His Girl Friday (1940)

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Charles Lederer (screenplay)
Ben Hecht (play) ...

Release Date:

18 January 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

She learned about men from him!

Plot:

A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.

Plot Keywords:

Editor | Newspaper | Reporter | Newspaper Editor | Mayor

Awards:

1 win

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Cary Grant	...	Walter Burns
Rosalind Russell	...	Hildy Johnson
Ralph Bellamy	...	Bruce Baldwin
Gene Lockhart	...	Sheriff Hartwell
Porter Hall	...	Murphy
Ernest Truex	...	Bensinger
Cliff Edwards	...	Endicott
Clarence Kolb	...	Mayor
Roscoe Karns	...	McCue
Frank Jenks	...	Wilson
Regis Toomey	...	Sanders
Abner Biberman	...	Louie
Frank Orth	...	Duffy
John Qualen	...	Earl Williams
Helen Mack	...	Mollie Malloy

Also Known As:

Howard Hawks' His Girl Friday (USA) (complete title)
O Grande Escândalo (Portugal) (original subtitled version) (Portugal) [pt]
Det ligger i blodet (Sweden) [sv]
His Girl Friday - Sein Mädchen für besondere Fälle (Germany) [de]
Jejum de Amor (Brazil) [pt]
La dame du vendredi (France) [fr]
La signora del venerdì (Italy) [it]
Luna nueva (Spain) [es]
Meidän vastaeronneiden kesken (Finland) (alternative spelling) [fi]
Meidän vastaeronneitten kesken (Finland) [fi]
Mi asistente favorita (Venezuela) [es]
Na'arato Sheshet (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Sein Mädchen für besondere Fälle (Germany) [de]
Sensationen (Denmark) [da]
Xanapantrevomai tin gynaika mou (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp | USA:Approved (PCA #5823) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:K-3 (video rating: 1993) | France:U | Portugal:M/6 | South Korea:15 | UK:U (1996) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (DVD rating) | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1994) | West Germany:o.Al. (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Rosalind Russell was borrowed from MGM for this film.

Goofs:

Continuity: 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:

Hildy Johnson: Walter!
Walter Burns: What?
Hildy Johnson: The mayor's first wife, what was her name?
Walter Burns: You mean the one with the wart on her?
Hildy Johnson: Right.
Walter Burns: Fanny!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Notre musique (2004)

Roz Russell Is on the Case

Every good thing you've heard about this movie is true. It may very well be the fastest paced movie I've ever seen. Jerry Bruckheimer's most hyperbolic action movie ain't got nothing' on this one.

Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell were a brilliant screen pair (indeed, it seems that no one was bad casting when paired with Cary Grant) as rival reporters in a furiously paced news office. Russell is the odd man, or should I say odd girl, out, due to her lack of a penis, but she proves herself more than capable of holding her own with the boys.

Russell charges across the screen and never loses momentum for a second. She's goofy, sexy and hysterical. The funniest moment in the film comes when she's chasing a man down the street (I won't go into details) and dive tackles him to the ground.

One of the first films from the 40s and a highlight of the decade.

Grade: A+