IMDb > His Girl Friday (1940)
His Girl Friday
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His Girl Friday (1940) More at IMDbPro »

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His Girl Friday -- Trailer for this classic black and white comedy

Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   30,581 votes »
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Director:
Writers:
Charles Lederer (screen play)
Ben Hecht (play) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for His Girl Friday on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 January 1940 (USA) See more »
Genre:
Tagline:
She learned about men from him! See more »
Plot:
A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying. Full summary » | Full synopsis »
Awards:
1 win See more »
User Reviews:
Slapstick comedy that moves faster than the speed of laughter... See more (196 total) »

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Cary Grant ... Walter Burns

Rosalind Russell ... Hildy Johnson

Ralph Bellamy ... Bruce Baldwin

Gene Lockhart ... Sheriff Peter B. Hartwell
Porter Hall ... Murphy
Ernest Truex ... Roy B. Bensinger

Cliff Edwards ... Endicott
Clarence Kolb ... Fred - Mayor

Roscoe Karns ... McCue
Frank Jenks ... Wilson

Regis Toomey ... Sanders
Abner Biberman ... Louie
Frank Orth ... Duffy

John Qualen ... Earl Williams
Helen Mack ... Mollie Malloy
Alma Kruger ... Mrs. Baldwin

Billy Gilbert ... Joe Pettibone
Pat West ... Warden Cooley

Edwin Maxwell ... Dr. Egelhoffer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Irving Bacon ... Gus (uncredited)
Wade Boteler ... Mike (uncredited)
Harry C. Bradley ... Insurance Doctor (uncredited)
Wheaton Chambers ... Elevator Passenger (uncredited)
Edmund Cobb ... Cop (uncredited)

Ann Doran ... Newspaper Office Worker (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn ... Plainclothesman (uncredited)
Earl Dwire ... Pete Davis (uncredited)

Pat Flaherty ... Frank - Policeman (uncredited)
Jack Gardner ... Elevator Passenger (uncredited)
Eddie Hart ... Carl - Plainclothesman (uncredited)
Marion Martin ... Evangeline (uncredited)

Frank McClure ... Newsman (uncredited)
James Millican ... Tim (uncredited)
Gene Morgan ... Gene (uncredited)
Delmar Watson ... Skinny (uncredited)
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Directed by
Howard Hawks 
 
Writing credits
Charles Lederer (screen play)

Ben Hecht (play "The Front Page") and
Charles MacArthur (play "The Front Page")

Produced by
Howard Hawks .... producer (uncredited)
 
Original Music by
Sidney Cutner (uncredited)
Felix Mills (uncredited)
 
Cinematography by
Joseph Walker (director of photography)
 
Film Editing by
Gene Havlick (film editor)
 
Art Direction by
Lionel Banks 
 
Costume Design by
Robert Kalloch (gowns) (as Kalloch)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Cliff P. Broughton .... assistant director (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Lodge Cunningham .... sound (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Cliff Shirpser .... assistant camera (uncredited)
 
Music Department
Morris Stoloff .... musical director (as M.W. Stoloff)
Ben Oakland .... composer: stock music (uncredited)
 
Other crew
Jed Harris .... producer: stage play
Chet La Roche .... script doctor (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
  • C. D. C.  Italian dubbing: 1946 (uncredited)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
"Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday" - UK (complete title), USA (complete title)
See more »
Runtime:
92 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Certification:
Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 (1941) | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1994) (1996) (1998) (2002) (2003) (2004) (2005) | West Germany:o.Al. (original rating) | Australia:G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | USA:Approved (PCA #5823) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:S (1991) | France:U | Portugal:M/6 | South Korea:15 | UK:U (1996) | UK:U (video rating: DVD audio commentary) (2002) | UK:U (video rating: re-edited version) (2007) | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1946) | USA:Not Rated | Brazil:Livre

Did You Know?

Trivia:
One of the first, if not the first, films 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.See more »
Goofs:
Continuity: When Hildy lights her cigarette in the restaurant, she takes it out of her mouth and waves out the match. There is a an instant cut to over her shoulder and the cigarette is in her mouth again.See more »
Quotes:
Walter Burns:[On the phone with Duffy; Walter and Hildy are getting remarried and going to Niagara Falls on their honeymoon] What? A strike? What strike? Where? Albany? Well, I know it's on the way, Duffy, but I can't ask Hildy to...
Hildy Johnson:All right, we'll honeymoon in Albany.
Walter Burns:Okay, Duffy.
[to Hildy]
Walter Burns:Well, isn't that a coincidence, we're going to Albany! I wonder if Bruce can put us up.
See more »
Movie Connections:
Featured in Man in the Chair (2007)See more »

FAQ

How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie?
What was the twist in this remake?
Is this movie based on a novel?
See more »
59 out of 71 people found the following review useful.
Slapstick comedy that moves faster than the speed of laughter..., 21 April 2000
Author: Doug Phillips (janabro@aol.com) from Seattle, Washington

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.

Was the above review useful to you?
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Objectionable material? henry999-1
What is the meaning of 'mashing' nyfilmfanatic
The meaning of the title Epikuros
Cute movie -- but way overrated + revealing of secret American psychosis aton_ra_1999
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Joke about 'city sealer' khcoc2
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