This week’s movie is His Girl Friday (1940).
The romantic comedy is about
Hildy Johnson, a reporter who is giving it all up to get married and be a
housewife. That is, until her ex-husband and boss Walter Burns comes up with a
scheme to win her back both as a reporter and romantically. The film is one of
the great screwball comedies by Howard
Hawks (his best, though some might say Bringing Up Baby). Hawks worked
with veterans of the genre cinematographer Joseph Walker and art director Lionel Banks, as well as stars Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell and Ralph Bellamy. The film has some
of the best dialog of any film past or present, with Grant and Russell
constantly one-upping and talking over each other (it was one of the first
films to feature overlapping dialog, if not the first). What is incredible is
that Walter Burns is a wholly unlikable character – utterly selfish in
everything he does, and yet Grant plays him with such charm that the viewer
wants to see him come out on top. It is one of the best romantic comedies of
all-time, and a must-see for fans of the genre. Check out the trailer.
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