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

Videos (see all 3 NEW)
His Girl Friday (1940) -- Editor tries to keep ace reporter from remarrying.
His Girl Friday (1940) -- MyMovieScripts.com - Trailer (Flash)
His Girl Friday (1940) -- Archive.org - view film (various formats)

Overview

User Rating:
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Director:
Howard Hawks
Writers:
Charles Lederer (screenplay)
Ben Hecht (play) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for His Girl Friday on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 January 1940 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Romance more
Tagline:
She learned about men from him! 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 more
NewsDesk:
(14 articles)
Holiday Preview: A Repertory Calendar
 (From IFC. 3 November 2009, 1:01 PM, PST)

Free Flick of the Day: His Girl Friday
 (From Cinematical. 31 October 2009, 3:02 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Slapstick comedy that moves faster than the speed of laughter... more (129 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

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
Alma Kruger ... Mrs. Baldwin
Billy Gilbert ... Joe Pettibone
Pat West ... Warden Cooley

Edwin Maxwell ... Dr. Egelhoffer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Irving Bacon ... Gus - Waiter (uncredited)
Wade Boteler ... Mike - Jail Guard (uncredited)
Harry C. Bradley ... Insurance Doctor (uncredited)
Wheaton Chambers ... Man in Elevator (uncredited)
Edmund Cobb ... Policeman (uncredited)
Ann Doran ... Newspaper Office Worker (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn ... Plainclothesman (uncredited)
Earl Dwire ... Pete Davis (uncredited)

Pat Flaherty ... Policeman Frank (uncredited)
Eddie Hart ... Plainclothesman (uncredited)
Marion Martin ... Evangeline - Louie's Blonde Associate (uncredited)
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Directed by
Howard Hawks 
 
Writing credits
Charles Lederer (screenplay)

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 
 
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 (USA) (complete title)
more
Runtime:
92 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | French
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
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)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Many critics in 1940 felt that Cary Grant was badly miscast as Walter Burns, and that Clark Gable would have been much better in the part. more
Goofs:
Continuity: In the scene after Earl fires the pistol, Hildy turns off the lights and pulls down the window shades in the press room. Then in the next scene the Hildy and Molly are talking to Earl while he is in the desk, the shades are up. The other reporters return to the press room and Hildy unlocks the door and lets them enter. One of the reporters immediately goes to the windows and raises the shades. more
Quotes:
Walter Burns: Take Hitler and stick him on the funny page. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Angie (1994) more

FAQ

What was the twist in this remake?
Is this movie based on a novel?
A NOTE REGARDING SPOILERS
more
38 out of 44 people found the following comment useful.
Slapstick comedy that moves faster than the speed of laughter..., 21 April 2000
10/10
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.

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Where have seen this scene before? ashleighnicole
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