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IMDbPro

His Girl Friday

  • 19401940
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
59K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
8,163
1,109
Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday (1940)
Trailer for this classic black and white comedy
Play trailer2:50
1 Video
99+ Photos
ComedyDramaRomance
A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
59K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
8,163
1,109
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Howard Hawks
    • Writers
      • Charles Lederer(screen play)
      • Ben Hecht(from the play "The Front Page")
      • Charles MacArthur(from the play "The Front Page")
    • Stars
      • Cary Grant
      • Rosalind Russell
      • Ralph Bellamy
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Howard Hawks
    • Writers
      • Charles Lederer(screen play)
      • Ben Hecht(from the play "The Front Page")
      • Charles MacArthur(from the play "The Front Page")
    • Stars
      • Cary Grant
      • Rosalind Russell
      • Ralph Bellamy
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 448User reviews
    • 111Critic reviews
    • Awards
      • 2 wins

    Videos1

    His Girl Friday
    Trailer 2:50
    His Girl Friday

    Photos111

    Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday (1940)
    Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday (1940)
    Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday (1940)
    Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday (1940)
    Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday (1940)
    Cary Grant, Howard Hawks, and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday (1940)
    Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday (1940)
    Cliff Edwards, Porter Hall, Frank Jenks, Roscoe Karns, Helen Mack, Rosalind Russell, and Regis Toomey in His Girl Friday (1940)
    Cliff Edwards, Porter Hall, Frank Jenks, Roscoe Karns, Rosalind Russell, and Regis Toomey in His Girl Friday (1940)
    Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday (1940)
    Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday (1940)
    Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday (1940)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Cary Grant
    Cary Grant
    • Walter Burns
    Rosalind Russell
    Rosalind Russell
    • Hildy Johnson
    Ralph Bellamy
    Ralph Bellamy
    • Bruce Baldwin
    Gene Lockhart
    Gene Lockhart
    • Sheriff Hartwell
    Porter Hall
    Porter Hall
    • Murphy
    Ernest Truex
    Ernest Truex
    • Bensinger
    Cliff Edwards
    Cliff Edwards
    • Endicott
    Clarence Kolb
    Clarence Kolb
    • Mayor
    Roscoe Karns
    Roscoe Karns
    • McCue
    Frank Jenks
    Frank Jenks
    • Wilson
    Regis Toomey
    Regis Toomey
    • Sanders
    Abner Biberman
    Abner Biberman
    • Louie
    Frank Orth
    Frank Orth
    • Duffy
    John Qualen
    John Qualen
    • Earl Williams
    Helen Mack
    Helen Mack
    • Mollie Malloy
    Alma Kruger
    Alma Kruger
    • Mrs Baldwin
    Billy Gilbert
    Billy Gilbert
    • Joe Pettibone
    Pat West
    • Warden Cooley
    • Director
      • Howard Hawks
    • Writers
      • Charles Lederer(screen play)
      • Ben Hecht(from the play "The Front Page") (screenplay)
      • Charles MacArthur(from the play "The Front Page")
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    My Girl Friday
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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      One of the first films (preceded by "Stage Door" (1937)) to have characters talk over the lines of other characters, for a more realistic sound. Prior to this, movie characters completed their lines before the next lines were started.
    • Goofs
      When Bruce Baldwin comes to the press room late in the movie, an electric fan and small shelf on the wall to the left of the door both completely disappear. Both have been there in all previous scenes and both reappear after this scene.
    • Quotes

      [describing Bruce]

      Walter Burns: He looks like that fellow in the movies - Ralph Bellamy.

    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits prologue: It all happened in the "Dark Ages" of the newspaper game--when to a reporter "Getting that story" justified anything short of murder.

      Incidentally you will see in this picture no resemblance to the man and woman of the press today.

      Ready?

      Well, once upon a time - -
    • Connections
      Edited into This Is It (2009)

    User reviews448

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    As close to perfection as any film could hope for
    As if creating one comedic masterpiece with 1938's BRINGING UP BABY was not enough, director Howard Hawks returned to the same genre a scant two years later - and he somehow managed to rival even his own previous masterwork. Nominally a reworking Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's play THE FRONT PAGE, HIS GIRL Friday manages to surpass it's classic source material and emerge as one of the screen's finest comedies. The film is also perhaps the perfect example of Hawks' trademarked rapid-fire, overlapping dialogue, which has never been as fast nor as furious anywhere else before or since. This is certainly one of the fastest moving comedies ever filmed, and the whole cast never misses a beat.

    Walter Burns, the conniving, self-serving newspaper editor, is a character that could have easily come off as a tyrannical jerk. As portrayed by the suave Cary Grant, however, the pompous, arrogant Burns actually becomes (gasp!) likable! It is a difficult balancing act that Grant must perform as teetering between the two extremes of the character, and he is arguably the only actor imaginable with the skill and charisma to pull such a tricky characterization off this successfully. And the one-and-only Rosalind Russell is every bit his match - full of verve and aplomb, Russell's Hildy is an independent career woman, brimming with intelligence and class, that impressively pre-dates the major feminist movement of the mid-sixties by a good 25 years.

    The film's supporting cast is no less impressive, with every single role cast to perfection. This is particularly true of Ralph Bellamy, who (along with his Oscar-nominated performance in 1937's THE AWFUL TRUTH) proves once again that he is the ultimate straight man. The film contains some grim subject matter that may seem like unlikely fodder for a screwball comedy (murder, attempted suicide, and public execution are all touched upon), although the film somehow manages to deal with such topics respectfully and without sacrificing any laughs. In the end, HIS GIRL Friday is an absolutely unbeatable romantic comedy that remains wildly hilarious and comes as close to sheer perfection as any motion picture could ever hope to.
    helpful•48
    18
    • robb_772
    • Apr 20, 2006

    FAQ8

    • In what year or era is this Movie set? Was it considered a modern movie in its day?
    • Is this movie based on a book?
    • What does the title mean?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 18, 1940 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday
    • Filming locations
      • Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $296,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 32 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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