Born Yesterday (1950)

Trigger warning: violence against women, emotional and verbal abuse. That's an odd opening for a review about a comedy. Judy Holliday mesmerizes as the star of this mid-century flick based on a play. The cinematographer focuses on her minute facial expressions, rewarding the audience with the depth and range of her command of that role. A role she played 1,200 times on Broadway before making the movie! 

My favorite scene is the gin rummy sequence: the camera never leaves Holliday; as one reviewer puts it, "It is seven minutes and fifty seconds of pure cinematic gold."