Other Titles • His Girl Friday • Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday (1940)
Synopses for His Girl Friday (1940)
1.
The Front Page, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's classic 1928 newspaper play, has had three official film versions and contributed structural DNA to half the movies ever made about professional camaraderie and fierce love-hate friendships. Lewis Milestone's 1931 movie is well respected (Billy Wilder's 1974 version isn't), but this is one case where the remake towers brilliantined head and blocked shoulders above the original.
Howard Hawks had the inspired notion of making Hildy Johnson--the ace newsman whom demonic editor Walter Burns is trying to keep from quitting and getting married--a she instead of a he. What's more, she's not only Walter's star reporter but also his ex-wife. When Hildy (Rosalind Russell) comes to tell Walter (Cary Grant) she's leaving the newspaper business, he bamboozles her into carrying out one last assignment--a death-row interview with a little nebbish (John Qualen) convicted of killing a policeman. It sounds like a snap, but before you can say screwball comedy, the press room of the Criminal Courts Building has become ground zero for all the lunacy a jailbreak, a shooting, an impromptu suicide, a corrupt city administration, and the most Machiavellian "hero" in the American cinema can supply.
His Girl Friday is one of the, oh, five greatest dialogue comedies ever made; Hawks had his cast play it at breakneck speed, and audiences hyperventilate trying to finish with one laugh so they can do justice to the four that have accumulated in the meantime. Russell, not Hawks's first choice to play Hildy, is triumphant in the part, holding her own as "one of the guys" and creating an enduring feminist icon. Grant is a force of nature, giving a performance of such concentrated frenzy and diamond brilliance that you owe it to yourself to devote at least one viewing of the movie to watching him alone. But then you have to go back (lucky you) and watch it again for the sake of the press-room gang--Roscoe Karns, Porter Hall, Cliff Edwards, Regis Toomey, Frank Jenks, and others--the kind of ensemble work that gets character actors onto Parnassus. --Richard T. Jameson
2.
In Howard Hawks's screwball masterpiece adapted from the stage play THE FRONT PAGE by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, star reporter Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell), once married to suave editor Walter Burns (Cary Grant), plans to leave the stressful newspaper world behind and marry a boring insurance agent. Walter won't reveal his feelings for Hildy but tries to keep her from leaving by convincing her to cover one last story, a politically motivated execution. When the convict manages to escape, chaos breaks loose, and Hildy finds herself working alongside Walter to break the story wide open.
HIS GIRL FRIDAY is a loose, freewheeling gem featuring some of the fastest dialogue ever filmed (peppered with inspired ad-libbing by Grant and Russell, each appearing at comedic high points in their careers). Hawks, who changed the original story of two newspapermen into a battle of the sexes, keeps the frenetic action careening forward and allows a few slim but luminous notes of genuine affection to slip into Hildy and Walter's storm of hilarious verbal barbs, creating a potent and heartfelt classic that stands as one of the most influential comedies ever made.
3.
Hollywood Classics
This hilarious reworking of The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur sees Grant as the savage editor, and, in a switch, the reporter played by a scheming Rosalind Russell. This version adds the twin lures of sex and romance. The film moves at a whirlwind speed, as director Howard Hawks instructed his actors to overlap their lines, so much so that at times everyone seems to be talking at once. Hawks also has his cast move at twice the normal speed so the screen looks frantic from scene to scene, thus conveying the urgency of the news world he was depicting. It's undoubtedly Cary Grant's greatest comedic role, proving once again the amazing versatility of this Hollywood legend.
Also included: Cary Grant On Film Packed with film footage and nostalgic photos, this documentary portrays Grant's singular blend of wit, charm, and sophistication that gave us all an ideal to aspire to.
4.
She learned about men from him…
This remake of a classic play "The Front Page" features Cary Grant as Walter Burns, the conniving newspaper editor, Rosalind Russell as Hildy Johnson, his star reporter and ex-wife, and Ralph Bellamy as Bruce Baldwin, the mama's boy she's about to marry. To avoid losing her, Burns offers Johnson a late-breaking news story about the upcoming execution of anarchist Earl Williams (John Qualen). The story heats up when Williams escapes and is hidden from the police by none other than Burns and Johnson.
5.
A classic, unrelentingly hilarious war-between the scenes comedy. Grant's brilliance as a physical actor has never been so put to the test as in this howlingly funny remake of The Front Page. Grant is great as a surviving newspaper editor and Russell is a riot as a prima donna reporter (and ex-wife). They both engage in a hilarious battle of the sexes while covering a hot murder story.
This newspaper film is probably one of the funniest comedies ever made.
6.
This remake of the classic play "The Front Page" features Cary Grant as Walter Burns, the conniving newspaper editor, Rosalind Russell as Hildy Johnson, his star reporter and ex-wife, and Ralph Bellamy as Bruce Baldwin, the mama's boy she is about to marry.
7.
His Girl Friday is one of the five greatest dialogue comedies ever made. Howard Hawks had his cast play it at breakneck speed, and audiences hyperventilate trying to finish with one laugh so they can do justice to the four that have accumulated in the meantime. Rosalind Russell, not Hawks' first choice to play Hildy Johnson--the ace newsperson whom demonic editor Walter Burns is trying to keep from quitting and getting married--is triumphant in the part, holding her own as "one of the guys" and creating an enduring feminist icon. Cary Grant's Walter Burns is a force of nature, giving a performance of such concentrated frenzy and diamond brilliance that you owe it to yourself to devote at least one viewing of the movie to watching him alone. But then you have to go back (lucky you) and watch it again for the sake of the press-room gang--Roscoe Karns, Porter Hall, Cliff Edwards, Regis Toomey, Frank Jenks, and others--the kind of ensemble work that gets character actors onto Parnassus. --Richard T Jameson, Amazon.com
Mooviees.com is not the official site for this film.
All editorial views and opinions expressed here are for entertainment purposes only.
Movie Database
In Theaters
