The Front Page (1931)

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

Ben Hecht (by) and
Charles MacArthur (by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

4 April 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Hildy Johnson, newspaper reporter, is engaged to Peggy Grant and planning to move to New York for a higher paying advertising job...

Plot Keywords:

Escape | Press Room | Editor | Newspaper | Psychiatrist

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins

Cast

Adolphe Menjou	...	Walter Burns
Pat O'Brien	...	Hildy Johnson
Mary Brian	...	Peggy Grant
Edward Everett Horton	...	Bensinger
Walter Catlett	...	Murphy (as Walter L. Catlett)
George E. Stone	...	Earl Williams
Mae Clarke	...	Molly
Slim Summerville	...	Pincus
Matt Moore	...	Kruger
Frank McHugh	...	McCue
Clarence Wilson	...	Sheriff Hartman (as Clarence H. Wilson)
Fred Howard	...	Schwartz (as Freddie Howard)
Phil Tead	...	Wilson
Eugene Strong	...	Endicott (as Gene Strong)
Spencer Charters	...	Woodenshoes
Maurice Black	...	Diamond Louie
Effie Ellsler	...	Mrs. Grant
Dorothea Wolbert	...	Jenny
James Gordon	...	The Mayor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Alexander	...	Jacobi (uncredited)
James Donlan	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Francis Ford	...	Carl - a Detective (uncredited)
Clark Gable	...	Reporter with hat at table in the prison. (uncredited) (unconfirmed)
Sol Gorss	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Herman J. Mankiewicz	...	Bit (uncredited)
Lewis Milestone	...	Bit (uncredited)
Gustav von Seyffertitz	...	Professor Max J. Engelhoffer (uncredited)

Directed by
Lewis Milestone

Writing credits
Ben Hecht		(by) and
Charles MacArthur		(by)
Bartlett Cormack		(adaptation)
Charles Lederer		(additional dialogue)

Produced by
Howard Hughes	....	producer (uncredited)
Lewis Milestone	....	producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Glen MacWilliams		(photography)
Tony Gaudio		(uncredited)
Hal Mohr		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
W. Duncan Mansfield		(film editor)

Set Decoration by
Richard Day		(settings)

Production Management
Charles Stallings	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Nate Watt	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Frank Grenzback	....	sound engineer (as Frank Grenzbach)

Other crew
Jed Harris	....	producer: stage play
Howard Hughes	....	presenter
George Gerhard	....	press representative (uncredited)

Production Companies

• The Caddo Company (Lewis Milestone's Production)

Distributors

• United Artists (1931) (USA) (theatrical)
• Atlantic Pictures Corporation (1938) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Synergy Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Mill Creek Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (video)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Reelclassicdvd.com (2004) (USA) (DVD) (NTSC)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Spain:T | Canada:PA (Ontario) | Argentina:Atp | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Metropolitan Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

The Caddo Company

Trivia:

The journalists are all based on actual reporters who were Chicago colleagues of authors Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, with most working alongside them at the courthouse. The real names were only slightly changed: Hildy Johnson was based on the real-life reporter Hildebrand Johnson, Walter Burns was based on the editor Walter Howey, and Mac McCue was based on reporter Buddy McHugh.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In 1927, the year before the original stage play was produced, electrocution replaced hanging as the official method of execution in Illinois. Earl Williams is nonetheless sentenced to hang, not only in the play but also in the 1931 film and its later remakes.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Title card:This story is laid in a mythical kingdom.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Kids in the Hall: Episode #1.3" (1989)

Soundtrack:

By the Light of the Silvery Moon

Way ahead of its time

Way ahead of its time in both style and substance. The Front Page is a comic look at the underbelly of the newspaper business as well as a tough commentary on the times. In a press room outside the city jail, a group of newspaper reporters idly await the execution of a communist sympathizer accused of murder. Once the story heats up though, the press room becomes an absolute madhouse. The hilariously cynical script adapted from the play by Ben Hecht pulls no punches. Politics, the justice system, communist hysteria, love and marriage are all targets for the biting wit of the author. The script is complemented by a good ensemble cast. Pat O'Brien gives a good performance as Hildy Johnson, the star reporter for The Post, who is leaving his job for marriage. Adolphe Menjou steals the show, however, as Walter Burns, the conniving editor who will do anything to keep Johnson on the job. The rest of the news hounds are all expertly played, striking us as fun loving jokers one minute, but becoming downright violent the moment they smell a story. The movie also has a rare artistic style unequaled in most films. Though most of the movie takes place in the same location, the cinematography is done so well that we never feel we are watching a stage play. The cameras constantly move around the room, effectively putting us in the middle of the action. Pretty much everything about this film is done well. It is funny, edgy, artistic and thought provoking. Movies that can do all of that are few and far in between.