His Girl Friday (1940)
93%RT Audience Score: 90%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Anchored by stellar performances from Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, His Girl Friday is possibly the definitive screwball romantic comedy.
His Girl Friday is a classic film that will have you laughing from start to finish. The chemistry between Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant is electric, and their fast-paced banter will leave you breathless. It’s a movie that will make you wish you were a newspaper reporter in the 1940s, even if it means dealing with the chaos of a newsroom. If you’re looking for a fun and entertaining movie to watch, His Girl Friday is the perfect choice.
Production Company(ies)
R. P. Productions, Heritage Films, Studio Babelsberg
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Warner Brothers Burbank Studios – 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Passed
Year of Release
1940
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.37 : 1
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Runtime:1h 32m
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 11, 1940 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 21, 2000
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy, Gene Lockhart, Helen Mack, Ernest Truex, directed by Howard Hawks, written by Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur, Charles Lederer, produced by Howard Hawks, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Katherine Howard, Mae Tinee, Kate Cameron, Mildred Martin, Charles E Ward, Globe Staff, Brian Eggert, Virginia Wright, Frank Morriss, Ruth Lewis, Douglas M Fellows, Harold V Cohen, MPAA rating, screwball romantic comedy, investigative reporter, newspaper editor, ex-wife, insurance agent, convicted murderer, innocence, reporter instincts, Columbia Pictures, Mono, 35mm, Anchored performances, definitive, Rio Bravo, What’s Up, Doc?, Steamboat Bill, Jr., How to Steal a Million, Sullivan’s Travels
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Rosalind Russell – Hildegard “Hildy” Johnson
Ralph Bellamy – Bruce Baldwin
Gene Lockhart – Sheriff Peter B. “Pinky”‘Hartwell
Helen Mack – Mollie Malloy
Ernest Truex – Roy V. Bensinger
Director(s)
Howard Hawks
Writer(s)
Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur, Charles Lederer
Producer(s)
Howard Hawks
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (101) | Top Critics (26) | Fresh (100) | Rotten (1)
It is with a great deal of envy that this real Girl Friday reports on the reel Girl Friday who cavorts on the [screen in] His Girl Friday. We can only say: It must have been wonderful to work in the “dark ages” of newspapering.
October 14, 2021
Katherine Howard
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
TOP CRITIC
This farcical film is smartly acted, dialoged, and directed. It has nary a “Go” light for boredom.
October 14, 2021
Mae Tinee
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
The picture is a blessed relief from most of the solemn and oppressively sad stories that have been occupying New York screens since before the holidays, and it moves Rosalind Russell to the very top of the roster of Hollywood’s cleverest comediennes.
October 14, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Kate Cameron
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Fast, funny and vastly entertaining, His Girl Friday is, if anything, brighter and breezier than The Front Page of which it is a brilliant remake.
October 14, 2021
Mildred Martin
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Wisecracks and jibes march across the screen in double time in the film His Girl Friday as a woman reporter and an editor engage in a sort of romantic blitzkreig.
October 14, 2021
Charles E. Ward
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant rush through the picture in the highest spirits and from appearance the entire cast must have had a gay time on the set.
October 14, 2021
Globe Staff
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
A film resting on the speed and timing of its delivery, as well as the talent of Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, His Girl Friday remains a whimsical classic whose sheer velocity earned Hawks boasting rights over Milestone’s earlier version.
March 18, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant are perfectly paired. Their comedy performances set a new speed record on the screen.
October 14, 2021
Virginia Wright
Illustrated Daily News (Los Angeles)
There are few breathing spells in His Girl Friday. The film starts out at a breakneck speed, and continues it all the way through.
October 14, 2021
Frank Morriss
Winnipeg Free Press
Miss Russell’s lively interpretation is good and the repartee between her and Cary Grant fun.
October 14, 2021
Ruth Lewis
Austin American-Statesman
It’s Rosalind Russell’s picture, of that there can be no doubt. She’s In practically every scene and keeps the excitement moving like a house afire.
October 14, 2021
Douglas M. Fellows
Hartford Courant
[Russell] plays it with a fine comedienne’s consummate touch, turning on the steam when the heat is on and sparking the mounting crescendo of excitement with a performance that stays at the boiling point every inch of the way.
October 14, 2021
Harold V. Cohen
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette…
Plot
Having been away for four months, Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) walks into the offices of the New York City-based The Morning Post, where she is a star reporter, to tell her boss, editor Walter Burns (Cary Grant), that she is quitting. The reason for her absence was among other things to get a Reno divorce, from, of all people, Walter, who admits he was a bad husband. Hildy divorced Walter largely because she wanted more of a home life, whereas Walter saw her more as a driven hard-boiled reporter than subservient homemaker. Hildy has also come to tell Walter that she is taking the afternoon train to Albany, where she will be getting married tomorrow to staid straight-laced insurance agent, Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy), with whose mother (Alma Kruger) they will live, at least for the first year. Walter doesn’t want to lose Hildy, either as a reporter or a wife, and if he does, doesn’t believe Bruce is worthy of her. Walter does whatever he can at least to delay Hildy and Bruce’s trip, long enough to persuade Hildy to stay for good. His plan includes doing whatever he can to place Bruce in a bad light, while dangling a big story under her nose, namely covering what the newspaper believes is the unfair imminent execution of convicted cop killer, Earl Williams (John Qualen). Hildy doesn’t trust Walter in dealing with her and Bruce in an above-board manner, but the lure of what potentially may become the biggest story in years, which includes true love, a bumbling sheriff (Gene Lockhart) and a corrupt mayor (Clarence Kolb), the latter’s actions largely in light of an upcoming election, may prove to be too much for Hildy to resist, especially if it ends up being an exclusive. Regardless of the story outcome, Hildy will have to decide if the thrill of the chase was worth the anguish on her personal life.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Rosalind Russell’s performance in His Girl Friday is hailed as one of the greatest comedic performances in film history.
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