His Girl Friday
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| His Girl Friday | |
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| Directed by | Howard Hawks |
| Produced by | Howard Hawks |
| Written by | Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur (play The Front Page) Charles Lederer (screenplay) |
| Starring | Cary Grant Rosalind Russell |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | January 11, 1940 |
| Running time | 92 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
His Girl Friday is a 1940 screwball comedy, a remake of the 1931 film The Front Page, itself an adaptation by Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur of their play of the same name. One major alteration was made for this incarnation: the character of Hildy Johnson was changed from a man to a woman, putting a different spin on the story.
His Girl Friday was directed by Howard Hawks and is noted for the rapid-fire wit and extremely fast pace of the dialogue.
The film is consistently on the Internet Movie Database's list of top 250 films, was #19 on American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Laughs, and has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
[edit] Plot
Cary Grant is hard-boiled newspaper editor Walter Burns, and Rosalind Russell his ex-wife and former star reporter, Hildegaard "Hildy" Johnson. She wants to marry Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy) and settle down to a quiet life as a wife and mother in Albany, but Burns has other ideas. When convicted murderer Earl Williams (John Qualen) escapes from the bumbling sheriff (Gene Lockhart) on the eve of his execution, Burns entices Johnson to cover one last story, and then the fun begins.
Walter does everything he can to keep Hildy from leaving, including getting Bruce arrested for passing counterfeit money (which Walter gave him) and kidnapping Bruce's mother. When escapee Williams practically falls into Hildy's lap, the lure of a big scoop proves to be too much for her. Bruce finally realizes it's hopeless and leaves.
Afterwards, Walter offers to remarry her, even letting her pick Niagara Falls for their honeymoon (they didn't have one the first time because of newspaper business). But then the phone rings; it seems there's a newsworthy strike in Albany, which is on the way to Niagara Falls...
[edit] Trivia
- Some memorable moments incorporate real life references: Walter remarks that Ralph Bellamy's character looks a lot like an actor...Ralph Bellamy. Later, Walter notes that the last person who crossed him and lived to regret it was Archie Leach – Grant's real name.
- The film was originally supposed to be a straightforward retelling of The Front Page -- i.e. both the editor and reporter being men. However, during auditions for the film, Howard Hawks' secretary read Hildy Johnson's lines. Hawks liked the way the dialogue sounded coming from a woman, and the script was rewritten to make Hildy female (and the ex-wife of Walter). However, most of the original dialogue of The Front Page was retained, and all of the characters' names were left the same.
- This is one of Quentin Tarantino's favorite films and is even referenced in the beginning of his script for Pulp Fiction for its rapid-fire dialogue.
[edit] External links
- Free downloadable/streamable version of His Girl Friday at the Internet Archive
- His Girl Friday at the Internet Movie Database
- skyjude - movie legends
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