His Girl Friday

Genre: comedy (in black and white)

With: Cary Grant (Walter Burns), Rosalind Russell (Hildy Johnson), Ralph Bellamy (Bruce Baldwin), Gene Lockhart (Sheriff Hartwell), Porter Hall (Murphy), Ernest Truex (Bensinger), Cliff Edwards (Endicott), Clarence Kolb (Mayor), Roscoe Karns (McCue)

Director: Howard Hawks

Screenplay: Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht and Morrie Ryskind, from the play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur

Release: 1940

Studio: Columbia Pictures Corporation

Rating: -

MBiS score: 8.6/10 

 

When Edward R. Murrow Said That ‟We cannot make good news out of bad practice”, He Had Obviously Never Met Walter Burns

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Story-line: Walter Burns, the editor of the Morning Post, cannot accept that his ace reporter and ex-wife Hildy Johnson is quitting for good and marrying an insurance salesman from Albany. He has a huge news story to break and he needs all of Hildy’s talent and moxie to do it. 

Pluses: amazing acting by Cary Grant and a remarkably feisty Rosalind Russell, excellent support from a fine cast, a very strong and lively screenplay that develops brilliant comic situations with the aid of warp-speed dialogues, unbridled humour, appreciable wit and occasional cruelty, Howard Hawks’ vigorous direction, eye-pleasing cinematography by Joseph Walker and fine production values.

Minuses: none, except that this movie’s relentless pace may drain you.   

Comments: HIS GIRL FRIDAY throws everything into the pot – Hildy’s dedication, Walter’s conniving ways, crooked politicians, underhanded dealings, matters of love and crises of conscience – to serve up a comedy stew that will please everyone at the table. Without a doubt, this old and boisterous movie is still one of the most effective and intelligent comedies ever captured on film.

 

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