On H List of Movie Reviews
(For optimum viewing, adjust the zoom level of your browser to 125%.)
His Girl Friday (1940)
Rate:
5
Viewed:
2/21
2/21:
Having first seen Billy Wilder's remake of The Front Page and then the original, His Girl Friday has
positives and negatives, but it's been more of the latter.
The 1931 version of The Front Page is a boring movie to sit through. I said in my other review that over 5,000
words should be cut out. Charles Lederer (and Ben Hecht who's uncredited) did the correct thing by redoing more than half of
the screenplay while cutting down the volume and retaining most of the concepts. The result is: lightning fast modern dialogue
that's often overlapping.
That being said, it works in the favor of Cary Grant (no surprise there) and Rosalind Russell. When the principal stars are
together, they are good. However, when it's only her with others, His Girl Friday loses momentum. When
Cary Grant is back, the pace is picked up again.
The biggest problem is the middle which starts after Cary Grant's disappearance until he's at the press room inside the
criminal courts building. It's the tedium of The Front Page all over again. Nothing works, and I'm simply bored,
feeling stuck with a play. Then, Cary Grant is back, and it's unbelievable how much he changes everything. Hence, lots of
credit go to him for making the film work.
Unfortunately, there's plenty of forced acting on Cary Grant's part which is especially noticeable during the second half.
Rosalind Russell is merely okay; she spends more energy trying to match her co-star in every way possible, and it shows. Not to
diss her, she does well when he's around. However, the dizzying speed of the dialogue is exhausting to keep up with, and
the ensuing confusion feels like The Big Sleep all over again.
All in all, regarded as the gold standard of the screwball comedy genre, His Girl Friday has all the elements, but
it's not thoroughly entertaining or funny.