The Front Page (1931)

An investigative reporter sees an opportunity for the story of a lifetime when an accused murderer escapes hanging.

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

Ben Hecht (by), Charles MacArthur (by)

Stars:

Adolphe Menjou, Pat O'Brien, Mary Brian

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Adolphe Menjou	...	Walter Burns
Pat O'Brien	...	Hildy Johnson
Mary Brian	...	Peggy Grant
Edward Everett Horton	...	Roy B. Bensinger
Walter Catlett	...	Murphy (as Walter L. Catlett)
George E. Stone	...	Earl Williams
Mae Clarke	...	Molly Molloy
Slim Summerville	...	Irving 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

Storyline

Hildy Johnson, newspaper reporter, is engaged to Peggy Grant and planning to move to New York for a higher paying advertising job. The court press room is full of lame reporters who invent stories as much as write them. All are waiting to cover the hanging of Earl Williams. When Williams escapes from the inept Sheriff, Hildy seizes the opportunity by using his $260 honeymoon money to payoff an insider and get the scoop on the escape. However, Walter Burns, the Post's editor, is slow to repay Hildy back, hoping that he will stay on the story. Getting a major scoop looks possible when Hildy stumbles onto the bewildered escapee and hides him in a roll-top desk in the press room. Burns shows up to help. Can they keep Williams' whereabouts secret long enough to get the scoop, especially with the Sheriff and other reporters hovering around?

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Plot Keywords:

screwball comedy | germaphobe | rolltop desk | fugitive | hanging | 

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Taglines:

A Picture That Has Cracked This Shock-Proof Town Wide Open! (Print Ad- Albany Evening News, ((Albany NY)) 8 June 1931)

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 April 1931 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Front Page

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,526,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Caddo Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The 2016 restoration of the long unseen original US release version was restored by the Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation.

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Goofs

The visor Murphy's wearing changes between camera angles from level to cocked at a steep angle. Making it obvious some scenes were either shot out of order. Or had to be redone.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Title card: This story is laid in a Mythical Kingdom.

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Crazy Credits

The end credits consist of Walter and Hildy above a big 'THE END,' covering a large question mark, while the sound of the train is heard and music plays. There is also laughter, presumably coming from Walter Burns.

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Connections

Version of The Front Page (1945)

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Soundtracks

By the Light of the Silvery Moon
(1909) (uncredited)
Music by Gus Edwards
Played on banjo early in the film

User Reviews

Very good

Newspaperman Hildy Johnson (Pat O'Brien) is quitting the business and getting married to Peggy (Mary Brian). But his unscrupulous boss Walter Burns(Adolphe Menjou) doesn't want him to quit. Also an innocent man is about to be hanged and Burns will do anything to make sure Johnson works on that story.

Fast and funny--the first cinematic version of this story. It shows its age at times and some of it is wildly overacted but O'Brien and Menjou are both just great in their roles. Also director Lewis Milestone uses some very unusual camera tricks to keep the story moving and there's lots of action and running around which is unusual for an early talkie.

This was remade in 1940 with a sex change making Johnson a woman. That was "His Girl Friday" with Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant. That one is better than this but this is better than the 1974 version (that had Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau) and 1988 remake called "Switching Channels" (with Kathleen Turner and Burt Reynolds). They're all good to varying degrees but this one came first. Worth seeing.