His Girl Friday: A Review

HIS GIRL FRIDAY

This review is part of the Summer Under the Stars Blogathon. Today's star is Cary Grant.

Screwball comedy rarely came as fast, as smooth and as funny as in His Girl Friday. Standout performances by two of the finest actors of their generation showcases the witty script and rapid-fire manner to this witty film.

Morning Post editor Walter Burns (Cary Grant) is as unscrupulous a figure as they come. He's the embodiment of the charming rogue. He gets his story no matter what. One thing that he cannot get is his ex-wife, star reporter Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell). She had endured Walter's schemes and manners for far too long. She, for example, was denied a honeymoon with Walter because he had to get her to cover a story. Now, all Hildy wants is to settle down with staid insurance agent Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy). 

Walter knows that Hildy is the best man for the job. He also knows that he is the best man for her. Walter tempts Hildy with one final major story. Earl Williams (John Qualen) is set to be executed for murdering a police officer. Williams didn't just kill a police officer. He killed a "colored" police officer. The mayor (Clarence Klob) and Sheriff Peter B. "Pinky" Hartnell (Gene Lockhart) know that Williams' death will get them the "colored" vote. Williams, however, maintains his innocence. Walter believes that Williams is being set up for political reasons. He knows that Hildy is the best man for the story. 

He also wants to keep her from marrying Bruce. Hildy, for her part, slowly starts finding her journalistic instincts harder to suppress. Walter finagles things to stop them from going to Albany where Bruce lives with his mother. If it means repeatedly getting the hapless Bruce arrested, then so be it. If it means literally abducting Mrs. Baldwin (Alma Kruger), then so be it.

One thing that Walter did not arrange was Williams busting out, thanks in part to Pinky's incompetence. He also did not arrange for Williams' reprieve. Williams, however, did not flee into the night. He is still, technically, inside the prison. Hildy, who had gotten an exclusive with him earlier, is astounded to find Williams in the prison's journalist room. Now Hildy and Walter are sitting on the biggest news story in town. Will Pinky and the mayor manage to "not" receive the reprieve in time? Will Bruce keep himself out of jail? Will Hildy find that she and Walter really are best for each other?

His Girl Friday is a remake of The Front Page with one major change. Hildy Johnson was switched from a male to a female character, with the added change of making the new Hildy into Walter's ex-wife. This gives His Girl Friday a different dynamic altogether. The film goes from a clever take on journalism and political corruption to a battle of the sexes. Charles Lederer's adaptation of the Ben Hecht/Charles MacArthur play (with uncredited work by Hecht) has many amusing moments both in situations and dialogue. The naive Bruce compliments Walter to Hildy, calling him "charming". Hildy chuckles at this assertion. "He comes by it naturally. His grandfather was a snake", she retorts. Later, Hildy suspects that Walter will try and pull a fast one on Bruce by trying to steal the certified check that Walter will give Bruce so as to not let him cash it. In a clever set of circumstances, Hildy does her own hoodwinking, conning Bruce to literally put it under (or inside) his hat.

The dialogue even allows for a few inside jokes, which I figure was not common in the day. Walter seems to struggle describing what Bruce looks like to a woman Walter uses to frame him for solicitation. Walter soon comes up with the perfect answer. "He looks like that fellow in the movies...Ralph Bellamy". Later on, the corrupt mayor and dimwitted sheriff think that they have Hildy and Walter over a barrel. "Listen, the last man that said that to me was Archie Leach, just a week before he cut his throat". The joke is that "Archie Leach" was Cary Grant's real name. His Girl Friday, in short, was meta before the concept really existed. 

His Girl Friday also, I think, is the rare film where a woman is shown as the equal to a man in a male-dominated world. Hildy is treated more than just "one of the boys" by the other reporters. She is actually shown as someone who is extremely well-liked and very respected amongst her peers. The other journalists are more cynical about things than Hildy is. She is not naive or unaware of how politics and corruption work. There is a wonderful comedic bit where she is denied a chance for an interview with Williams until she "happens" to find a $20 that she "assumes" the warden dropped. However, Hildy is also more optimistic about Williams' chances. She also, as a woman, appears more sympathetic to Molly Malloy (Helen Mack), whose initial caring for Williams was misconstrued by the other reporters in print.

One of His Girl Friday's best elements is with its cast. Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant were absolute masters of wordplay. Both are able to rattle off rapid-fire dialogue and make it sound perfectly natural. His Girl Friday gives both of them many moments where they seem to speak over each but are actually in tandem. Their double-act makes their interplay a delight to watch. Of particular note is when they are desperately trying to keep poor Williams hidden in a rolltop desk. Their verbal and physical comedy is a great thing to watch.

Cary Grant is delightful rakish as Walter Burns. He is ruthless and manipulative. However, he has such a breeze, almost playful manner in his antics and schemes that you end up liking him. Yes, he might have repeatedly framed Bruce for crimes. He may have hired a kidnapper to keep Mrs. Baldwin out of things. However, Grant makes Walter not into a villain but into a sharp, quick-witted fellow who will scheme his way to get what he wants. I think the success comes from the fact that Grant plays Walter as someone who is so thoroughly convinced that he is right that he never stops to think anything he does is wrong. I never sensed that Walter was cruel or corrupt. In fact, he was very much anti-corruption, noting that Williams was being railroaded for other people's crooked schemes. 

In some ways, Grant gives Walter something of a childlike manner. He is like a big kid delighting in making mischief for others, especially if it benefits him. 

Rosalind Russell is more than able to match Cary Grant in fast-paced dialogue. Her Hildy is sharp and hard-edged while also showing genuine caring for others. Her interview with Williams is surprisingly dramatic. Here, Russell shows that she could play serious while still firmly in the madcap world of His Girl Friday. She is able to show her moral strength and courage when facing off against the desperate Williams. She is also able to have great physical comedy. One has to laugh when she literally makes a giant tackle to stop the terrified Warden Cooley (Pat West). 

Ralph Bellamy has a pretty thankless role as the naive Bruce Baldwin. He, however, makes Bruce into an ideal third wheel. Bellamy does have one moment when he does stand up for himself. As Walter and Hildy are furiously on the phone lines attempting to give their stories, Bruce berates Hildy for ignoring him and his repeated arrests. For the most part, Bellamy played the part correctly. He is slightly befuddled but totally sincere in his affection for Hildy.

His Girl Friday is a sheer delight from start to end. This is more surprising given that His Girl Friday runs a rapid-fire 92 minutes long. In that surprisingly brief runtime, the film packs in a whole set of wit, great performances and hilarious situations. Everyone should be so lucky if they had His Girl Friday in their lives.

DECISION: A+