nasty piece of work. I defy anyone not to boo and hiss whenever he appears. In addition to being a delightful romantic comedy, this is also a tale of good fighting to overcome evil, and the little people of this world getting together and refusing to be trampled by a big faceless conglomerate. If you've never seen this picture before, or maybe never seen a Judy Holliday movie, you're in for a treat.

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?

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