The Solid Gold Cadillac

Nearly half a century later, Richard Quine's 1956 romantic comedy adapted from the Broadway play by George S. Kaufman and Howard Teichmann, arrives on DVD with its satiric bite intact. Judy Holliday, in her standard not-so-ditzy, not-so-dumb blonde role, crashes the annual stockholders' meeting of International Project, a New York conglomerate, disrupting the proceedings with not-so-innocent queries about outrageous executive salaries and other corporate idiocies. Soon, Holliday's Laura Partridge has set the company topsy-turvy, fallen for former CEO Edward McKeever (Paul Douglas), and uncovered unfair practices and rampant corruption that she's determined to fix for all the small stockholders like herself. Silly and charming but smarting with indignation for the little guy--or gal, in this case--the film remains surprisingly modern, a perfect fit for the era of Enron. Although extra-less, The Solid Gold Cadillac looks very sharp in its digitally remastered widescreen presentation, and is recommended. (M. Johanson)