His Girl Friday (1940)

His Girl Friday
Directed by Howard Hawks
Written by Charles Lederer from the play “The Front Page” by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
1940/USA
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
#141 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Hildy Johnson: Walter, you’re wonderful, in a loathsome sort of way.[/box]

Love this one!  I only wish I could finally watch it restored and with subtitles to catch every delicious line.

Hard-charging newspaper editor Walter Burns (Cary Grant) will stop at nothing to keep his star reporter and ex-wife Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell) from marrying insurance salesman Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy).  He has an especially potent lure in the story of Earl Williams (John Qualen), a crazed killer who is about to be executed as the climax to the re-election campaigns of the city’s corrupt law-and-order ticket mayor and sheriff. With a host of outstanding character actors as the many other reporters, wise-guys, and patsies.

His Girl Friday unfortunately fell into the public domain and I have only ever seen it in the sub-par cheapo edition available from Netflix or on TV.  I am sure I have missed many zingers.  Even so, there are so many I did catch that this is a total delight. The leads were born to deliver this rapid-fire material.  Rosalind Russell was about the seventh actress offered the part but it is hard to imagine any one else in this role.

Trailer