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IMDbPro

The Front Page

  • 19741974
  • PGPG
  • 1h 45m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
14K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
14,978
635
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in The Front Page (1974)
ComedyDramaRomance
A ruthless editor tries to get his top reporter to cover one more crime story before retirement.A ruthless editor tries to get his top reporter to cover one more crime story before retirement.A ruthless editor tries to get his top reporter to cover one more crime story before retirement.
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
14K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
14,978
635
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Billy Wilder
    • Writers
      • Ben Hecht(play)
      • Charles MacArthur(play)
      • Billy Wilder(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Jack Lemmon
      • Walter Matthau
      • Susan Sarandon
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Billy Wilder
    • Writers
      • Ben Hecht(play)
      • Charles MacArthur(play)
      • Billy Wilder(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Jack Lemmon
      • Walter Matthau
      • Susan Sarandon
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 65User reviews
    • 59Critic reviews
    • 62Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 6 nominations

    Photos155

    "Front Page, The" Walter Matthau 1974 UI
    "Front Page, The Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau 1974 UI
    "Front Page, The" Walter Matthau 1974 UI
    "Front Page, The" Walter Matthau 1974 U-I
    "Front Page, The" Jack Lemmon 1974 U-I
    "Front Page, The" Susan Sarandon 1974 U-I
    "Front Page, The" Susan Sarandon 1974 U-I
    "Front Page, The" Jack Lemmon 1974 UI
    "Front Page, The" Walter Matthau 1974 UI
    "Front Page, The" Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon 1974 UI
    "Front Page, The" Walter Matthau and Susan Sarandon 1974 UI
    "Front Page, The" Walter Matthau 1974 UI

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jack Lemmon
    Jack Lemmon
    • Hildy Johnson
    Walter Matthau
    Walter Matthau
    • Walter Burns
    Susan Sarandon
    Susan Sarandon
    • Peggy Grant
    Vincent Gardenia
    Vincent Gardenia
    • Sheriff
    David Wayne
    David Wayne
    • Bensinger
    Allen Garfield
    Allen Garfield
    • Kruger
    Austin Pendleton
    Austin Pendleton
    • Earl Williams
    Charles Durning
    Charles Durning
    • Murphy
    Herb Edelman
    Herb Edelman
    • Schwartz
    • (as Herbert Edelman)
    Martin Gabel
    Martin Gabel
    • Dr. Eggelhofer
    Harold Gould
    Harold Gould
    • The Mayor
    Cliff Osmond
    Cliff Osmond
    • Jacobi
    Dick O'Neill
    Dick O'Neill
    • McHugh
    Jon Korkes
    Jon Korkes
    • Rudy Keppler
    Lou Frizzell
    Lou Frizzell
    • Endicott
    Paul Benedict
    Paul Benedict
    • Plunkett
    Doro Merande
    Doro Merande
    • Jennie
    Noam Pitlik
    Noam Pitlik
    • Wilson
    • Director
      • Billy Wilder
    • Writers
      • Ben Hecht(play)
      • Charles MacArthur(play)
      • Billy Wilder(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This version of "The Front Page" was the first to mention the city by name and use actual Chicago newspapers. Billy Wilder felt that Chicago was the most exciting newspaper town in the country.
    • Goofs
      Hildy reminds Jenny, the cleaning woman, that he got her husband on The Amateur Hour. Major Bowes' Amateur Hour premiered as a local show in New York in 1934, and on the NBC Network in 1935, six years after this movie was set.
    • Quotes

      Dr. Max J. Eggelhofer: Tell me, Mr. Williams, were you unhappy as a child?

      Earl Williams: Not really. I had a perfectly normal childhood.

      Dr. Max J. Eggelhofer: I see. You wanted to kill your father and sleep with you mother.

      Earl Williams: [to Sheriff Hartman] If he's gonna talk dirty ...

      Dr. Max J. Eggelhofer: When you were in grammar school, did you practice self-abuse?

      Earl Williams: No, sir. I don't believe in it. I would never abuse myself or anybody else. I love people. I love all people.

      'Honest Pete' Hartman Sheriff of Clark County: I suppose that cop committed suicide!

      Dr. Max J. Eggelhofer: Let us get back to masturbation. Did your father ever catch you in the act?

      Earl Williams: Oh, my father was - was never home. He was a conductor on the Chicago-Northwestern.

      Dr. Max J. Eggelhofer: Very significant. Your father wore a uniform, just like that policeman. And when he pulled out that gun, an obvious phallic symbol, you thought he was your father, and he was going to use it to hurt your mother.

      Earl Williams: [to Sheriff Hartman] He's crazy.

    • Connections
      Featured in AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Billy Wilder (1986)
    • Soundtracks
      Button Up Your Overcoat
      By Buddy G. DeSylva (as B.G. DeSylva), Lew Brown, and Ray Henderson

      © 1928 by B.G. DeSylva, Brown & Henderson Inc.

      © Renewed Assigned to Chappel & Co., Inc.

      Published in U.S.A. by Chappel & Co., Inc. and Anne-Rachel Music Corp.

      Performed by Susan Sarandon

    User reviews65

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    May the wind at your back never be your own.
    Billy Wilder's remake of the Ben Hecht play is a little better than the 1931 original, but not as good as the 1940 Cary Grant version (The Front Page).

    Still, Jack Lemmon (won an Oscar the year before for Save the Tiger) and Walter Matthau (The Fortune Cookie, Kotch) give excellent performances, and Vincent Gardenia (Oscar nominated the year before for Bang the Drum Slowly ) and Susan Sarandon (a relatively new actress) support them to the extent that this is still a superior film.

    Funny, funny film about politics and newspapers and some the the early seventies best actors. Catch this one and also see The Front Page.
    helpful•12
    2
    • lastliberal
    • May 31, 2007

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 20, 1974 (Canada)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Spéciale première
    • Filming locations
      • Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Universal Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $4,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 45 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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