His Girl Friday (1940) Starring Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, Rosalind Russell, Gene Lockhart, Helen Mack, Porter Hall, John Qualen, Roscoe Karns, Abner Biberman, Billy Gilbert, Cliff Edwards, Ernest Truex, Frank Jenks.

Directed by Howard Hawks.

Running time: 95 minutes.

Rating: Unrated

"Oh Walter, you're wonderfulIn a loathsome sort of way!"

Based on the stage play "The Front Page".

Manic Chicago newspaper editor Walter Burns (Grant) tries to keep his ace reporter on staff as also he tries to win back his ex-wife and cover a story of political corruption and an innocent man condemned to death all at the same time.

Lucky for him his ace reporter Hildegard Johnson also happens to be his ex-wife and just as interested in covering the story as he is. If he can keep her interested in the story he may be able to keep her in his life just long enough for her to see that she belongs there with him amongst the other ink stained wretches.

This story is somewhat similar to the Awful Truth (1937) in that the character Grant plays here is guy estranged from his wife who is trying to derail her romance with a new man (both times played by Ralph Bellamy) which makes for comic situations.

The genius here was in turning The Front Page into a romantic comedy and making the Hildy Johnson character female and the ex-wife of the editor. Grant and Hawks saw great potential in the idea and they realized most of it.

The performances all-around in His Girl Friday are terrific. The viewer can see Grant's gift for manic slapstick comedy in this role at his peak, particularly in his reaction shots. He could milk more meaning out of a look, a mere turn of his head, or just standing still, than most Hollywood hams would manage to get out of ten lines of dialogue.

Everything going on here including the old-fashioned screwball comedy elements had worked well before and would work again. The production went over tremendously well with audiences at the time and tends to be much loved amongst film critics and historians.

Cary Grant was notorious for his preference for working with people he had already worked with before. Here he worked with Howard Hawks whom he had worked with two times previously (Bringing Up Baby, Only Angels Have Wings) and would work with him twice after (I Was a Male Warbride, Monkey Business). Abner Biberman had been in Gunga Din as one of the baddies. Grant had also worked with Ralph Bellamy. His ex-girlfriend Rosalind Russell who had become a close personal friend was cast in the female lead. Grant's comfort level was thus at an all-time high and he is noticably more comfortable here than in other roles.

Russell is playing the most appealing and physically attractive version of the fast-talking, streetwise female reporter that was in movies at this time. Other variations of it are Jean Arthur in Mister Deeds Goes to Town and Barbara Stanwyck in Meet John Doe.

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