His Girl Friday

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His Girl Friday

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His Girl Friday

Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Gene Lockhart

Walter Burns is a conniving but irresistible newspaper publisher desperate to woo back the paper's star reporter -- who happens to be his estranged wife. She's tired of the business and is ready to se...( read more  read more... )ttle down with a new beau. But, as Walter well knows, she has one weakness -- she can't quite resist a juicy scoop.

Id: 10530638

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Recent Reviews

His Girl Friday Recent Reviews
  • her69eyes
    March 12, 2009
    her69eyes
    "His Girl Friday", widely excepted as Howard Hawks' comedic masterpiece, has been reinvisioned several times since it's release in 1940. The film itself was a remake of a 1930's newspaper film, "The Front Page". The significant difference here, however, is that the role of the st...( read more)ar reporter was no longer played by a man, but by the wonderful actress Rosalind Russell. When discussing the first true leading lady roles in film history, Russell should certainly not be overlooked. She's not delicate or reserved - she's loud, spunky, and doesn't take anybody's crap. She's one of the boys to such an extent that her peers call her a fellow "newspaperman".

    On top of a dominating female leading performance, "His Girl Friday" will go down in history for it's snappy dialogue where, for the first time ever, characters talk over each other in attempt to mimic naturalistic conversation. The script is such a revelation, in fact, that from my experience it seems to be one of the more widely taught screenplays in modern screenwriting courses. I live near Chicago, and a friend of mine lives on the East Coast, and we were both more than familiar with the material due to our lengthy discussions about it in screenwriting classes.

    Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) is the star reporter of the Morning Post in Chicago. Her boss, Walter Burns (Cary Grant), is also her ex-husband, and he's not given up hope in his attempt to remarry his lost love. He's so determined, in fact, that he attempts to sabotage the marriage of Hildy and her fiancé, Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy), a dull and dim-witted momma's boy. Meanwhile, a simpleminded murderer, Earl Williams (John Qualen), is sentenced to be hanged after killing a black police officer. This is more of a political move, of course, as the mayor is looking to win the black votes in the nearby election.

    The film flows at a completely frantic pace, not allowing the audience any breathing room, and you may have to see it three or four times to digest all the funny sexual innuendos and sarcasm. Every review of "His Girl Friday" includes the words "screwball comedy", because, well, it's the quintessential screwball comedy in American film history.

    "His Girl Friday" is unquestionably entertaining, but the only thing that kept me from truly adoring it was it's pace. While it's revolutionary and innovative, it's just not my style of comedy. That being said, however, the film is a true classic and one not to be missed. Check it out on NetFlix's Instant View.
  • shortcartoonist
    July 29, 2008
    shortcartoonist
    Sharp to the point and streaming with chuckles, His Girl Friday rests on the sturdy shoulders of Grant and the commanding presence of Russel; befitting a film that focus on the notions of dishonesty - be it Grant's immoral newspaper editor or the crime caper happening behind the ...( read more)hilarious relationship quibbles. Though the script tends to meander in a line a little too straight at times, it is Grant's timing of delivery that makes the film a joy to watch.
  • PvtCaboose91
    May 21, 2008
    PvtCaboose91
    "I wouldn't cover the burning of Rome for you if they were just lighting it up!"


    His Girl Friday is a hysterically funny screwball comedy masterpiece by one of cinema's greatest directors, Howard Hawks. This film is purely one of the funniest classic comedies

    ...( read more)I've ever seen. Although roughly 70 years old the film is still a wickedly enchanting oddball comedy, and its original impact has only marginally dissipated.


    Based on a successful Broadway smash (that was filmed as a movie) by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, the film follows conniving newspaper editor Walter Burns (Grant) who works for the Morning Post. Former ace reporter Hildy Johnson (Russell) returns to the Morning Post to tell her ex-husband Walter that there's a new lover in her life, and to bid him farewell one last time. Hildy plans to give up her life as a newspaper reporter, instead settling into a world of domesticality with her new fiancé Bruce Baldwin (Bellamy). Walter is not willing to let Hildy leave the newspaper, thus determined to get her to stay and to get her heart back he hatches a cunning plan to lure her back to the Morning Post. He plans to involve her in the paper's crusade to free convicted murderer Earl Williams (Qualen) from death row. While in a moment of madness, Williams shot a coloured policeman resulting in his conviction. Walter knows that Hildy has the perfect feminine touch to place Williams in a sympathetic light and hence get him a reprieve from the noose.


    The plot sounds dark and gloomy for a comedy; however the screenplay is so well written and the plot is so skilfully buried in witty lines of dialogue and outstandingly funny situations. The screenwriters did a great job in producing a sparklingly remarkable script. The plot is also convoluted beyond all comprehension. This is only a marginal flaw of course.


    His Girl Friday contains a number of outstanding performances from an extremely determined group of actors. Cary Grant is an amazing delight in the title role. These are the roles that he was born to play: hysterical, eccentric and wonderful. I do enjoy a Cary Grant thriller from the works of Alfred Hitchcock like North by Northwest; however Grant is equally enjoyable in these masterfully produced, timeless old comedies. Like his performance in such classic films as Arsenic and Old Lace, Grant excels in creating an over-the-top character that is given quality lines of dialogue. Grant is coupled with actress Rosalind Russell. The two share some great moments. The chemistry between Grant and Russell is simply priceless. The rest of the cast is equally remarkable.


    Howard Hawks made his mark on a plethora of genres. He nailed the genres of film noir (The Big Sleep), western (Red River), musical (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), gangster (Scarface) and of course comedy with His Girl Friday. Hawks is a skilled director very capable of producing quality work no matter what the genre is. Each scene here is hysterically funny and compelling no matter how outrageous the situation is.


    His Girl Friday is slightly dated but on the whole it's an unforgettable screen gem. With Howard Hawks in top form and a handsome Cary Grant in his prime the film is loads of fun. The humour is still as funny as it was when first released back in 1940.
  • AgentLexi2132
    April 15, 2008
    AgentLexi2132
    ''Of course he had to have a gun to re-enact the crime with. And who do you think supplied it? Peter B. Hartwell. B For brains.''


    A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.

    Cary Grant: Walter Burns

    Rosal...( read more)ind Russell: Hildegaard 'Hildy' Johnson

    Ralph Bellamy: Bruce Baldwin

    An old Classic with Cary Grant. His Girl Friday I saw in Childhood, the film is slightly annoying if you take it too seriously.

    It has some killer lines and the plot is crazily addictive. Music is fitting to the times.

    Not a fave old film of mine, I prefer Cary Grant in the Hitchcock movies and scorchers like Operation Petticoat.

    Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant chemistry was good in this, pity they never worked together after this movie though. Typical reporter behavior carrying hidden tape recorders and microphones doing anything for a scoop.

    It's a fun film but definitely dated...

    Nonetheless it's a classic but not one of my faves.

    ''Walter, you're wonderful, in a loathsome sort of way.''
  • garyX
    March 20, 2008
    garyX
    His Girl Friday features one of the great screwball partnerships of all time as Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell bicker and swap wisecracks faster than a pair of Grouchos on amphetamines. Russell is a wonderfully independent female lead, giving as good as she gets from Grant's hil...( read more)ariously immoral and hustling newspaper editor. Beneath the fast paced laughs there is also plenty of black comedy and social satire to be had, poking fun at the media's attitude to what is "newsworthy", political corruption and a veiled commentary on the validity of the death penalty. Which all may go relatively unnoticed as you'll probably find yourself laughing too hard! Classic comedy.
  • mochizukisan
    December 17, 2009
    mochizukisan
    I used to love, love, love this movie, and then I paid attention to the crime that had been committed, and realized the horrid racism which sets this otherwise entirely delightful comedy going is too rotten and awful for me to overlook. Very depressing, as Grant and Russell were ...( read more)never, ever better than they were in this film.
  • byby5
    December 10, 2009
    byby5
    Too fast for me to understand everything... had some good laughs though
  • Yelverton
    November 20, 2009
    Yelverton
    They talk so fast, you don't understand a word they're saying.
  • anastasia57001
    November 1, 2009
    anastasia57001
    This film is an absolute triumph for everyone involved in the production. Even by today's rapid standards the dialogue snaps too fast for you to notice every joke. Based on an amazing play by Ben Hecht, Howard Hawks directs an insurmountable adaptation that's a comedy of substanc...( read more)e, style, and performing perfection, all at the same time. Cary Grant and Rossalind Russell make sure of it.

    It would take forever to mention every secondary character ... and their characteristic comic contribution to the film. It's a bunch of fast-talking, fast-thinking rogue journalists that would have sold their mothers to the zoo if they were certain that they would get a few good laughs out of it. In juxtaposition to all these suspicious types, stands Ralph Bellamy, as the naive "prince", Bruce Baldwin, who promises to take Rosalind Russell's Hildy Johnson away to his lovely and quiet "castle", promising a life of splendid, yet life-ending (read: boring as hell) domesticity. It's not a wonder that Hildy will do anything to get "that last story" written up, on the way falling accidentally on the lap of Cary Grant's irresistible Walter Burns...
  • littlecharmer1959
    September 30, 2009
    littlecharmer1959
    Snappy, hilarious, fast-talking and just damn brilliant.

    "Walter Burns: You've got the brain of a pancake. This isn't just a story you're covering - it's a revolution. This is the greatest yarn in journalism since Livingstone discovered Stanley.
    Hildy Johnson: It's the other...( read more) way around.
    Walter Burns: Oh, well, don't get technical at a time like this. "
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