His Girl Friday (1940)

Yet again I found myself with another film I hadn’t seen in ages. And when I sat down to watch it I realized it had been too long. Howard Hawks’ His Girl Friday—take on the play The Front Page—is one of the fastest-talking and funniest comedies made. So much fun and lots of good laughs. The best part is the banter between Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, constant dialogue upon dialogue, talking on top of each other. It’s almost like a carefully choreographed dance only with words instead. And much like with the two previous films, I’m seeing a change in the genre, only in this film there’s more loyalty to the screwball comedy.

There’s a great opening here, establishing the background between the two leads with funny dialogue. Exposition can be so unbearable but you find yourself enjoying it here because it’s hilarious to watch Grant and Russell fight back and forth. Grant is already, hands down, the screwball king, and here we have Russell who can meet him eye to eye without flinching once. She gives it right back to him every time and you find yourself remembering The Awful Truth. Of course Ralph Bellamy reprising a role his familiar with as the wrong guy is also a huge reminder. The thing I like more about him in this film is that his Bruce doesn’t suffer as much from an Oedipal complex. It made it more realistic that Hildy would want to marry him.

While Grant’s Walter can be a complete jerk, you can’t help but like him. I blame Grant’s charming smile. Walter can be so irritating and manipulative. He’s completely the screwball hero in this case, going to all ends to make Hildy stay, even if she doesn’t it yet. And Hildy is painted completely relatable, but most of all she’s not stupid. This is where you see how the genre is changing and not focusing so much on parodying people. Hildy is a female reporter, a working woman, and when Walter tries to pass one past her, she always catches on and calls him on it. She’s one step ahead of Walter at all times and makes it harder for him to get what he wants in the end. As a female it’s refreshing to see a girl who doesn’t have to compromise her brains in order to get with the guy at the end.

This film focuses more on poking fun at journalism rather than the social classes. Ben Hecht wrote the original play, along with Charles MacArthur, of which Charles Lederer adapted to a screenplay. Hecht also wrote Nothing Sacred, which I’ve made no secret that I found it to be a bit of a mess, but with this film he succeeds in making fun of the journalism world. So there are no Park Avenue brats here, but there is the zaniness of the journalist and political corruption.

Watching His Girl Friday after so much time was really a delight, mostly to watch Grant and Russell. I should confess though that I quite admired the seamless way all the characters talked on top of one another. There's great editing here but there also must've been some careful rehearsing before film rolled because it's done impeccably. Hawks directed a film here that was quick and funny with memorable performances.