The Front Page (1931)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

Ben Hecht (play) and
Charles MacArthur (play) ...

Release Date:

4 April 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Hildy Johnson, newspaper reporter, is engaged to Peggy Grant and planning to move to New York for a higher paying advertising job...

Plot Keywords:

Escape | Editor | Newspaper | Press Room | Suicide Attempt

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

Adolphe Menjou	...	Walter Burns
Pat O'Brien	...	Hildebrand 'Hildy' Johnson
Mary Brian	...	Peggy Grant
Edward Everett Horton	...	Roy V. Bensinger
Walter Catlett	...	Jimmy Murphy (as Walter L. Catlett)
George E. Stone	...	Earl Williams
Mae Clarke	...	Molly Malloy
Slim Summerville	...	Irving Pincus
Matt Moore	...	Ernie Kruger
Frank McHugh	...	'Mac' McCue
Clarence Wilson	...	Sheriff Peter B. 'Pinky' Hartman (as Clarence H. Wilson)
Fred Howard	...	Schwartz (as Freddie Howard)
Phil Tead	...	Wilson
Eugene Strong	...	Endicott (as Gene Strong)
Spencer Charters	...	Woodenshoes

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:PA (Ontario) | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Metropolitan Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

The Caddo Company

Trivia:

The journalists are all based on actual reporters who were Chicago colleagues of authors Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, with most working alongside them at the courthouse. The real names were only slightly changed: Hildy Johnson was based on the real-life reporter Hildebrand Johnson, Walter Burns was based on the editor Walter Howey, and Mac McCue was based on reporter Buddy McHugh.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Title card: This story is laid in a mythical kingdom.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Kids in the Hall: (#1.3)" (1989)

A+ A visionary masterpiece!!!

The camera-work on this underrated beauty is breathtaking - one of the panning shots in the newsroom precedes Woody Allen's restaurant pan shot in Hannah and Her Sisters by over half a century! It is so organic, yet so breezy and alive. Don't miss the clever panning action with the gun sequence, and the mirrored room with the man getting off the elevator, which is also a throw-away gem. The actors are some of the finest character and bit players ever assembled on screen and the lightning dialog and clever editing is really quite modern in its speed and ingenuity.

I too am a devoted fan of His Girl Friday, but these are two very different films. Front Page is a masterpiece of old school ensemble character acting, and without it to break new ground, I don't believe His Girl Friday would have had nearly the breakneck pacing and out of the bottle genius that it is rightfully remembered for. The Front Page should take an esteemed place in film history for being the fertile breeding ground of screwball comedy in general and many of its masterpieces, including His Girl Friday, in particular. A must see for 1930's film buffs and screwball comedy fanatics!