His Girl Friday (1940)
Walter Burns is an irresistibly conniving newspaper publisher desperate to woo back his paper’s star reporter, who also happens to be his estranged wife. She’s threatening to quit and settle down with a new beau, but, as Walter knows, she has a weakness: she can’t resist a juicy scoop.
- Howard Hawks
- Cliff P. Broughton
- Paul Helmick
- Ben Hecht
- Charles MacArthur
- Charles Lederer
- Ben Hecht
Rating: 7.408/10 by 828 users
Alternative Title:
Luna nueva - ES
小报妙冤家 - CN
星期五女郎 - CN
Ayuno de amor - AR
La dame du vendredi - BE
Момиче за всичко - BG
Sensationen - DK
Meidän vastaeronneitten kesken - FI
Xanapantrevomai tin gynaika mou - GR
그의 연인 프라이데이 - KR
Cümə Qızı - AZ
Sein Maedchen fuer besondere Faelle - DE
Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 32 minutes
Budget: $0
Revenue: $0
Plot Keyword: prison, journalist, suicide, journalism, based on play or musical, wager, fugitive, black and white, screwball comedy, corrupt politician, newspaper editor, insurance agent, fiancé fiancée relationship, press room, political corruption, rolltop desk, reprieve, criterion, bride-to-be, ex spouses, imminent execution, convicted murderer, comedy of remarriage
This is a belter of a film! Essentially just a two hander with Cary Grant ("Walter Burns") as the editor of a newspaper facing the loss of his ex-wife, and best reporter Rosalind Russell ("Hildy Johnson") who has decided to marry Ralph Bellamy ("Bruce Baldwin") and start a new life. Anyone who enjoys the modern day writing of folks like Aaron Sorkin will immediately appreciate the depth and class of the clever, witty writing and the superbly fast paced delivery from both as Grant tries all sorts of manoeuvres to change her mind; frame her new fiancée and stop a man from going to the electric chair with the aide of little else but a few telephones and the odd interjection from some great supporters - Gene Lockhart, Porter Hall, John Qualen and Abner Biberman as his go-to fixer "Louie". Russell is no shrinking violet, either - she has plenty of great one-liners and retorts of her own, and the equality with which they scrap makes this all the more fun. The ending is a touch too inevitable, and maybe just a little too muddled and that robs it of a killer punch; but this is still a cracking romantic comedy.
