Ben Hecht and
Charles MacArthur's THE FRONT PAGE, a wickedly insightful and
salty-tongued satire of the Fourth Estate, was one of the great
Broadway triumphs of the late 1920s. It received faithful
film
adaptations in 1931 with Pat O'Brien and Adolphe Menjou, and again in
1974 with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. But the best
version
was made when director Howard Hawks had the inspired notion to turn
leading character Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) into a street-smart
female reporter, and pit her in a battle of wits against her boss and
ex-husband, Walter Burns (Cary Grant). Much of the dialogue
in
HIS GIRL FRIDAY is remarkably faithful to the Hecht-MacArthur source,
but the quips and zingers take on an extra air of sexual tension when
tossed back and forth between Russell and Grant. The film
works
as both mordant commentary on yellow journalism as well as a
high-spirited battle of the sexes. If you're searching for
this
film on DVD, get the "official" release from Columbia, rather than any
of the numerous public-domain, bargain-bin copies. The film's
legendary use of sound -- loaded with overlapping dialogue, clattering
newsroom noise, and nary a moment of silence -- requires multiple
viewings to appreciate, which is only possible with a decent print of
the film.
- JL
Screwball Comedy Cary Grant The Stuff You Gotta Watch