His Girl Friday

SPOILERS!

1940's HIS GIRL FRIDAY is classic American screwball, no argument.  But...something was off putting from the very first scene.  I wasn't sure exactly what.  We meet Hildy (Rosalind Russell), an ace newspaper reporter who is about to quit the biz and marry insurance salesguy Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy), as they meet at the office.  Hildy is about to break to the news to her editor boss Walter Burns (Cary Grant), who is also her ex-husband.  Bruce is painted to be a gentlemanly sort who opens doors for ladies and tells his fiancee that he will miss her for the few minutes they will be apart.  The poor sap.

Then we meet Burns, a manipulative, scheming lead chaser who isn't above hiring counterfeiters and prostitutes in his bidding.  His mind races with plans to prevent Hildy from settling for a life of domestic bliss, especially as there is a big story breaking - the hanging of a convicted cop killer named Earl Williams (John Qualen). Is Burns still in love with her? Does he only fear losing his best, most tenacious reporter?  Is he just an awesomely competitive sort? All potential reasons for Burns to delay the near newlyweds, via methods that will lead to Bruce's arrest at least twice.  The poor sap.

Charles Lederer bases his screenplay on Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's play The Front Page, which was filmed a few more times in later decades. HIS GIRL FRIDAY changes the gender of Hildy and creates a love triangle.   It's a breathlessly paced, endlessly witty race to a destination that won't surprise anyone who likes romantic comedies.  It is set in a world of hard boiled newspapermen whose lives center around the job.  It's clear fairly quickly that Hildy truly is one of them, that domestic life would bore her to tears.  The guys take bets on how long the marriage will last.  In the back of her mind, Hildy must agree.  Does she love Bruce? Or is she just sick of the breakneck life? Want to get back at her lech of an ex-husband?

Lots of questions, and everything blends together beautifully.  The actors fire off the dialogue as naturally as breathing.  Howard Hawks moves the action along briskly and with true skill.  There aren't many films directed as surely and with as much confidence.  Everyone running and talking over each other can easily derail a picture (and there are a few moments when you want everyone to shut up), but Hawks, who played with strategically placed microphones on the set, captures it all perfectly, like a manic ballet.  There was also some ad-libbing by the actors, including Grant's amusing line when he's asked to describe who Bruce's character resembles.

But there's a certain cruelty to the story - of the innocent Williams about the be executed and everyone making light of it. The flippant way the movie treats a character's attempted suicide.  Of Bruce repeatedly being hoodwinked and even disregarded.  I would've liked for the poor sap to get a little revenge on Burns, to be more than just a one-dimensional plot contrivance who exists only to suffer. 

I do like dark and edgy comedies but something about HIS GIRL FRIDAY tainted my complete enjoyment.  The ending would've sat better with me if Bruce could've doled out a nice bit of comeuppance for that ruffian Burns.  And I think Hildy, who proves to be just as selfish and one tract as her ex husband, might've truly appreciated such unexpected behavior from her new beau.