His Girl Friday (1940)

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Charles Lederer (screenplay)
Ben Hecht (play) ...

Release Date:

18 January 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

She learned about men from him!

Plot:

A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.

Plot Keywords:

Editor | Newspaper | Reporter | Newspaper Editor | Mayor

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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
Frank Jenks	...	Wilson
Regis Toomey	...	Sanders
Abner Biberman	...	Louie
Frank Orth	...	Duffy
John Qualen	...	Earl Williams
Helen Mack	...	Mollie Malloy

Also Known As:

Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | USA:Approved (PCA #5823) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:K-3 (video rating: 1993) | France:U | Portugal:M/6 | South Korea:15 | UK:U (1996) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1994) | West Germany:o.Al. (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

During the 1930s, Howard Hawks was hosting a dinner party when the topic of dialogue was brought up. He pulled out a copy of "The Front Page" to demonstrate the snappy exchanges between characters, taking the role of Burns. A female guest took the role of Hildy. While reading, Hawks realized the dialogue sounded much better with a female reading, and quickly secured the rights for the film from Howard Hughes. Ben Hecht (the author of "The Front Page") approved the gender change and the screenplay was put into production.

Goofs:

Continuity: Hildy wears black heels throughout the movie but when Earl Williams is hidden in the desk, she is pacing behind the table and is wearing white flats. The next time her feet are shown, she is wearing the black heels again.

Quotes:

Bruce Baldwin: Mighty nice little town, Albany. They've got the state capitol there, you know.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in True Romance (1993)

A real screamer (knowing journalists from firsthand experience)!

This has to be one of the most wickedly funny films there is, and I think it's much better than the earlier version with Adolphe Menjou and Pat O'Brien (even though that was funny too). The fact that the boss and employee were ex-husband and wife battling it out made it funnier than simply an employer trying to keep a friend and employee.

Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant really clicked in this, and it's a shame they never worked together again. And as one who worked in journalism for 20 plus years, (the legitimate version I hope), there really are characters out there carrying tape recorders and microphones who'd do anything for a story. I laughed so hard because I could remember certain "gentlemen and gentlewomen" in the business slitting each other's throats (figuratively speaking) to get the story first, whether accurate or not.

The dialogue was crisp and the movie is very fast paced, and all the supporting actors shone and added to the overall success of the film. And as always, you've got to love the happy ending! Give it giga-stars!