The Front Page (1974)

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Ben Hecht (play) and
Charles MacArthur (play) ...

Release Date:

17 December 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

It's the hottest story since the Chicago Fire... And they're sitting on it.

Plot:

Hildy Johnson is the top reporter on a Chicago newspaper during the 1920s. Tired of the whole game he's determined to quit his job to get married...

Plot Keywords:

Journalism | Independent Film | Based On Play

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Jack Lemmon	...	Hildebrand 'Hildy' Johnson
Walter Matthau	...	Walter Burns / Otto Fishbine
Susan Sarandon	...	Peggy Grant
Vincent Gardenia	...	Peter B. 'Honest Pete' Hartman Sheriff of Clark County
David Wayne	...	Roy Bensinger of the Tribune
Allen Garfield	...	Kruger
Austin Pendleton	...	Earl Williams
Charles Durning	...	Murphy
Herb Edelman	...	Schwartz (as Herbert Edelman)
Martin Gabel	...	Dr. Max J. Eggelhofer
Harold Gould	...	The Mayor / Herbie / Green Hornet
Cliff Osmond	...	Officer Jacobi
Dick O'Neill	...	McHugh
Jon Korkes	...	Rudy Keppler of the Chicago Examiner
Lou Frizzell	...	Endicott

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:M | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Carol Burnett was extremely unhappy with her performance in this film (as were a lot of critics). The comedienne likes to tell the story of how she was a passenger on an airline that had "The Front Page" as its in-flight movie. At the film's conclusion, Burnett stood up and apologized to the passengers for what they'd just witnessed.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the blinds are pulled they are inside the window, after Earl crashes through the window the blinds are on the outside of the window.

Quotes:

Roy Bensinger of the Tribune: [picks up his phone] This is Bensinger. Give me a rewrite man. Oh, Marty, is that you?
[reads from notes]
Roy Bensinger of the Tribune: "New lead on the Earl Williams Hanging"... Yes, the execution is still set for seven o'clock in the morning. "The authorities are prepared for a general uprising of radicals at that time".
Murphy: [picks up his phone while playing poker] Murphy here. Get me rewrite.
Roy Bensinger of the Tribune: "Extra guards have just been thrown around the jail, the municipal building, railroad terminals, elevated stations".
Murphy: Update on the Williams hanging: Sheriff Hartman's just put 200 more relatives on the payroll to protect the city against the Red Army, which is leaving Moscow in a couple of minutes. Bet a dime.
Roy Bensinger of the Tribune: "Now, this is what the condemned man ordered for his final meal: shrimp cocktail with Thousand Island dressing, rare roast beef, Brussels sprouts, apple pie à la mode, Ovaltine".
Murphy: For his last meal, Williams is getting a 95-cent Blue Plate Special from the greasy spoon across the street.
Roy Bensinger of the Tribune: "At nine o'clock tonight, Williams will be examined by still another psycholigist, Dr. Max J. Eggelhofer, at the request of The Friends of American Liberty"... Eggelhofer. Yes, he's from Vienna... It's in my story this morning! He wrote that book, "Self-Abuse and Anti-Social Behavior".
Murphy: Poor bastard's gonna swing in the morning, and this big brain from Vienna wants to ask him if he played with himself when he was five. More later.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Some Like It Hot (1959)

Soundtrack:

Congratulate Me

THE POWER OF THE PRESS

I happened across The Front Page accidently while watching the baseball playoffs. The fact that the movie was able to hold my interest is tribute enough. Jack Lemmon is ready to quit the reporter business in prohibition Chicago... Walter Mattheu is Lemmons' editor and tries anything to keep his best newsman around. Lemmon is hot to leave for Philly with a woman he plans to marry but before Lemmon can get out of Chicago a story is thrown into his lap. The newsman in him takes over and the results of good action and story kept me around. Funny finish.