IMDb > His Girl Friday (1940)
His Girl Friday
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His Girl Friday (1940) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 3 NEW)
His Girl Friday (1940) -- Editor tries to keep ace reporter from remarrying.
His Girl Friday (1940) -- MyMovieScripts.com - Trailer (Flash)
His Girl Friday (1940) -- Archive.org - view film (various formats)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 5% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Howard Hawks
Writers:
Charles Lederer (screenplay)
Ben Hecht (play) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for His Girl Friday on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
18 January 1940 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama | Romance more
Tagline:
She learned about men from him! more
Plot:
A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
1 win more
NewsDesk:
(14 articles)
Holiday Preview: A Repertory Calendar
 (From IFC. 3 November 2009, 1:01 PM, PST)

Free Flick of the Day: His Girl Friday
 (From Cinematical. 31 October 2009, 3:02 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Another version of "The Front Page" starring Grant and Russell more (129 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday (USA) (complete title)
more
Runtime:
92 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English | French
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)
Certification:
Australia:G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | USA:Approved (PCA #5823) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:K-3 (video rating: 1993) | France:U | Portugal:M/6 | South Korea:15 | UK:U (1996) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1994) | West Germany:o.Al. (original rating)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Ginger Rogers wrote that she was offered the role of Hildy Johnson. She read the script, but this was before Cary Grant was cast, and she turned it down. After learning that Grant was cast, she regretted it. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Hildy is in Walter's office, a few lines before she throws her purse at him, his cigarette switches from his right hand to his left between shots. more
Quotes:
Walter Burns: Sorta wish you hadn't done that, Hildy.
Hildy Johnson: Done what?
Walter Burns: Divorced me. Makes a fella lose all faith in himself. Gives him a... almost gives him a feeling he wasn't wanted.
Hildy Johnson: Oh, now look, junior... that's what divorces are FOR!
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in The Holiday (2006) more

FAQ

Is this available on DVD?
Is this movie based on a novel?
What does the title mean?
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16 out of 19 people found the following comment useful.
Another version of "The Front Page" starring Grant and Russell, 7 May 2006
9/10
Author: blanche-2 from United States

Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell make great sparring partners in "His Girl Friday," a remake of "The Front Page." Grant plays the conniving newspaper publisher Walter Johnson, and Rosalind Russell is the reporter Hildy Johnson, a woman this time, and Johnson's ex-wife. She's trying to get remarried, move to Albany, and quit the newspaper business, but Walter can't bear it. He cons her into helping out with a controversial death row case and then makes sure her fiancée (Ralph Bellamy) suffers a series of mishaps - arrest for stealing a watch, arrest for "mashing," arrest for counterfeiting, and the theft of his wallet. This all happens while Hildy interviews Earl Williams, a man due to be hung the next day... and then hides him in a roll-top desk in the courthouse press room when he escapes during a psychiatric evaluation.

It's madcap, all right, and there are no two better people to carry it off than Grant and Russell, who make a great team. It's a hilarious story, with the most rapid-fire, non-stop dialog ever heard anywhere, often with several conversations going on at once. It's exhausting trying to keep up with it.

Strangely, without computers and cell phones, the story of journalists working on a story holds up because the emotions and activities are realistic and still go on. It's as Hildy describes - no set schedule, no normal meals, and long hours. Nothing much has changed.

This is a frenetic comedy, and while the impending hanging of Earl Williams is certainly serious, this plot is more of an excuse to observe the machinations of Hildy and Walter - it's a subplot, though it drives the main story.

"The Front Page" is a favorite of Hollywood's, remade many times - three versions under its original title, a TV series, two TV productions, plus the film "Switching Channels." And of course, "His Girl Friday," possibly the best of all of them.

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If His Girl Friday is in your top 10 list... filmgutten_432
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Where have seen this scene before? ashleighnicole
Did the journalists of that time really talk that way? nib_maps
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Now available for legal download! NO REALLY! rleather
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