A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.
- Awards
- 2 wins
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOne of the first films (preceded by Stage Door (1937)) to have characters talk over the lines of other characters, for a more realistic sound. Prior to this, movie characters completed their lines before the next lines were started.
- GoofsWhen Bruce Baldwin comes to the press room late in the movie, an electric fan and small shelf on the wall to the left of the door both completely disappear. Both have been there in all previous scenes and both reappear after this scene.
- Quotes
[describing Bruce]
Walter Burns: He looks like that fellow in the movies - Ralph Bellamy.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: It all happened in the "Dark Ages" of the newspaper game--when to a reporter "Getting that story" justified anything short of murder.
Incidentally you will see in this picture no resemblance to the man and woman of the press today.
Ready?
Well, once upon a time - -
- ConnectionsEdited into This Is It (2009)
Featured review
Slapstick comedy that moves faster than the speed of laughter...
This screen adaptation of the Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur play "The Front Page" was adapted for the talents of Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell -- there is no such character as Hildy Johnson (Russell) in that play.
Director Howard Hawks wanted to show the whirlwind pace of the newsroom in the criminal courts system so he had his actors overlap their lines -- so much so that at times it seems as though everyone is talking at once; it even gets difficult to understand all that is going on.
He also had the cast move FAST so the film looks totally frenetic from scene to scene with no respite -- either from the laughs or from the action.
There are two really good "inside" jokes in the script: The first is where Walter Burns (Grant) is describing Hildy's fiancee and says that "he looks like that guy in the movies -- Bellamy," Well, it WAS Ralph Bellamy playing that part!
The other is when Burns says something about someone he once knew named "Archie Leach" which just happens to be Cary Grant's real name.
This is one of the true gems of Hollywood's most prolific era. It has incredible pacing, acting, photography and an authentic gritty feeling that would be associated with hard-boiled, "anything for a story" newspaper people.
It has long been one of my favorite films and deserves to be watched over and over again -- just for all the dialogue and great acting that may have gone by so fast you missed it the first time.
Director Howard Hawks wanted to show the whirlwind pace of the newsroom in the criminal courts system so he had his actors overlap their lines -- so much so that at times it seems as though everyone is talking at once; it even gets difficult to understand all that is going on.
He also had the cast move FAST so the film looks totally frenetic from scene to scene with no respite -- either from the laughs or from the action.
There are two really good "inside" jokes in the script: The first is where Walter Burns (Grant) is describing Hildy's fiancee and says that "he looks like that guy in the movies -- Bellamy," Well, it WAS Ralph Bellamy playing that part!
The other is when Burns says something about someone he once knew named "Archie Leach" which just happens to be Cary Grant's real name.
This is one of the true gems of Hollywood's most prolific era. It has incredible pacing, acting, photography and an authentic gritty feeling that would be associated with hard-boiled, "anything for a story" newspaper people.
It has long been one of my favorite films and deserves to be watched over and over again -- just for all the dialogue and great acting that may have gone by so fast you missed it the first time.
helpful•11829
- TuckMN
- Apr 21, 2000
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $296,000
- Runtime1 hour 32 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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