The Wasteland Reviewer

The Wasteland Review Request: His Girl Friday (1940)

What happened to the fast-talking screwball comedies of early cinema? Filmmakers like Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder created some of the most iconic and hilarious films of the early 20th century and helped redefine what comedy could be. Earlier films needed to focus completely on physical comedy as silent films made it hard to make what we could consider “jokes”. But Hawks delivered some truly impressive films during this era including Bringing Up Baby. But one such film has become a comedy that transcends its era with its biting commentary on journalism, fasting humor, and crime thriller elements thrown in…His Girl Friday. 

So, another film based on The Front Page? After covering Billy Wilder’s version of The Front Page for my first The Wasteland Review Request, I find myself back to this tale but one that was told decades earlier with a much different perspective. This is a more traditional romance with a newspaperman, Cary Grant’s Walter Burns, desperately trying to keep his best journalist…and his now ex-wife, Rosalind Russell’s Hildy Johnson, from skipping town with her new man who just so happens to be an insurance man, Ralph Bellamy’s Bruce Baldwin, who happens to live life on a much slower pace. This film sinks or swims based on this central dynamic and Hawks makes it soar. The fast-paced verbal sparring between Grant and Russell is unmatched. There are few rom-com pairings you can think of who have such a strong and complicated dynamic. Grant is way too sly to be dumped and left by Russell and she is way too strong willed and sharp to let him guilt her. The casting is perfect as they have fantastic chemistry, and they are an absolute delight to see on screen. Bellamy does his job well too with plenty of empathy (no matter how many crazy scenarios Burns gets Baldwin into) and his more naturally slow demeanor works in perfect contrast from a tempo standpoint and from a character dynamic one as well. He struggles to keep up with Walter Hildy (another way this film keeps reminding us why they are such a perfect, if not volatile, pairing). 

How do Hawks deliver the humor in this zany and wild journalism comedy? The dialogue is certainly popping. Charles Lederer does a fantastic job teaming with the co-creator of the play, Ben Hecht, to bring this snapping tale to life. The barbs that Hildy throws at Walter and all her fellow “newsmen ” are pitch perfect. There feels like there is an endless supply of humor for the audience to laugh at. Grant’s performance is so naturally charismatic that all the horrible things that come out of Burns mouth will get us laughing anyway. There are some great elements of situational humor including a complicated situation later in the film involving an escaped man on death row and a roll-top desk. There are also some other fun dynamics including Bruce and Hildy’s final interaction as she types away at her typewriter. There are some funny elements of this…but it hits on an emotional level thanks to Bellamy’s disappointment in Russell’s apathy towards their courtship and her obsession with “her story”. There is also a fun comic relief character thrown in there named Pettibone who is there meant to deliver some plot essential news but gets roadblocked by those in power. Pettibone is a silly and gullible man portrayed perfectly by Billy Gilbert who gets some good laughs during his minimal screen time. 

But where do Hawks find the tension and conflict in this zany flick? The central love triangle is certainly focused on the “will they, won’t they” of Grant and Russell but it is the presence of Bellamy which adds to the wait. Throughout the film, we start to see the connection that Walter and Hildy have despite their tumultuous nature. But in the scenes where we see Bruce slowly losing faith in his courtship with Hildy, that emotional weight starts to settle in. But the underlying conflict of the film is this big execution story, the prisoner’s untimely escape, and the corruption that surrounds it. There is a lover for this prisoner and her presence brings a level of sadness to the proceedings and a grander perspective on the corruption that keeps poorer people down. Her presence is tragic and where this arc for her goes is genuinely shocking. This type of turn is shocking for any film but the fact that it was pulled out in a comedy is even more so. Hawks can keep this all together through his channeling of quick wit and dark humor. 

But isn’t it just corruption in the government that Hawks and His Girl Friday have something to say about? Journalism is an obvious key piece to the whole film. The chase of a story is in many ways framed as a drug. It is completely absorbing and intoxicating for those in the game. That is the underlying thrill that Burns keeps manipulating to keep Hildy by his side (nefarious and crafty for sure). Grant’s Burns is all about the story and that is what draws him to Russell’s Hildy. They might not have a great connection with each other as people, but they share that same obsession. That is what makes Bruce’s situation so tough. Watching Hildy ignore him to type furiously away at her story is all you need to see about how things are really going to play out for them. The other journalists work as well in highlighting the sexism and obsessions in this business and Burns shines as the most manipulative. He is shameless and terrible…but all the same charming as hell. The way they will threaten, steal, and backstab to find a story is indicative of the intoxicating and absorbing nature of the work. This makes for some fascinating stuff. 

Is His Girl Friday the truly iconic screwball comedy that its reputation surmises? For sure this film is a comedy for all the times. The story centering around corruption and journalism makes this one that still speaks well today. The media is always under fire and under critique and social media has allowed everyone to get into the reporting game. The humor is sharp and biting as it was back in the 1940s. Hawks delivers sharp and engrossing filmmaking from crisp tracking shots to fluid and precise camera movements. This man had an eye for cinema, and it makes his films feel so modern for their time. Grant and Russell are charming movie stars of a bygone era which is sorely missed. This is a special film worth your time.

Thank you for the recommendation, Kevin Irwin.