His Girl Friday (1940)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Charles Lederer (screenplay)
Ben Hecht (play) ...

Release Date:

18 January 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

She learned about men from him!

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Editor | Newspaper | Reporter | Newspaper Editor | Mayor

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Walter Burns
Rosalind Russell	...	Hildegaard 'Hildy' Johnson
Ralph Bellamy	...	Bruce Baldwin
Gene Lockhart	...	Sheriff Peter B.'Pinky' Hartwell
Porter Hall	...	Murphy - Reporter
Ernest Truex	...	Roy V. Bensinger - Reporter
Cliff Edwards	...	Endicott - Reporter
Clarence Kolb	...	Mayor
Roscoe Karns	...	McCue - Reporter
Frank Jenks	...	Wilson - Reporter
Regis Toomey	...	Sanders - Reporter
Abner Biberman	...	Louis 'Diamond Louie 'Palutso
Frank Orth	...	Duffy - Copy Editor
John Qualen	...	Earl Williams
Helen Mack	...	Mollie Malloy

Also Known As:

Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

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 | 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)

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

In the play the film was based on ("The Front Page"), the part of Hildy was played by a man. When director Howard Hawks was planning to make the film, he was going to cast a man. While auditioning actors, a secretary would read the lines belonging to Hildy. Hawks loved the words coming from a woman so much, they decided to rewrite the part for a woman.

Goofs:

Continuity: Hildy's hand is on/off her chin between shots at lunch.

Quotes:

Bruce Baldwin: [Concerning Walter] I like him; he's got a lot of charm.
Hildy Johnson: Well he comes by it naturally his grandfather was a snake.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Deadly Mantis (#9.4)" (1997)

Extra Extra

"His Gal Friday" is Howard Hawks' tribute to the brilliant play in which this film is based. Charles McGraw and Ben Hecht, two of the best writers of the era, paid tribute to the journalists that wrote for the American newspapers of the thirties. This movie has some of the fastest dialogs in memory.

The incredible combination of Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, and Ralph Bellamy in the main roles is what made this movie a favorite. Mr. Grant as Walter Burns, the unscrupulous newspaper editor, is the perfect foil for Rosalind Russell's, Hildy Johnson, a role that is played by a male in the original play and in the other film versions.

The best moment of the film is the moment when Cary Grant speaking so fast, that some what he says goes over the viewer's heads, refers as to Ralph Bellamy by name as not having a chance and cites in the same breadth his real name Archibald Leach.

It's hard to imagine anyone but Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell playing Walter and Hildy. Ralph Bellamy is perfect as Hildy's fiancé, Bruce Baldwin. Gene Lockhart is perfect as the sheriff Pinky Hartwell. The ensemble of actors that play the reporters following the possible execution of Earl Williams, are perfect.

An excellent comedy thanks to the genius of Howard Hawks.