His Girl Friday (1940)

His Girl Friday (1940)

starring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy

directed by Howard Hawks

92 minutes

Ace reporter Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) is getting ready to get quit her job and married just as the city government is getting ready to hang Earl Williams for killing a policeman. Walter Burns (Cary Grant), Hildy's boss and ex-husband, does everything he can to interfere with Hildy's attempts to leave town and get married to Bruce (Ralph Bellamy) her fiance. He does everything he can to get her to get her to cover the Earl Williams case.

Walter's attempts amount to little more than minor inconveniences. Hildy doesn't change her mind about sticking around and covering the Earl Williams case until Williams escapes and falls right into her lap. She tells Walter and together they do their best to get the scoop on all the other newspapers in town.

Thoughts

This is a romantic comedy of sorts but the emphasis is much more on the comedy than it is on the romance. 

This is the second movie based on The Front Page which was originally a play. The first one was made in 1931 and has the same title as the play. The third time The Front Page (1974) was made into a movie it was directed by Billy Wilder and starred Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. There wasn't a romantic history between Hildy and Walter in the other versions of The Front Page in which Hildy was always a man.

I enjoyed this movie very much. I think I saw it years ago, probably in the 1980s. I didn't recall that it was a remake of The Front Page even though I probably saw The Front Page (1974) before I saw this movie. I loved the pace of the dialogue. It moved too fast for me to catch it all but I was enjoying myself so much that it didn't bother me one bit.

I like both this and the 1974 film. They are very similar but not identical. Both are worth seeing. Both have great actors playing the supporting and minor roles. This one might have been a little better if it had been just a little bit longer. It felt a little rushed. 

Notes

I have seen plenty of movies starring Cary Grant. The last one was Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). I recently saw Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame (1958). I prefer her performance in this movie. It feels a little more grounded. The only other thing I have seen Ralph Bellamy in recently was The Invaders 1.17 (The Condemned). 

Roscoe Karns played the part of McCue, one of the other reporters covering the Earl Williams case for another newspaper. He was also in It Happened One Night (1934), They Drive By Night (1940), and Woman of the Year (1942).

Gene Lockhart played the part of the Sherriff. I have also seen him in Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and Meet John Does (1941).

Porter Hall played the part of Murphy, one of the reporters covering the Earl Williams case. Other movies I have seen him in include Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Sullivan's Travels (1941), Miracle on 35th Street (1947), and Ace in the Hole (1951).

Cliff Edwards played Endicott, another reporter covering the Earl Williams case. He was the voice of Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio (1940).