His Girl Friday by Howard Hawks (1940)
27 April 2007The overall story reminds me very much of a Philadelphia Story, though all the particulars are different. Still it is the story of a man played by Cary Grant trying to win back his wife who has left him for a man that is not right for him. Another great film, and the banter between grant and Rosalind Russell is fantastic. This is an amazing film, and a must see classic.
Cary Grant is Walter Burns the owner of a newspaper, and a newspaper man through and through. His wife, who is also his best reporter Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) has left him, because she wants a normal life, not like their marriage, where on their honeymoon they went to report on a strike. So Hildy is going to marry Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy), an innocuous insurance salesman, and move to upstate New York with him and his mother, but Walter is not going to leave without a fight, he wants his wife back and will lie cheat and steal to keep her, especially when the huge murder story needs to be covered.
REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…
A man is set to be hung, and Burns wants him saved, and wants Hildy to do the story, so he conspires to buy an insurance policy from Bruce so she will write the story, and he even goes so far as to have Bruce’s wallet stolen and him thrown in jail, and at one point has his mother kidnapped. Hildy goes to cover the story, and talks to the murderer, what she talks to him about makes him want to escape, and when he has the chance to steal the sheriff’s gun, he does so and escapes, and it is Hildy that finds him in the courthouse press room, and hides him in a desk, and with Walter conspires to get him out, for an exclusive story.
THings don’t quite work out as Walter wants them too, but they do get the story, and get to highlight the corruption of the mayor and the sheriff, and he does win Hildy back, and heads out to marry her again, but he instead of a honeymoon they head out again to cover another strike.
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This film is all about the banter between Grant and Russell and damn is it good. What a great film.
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