Moviecut—The Front Page

source: The Front Page

I saw the 1970s version first, and while I enjoyed it, I now realize how prettied-up it was. As for "His Girl Friday" I can see its merits, but you can't consider it just "The Front Page" with a change of sex for Hildy Johnson. The tone is completely different-- and just as prettied-up. The 1931 film must be close to what wowed 1920s audiences on the stage-- and, having seen it, I can't understand critics who call it a screwball comedy. Actually, it's a black hole of cynicism with a deadly view of human nature. Especially those humans called the press. From the early scene in which Frank McHugh gleefully harasses a Peeping Tom victim, the film is drenched in misogyny. The reporters brutalize Mae Marsh's Molly; her fall out the window isn't a bravura gesture, but an accident as she's trying to escape a mob of reporters threatening her with assault. Hildy's mother-in-laws kidnapping and injury isn't so much played for yuks as repulsion. However, the script and direction play fair with the female characters. Molly's rebuke of the reporters is heartfelt and true. She and Williams show the best of humanity among the characters. Mary Brian as Peggy Grant is an intelligent, fair minded women who is coming to the question, "How much am I willing to abase myself to keep the man I love?" As such, Hildy's tribute to her isn't mooncalf love-- it's sincere and true.Effie Ellsler as Mrs. Grant isn't a stereotypical gorgon mother-in-law. When she confronts Adolph Menjou as Walter Burns, she's justifiably angry-- and his attempts to gaslight her are pathetic. I found the first version of "The Front Page" to be the best of the three-- more honest, more challenging, and not sanitized.

They pretty much shot the stageplay plus some exteriors. Some interesting and camera angles. The story itself is great in all its incarnations. To see in it in its original is an education in stage and movie play; also, the pre-Hayes code movies could be pretty raunchy in subject and language. The actors bellow their lines here because a) that was the stage technique of the time - no sound systems in the theaters in 1931, and b) the sound systems of the movies of 1931 weren't much better than the silents. I wish only that someone find the negative - if it hasn't already dissolved - and clean it up via the computer. Were it not for the 1974 re-make (my favorite) I would have had no idea what the actors were shouting in this version.

Filmed many times, this original version is amusing, but in 1940, Howard Hawks re-made it as "His Girl Friday," which is by far the winner.

The remarks by Camera Obscura do an injustice to this film and reveal a true absence of aesthetics governing the writer's appreciation for camera technique, acting, directing and pace. While I am an enormous fan of the subsequent remake, "His Girl Friday," by Howard Hawks, Lewis Milestone's direction of the original is invigorating and sets a pace that Hawks had to match before he began to trump it with his own use of crackling overlapping dialog. Way ahead of its time, the camera explores the set, and Milestone and his editor know how to use editing to create pace. This is not merely a filmed play. It is faithful to the play and excellently exploits the camera's ability to go to closeups, long shots, etc. The acting, particularly by Adolphe Menjou, is as good as in any version. I am also distressed by the comments of Eye 3 who agrees with Obscura that the dialog is shouted in order to be picked up by the microphones! The actors are shouting because their characters are excited - the rapid fire dialog coupled with shouting is an element of farce and is beautifully done, and in the televised version I just watched on TCM, entirely understandable! I do wish someone would restore this early gem to a print with a cleaned up picture and sound, but given its age, it is a remarkable treasure of early sound cinema.

The camera-work on this underrated beauty is breathtaking - one of the panning shots in the newsroom precedes Woody Allen's restaurant pan shot in Hannah and Her Sisters by over half a century! It is so organic, yet so breezy and alive. Don't miss the clever panning action with the gun sequence, and the mirrored room with the man getting off the elevator, which is also a throw-away gem. The actors are some of the finest character and bit players ever assembled on screen and the lightning dialog and clever editing is really quite modern in its speed and ingenuity. I too am a devoted fan of His Girl Friday, but these are two very different films. Front Page is a masterpiece of old school ensemble character acting, and without it to break new ground, I don't believe His Girl Friday would have had nearly the breakneck pacing and out of the bottle genius that it is rightfully remembered for. The Front Page should take an esteemed place in film history for being the fertile breeding ground of screwball comedy in general and many of its masterpieces, including His Girl Friday, in particular. A must see for 1930's film buffs and screwball comedy fanatics!

There were quite a number of things that appealed me into watching 'The Front Page'. Have always loved classic film and always admire it when anything tackles this particular subject. The cast is a great one, being particularly fond of Adolphe Menjou, who could do suave and sleazy brilliantly. Lewis Milestone was a fine director too, especially evident in 'All Quiet on the Western Front'. Hearing that it was based on a stage play, based on one by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, however gave me a little concern. Due to that early talkies and films adapted from stage plays have always varied. Especially in the early talkies period, of which 'The Front Page' fits in, where stage origins were most betrayed. While 'The Front Page' may not be as polished as its (slightly superior) remake 'His Girl Friday', it is a wildly entertaining, clever and well crafted film. For me it is one of the few early talkie stage to film adaptations to completely succeed, to the extent of almost forgetting that it was actually based on one, and is as good a film about the media as one can get. Perhaps the dialogue could have been delivered a little slower, but that is merely a personal preference. The film definitely deserves a restoration. So much to love here in 'The Front Page'. For an early talkie stage film based on a stage play, 'The Front Page' is pretty impressive and actually among the best looking. Being quite beautiful and even at times inventive, a far cry from the static stagy look of other play adapted films at the end. Milestone directs with a more than assured hand throughout. Furthermore, the script is extremely smart, razor sharp witty and darkly cynical, flowing beautifully. It is also daringly scathing, very few films at the time approached this topic with such an uncompromisingly and brutally honest approach, hence what people mean by calling the film ahead of its time. The story goes a very lively pace and doesn't creak or feel slight. Age may show at times, but even that is handled with dignity. All the characters are interesting with colourful personalities. 'The Front Page' is uniformally beautifully acted, with wonderfully smarmy and wickedly funny Menjou stealing the show. Overall, great. 9/10

While the staging was limited, the acting was believable and the camera work was great for the technology available. After watching "Front Page" again after watching "Girl Friday", I was struck by the original's emphasis on the role of the newspaper in revealing political corruption. But, the question remains, who's the girl? Not the actress but the girl in the picture hanging on the wall in back of Adolph Menjou's head during the final scenes... Since the movie was released in 1931, it can't be Jane Russell. She's to busty to be Katherine Hepburn (Howard Hughes' friend). The only reason I noticed it was that she appears * and Howard Hughes probably put it there to see if the 'censors' would notice.

Newspaperman Hildy Johnson (Pat O'Brien) is quitting the business and getting married to Peggy (Mary Brian). But his unscrupulous boss Walter Burns(Adolphe Menjou) doesn't want him to quit. Also an innocent man is about to be hanged and Burns will do anything to make sure Johnson works on that story. Fast and funny--the first cinematic version of this story. It shows its age at times and some of it is wildly overacted but O'Brien and Menjou are both just great in their roles. Also director Lewis Milestone uses some very unusual camera tricks to keep the story moving and there's lots of action and running around which is unusual for an early talkie. This was remade in 1940 with a sex change making Johnson a woman. That was "His Girl Friday" with Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant. That one is better than this but this is better than the 1974 version (that had Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau) and 1988 remake called "Switching Channels" (with Kathleen Turner and Burt Reynolds). They're all good to varying degrees but this one came first. Worth seeing.