#132 His Girl Friday (1940)

For anyone who works in a newsroom, you must know all about the fast-pacing of it all. This next screwball comedy will tell you all about that…at more than 90 words a minute. His Girl Friday is about a newspaper editor (Cary Grant) who goes out of his way to bring his ex-wife reporter (Rosalind Russell) back to him compared her impending marriage towards a dull insurance man.

Clearly, they didn’t have “No Smoking” signs in public places back then

Hildy and Walter used to have a husband and wife relationship as well as editor and reporter. Hildy is engaged to a dull insurance man and Walter isn’t too pleased with that. He comes up with many attempts to ensure that Hildy does not go through with the marriage such as repeatedly sending her fiancee to jail and giving her a top story to prevent her from leaving. One thing I will give His Girl Friday credit for is the rapid-paced dialogue. Not only is the dialogue snappy, but it realistically overlaps the other dialogue just like in a newsroom. I know that this is supposed to be Quentin Tarantino’s favorite movie, but I wonder if Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter of The Social Network, was inspired by this movie for the similar dialogue he writes. Did you know that 240 words per minute was spoken throughout the film?

I’d do what she says if I were you!

Spoilers Below ↓↓↓↓↓

I really don’t understand why people call this a feminist movie or to have this under the romance category. I get that people think because Walter treats Hildy like an equal and that she has her own job, this makes it a feminist film. And I also don’t find it a romance because if Walter really loved Hildy, he should have let her go. Instead, he was trying to ruin things for her and she ended up succumbing to his whims. Then, Walter treats Hildy like his slave at the end when he decides to take on an assignment and has her hold his bags and doesn’t bother opening the door for her! I understand that part was supposed to be funny, but all I could think during that ending was “Poor girl!” This screwball romcom certainly screwed me over. What do you think about the ending?

Aww!

End Spoilers

While I give His Girl Friday credit for attempting to break the record for most fast-paced dialogue, this movie wasn’t a favorite for me. I recommend this movie for those that love Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, newspaper comedies, whimsical situations, and a touch of romantic entanglements.

Watch this comedy classic down here and write your thoughts down below.