Review of His Girl Friday

Introduction

His Girl Friday, made by Howard Hawks in 1940, is a remake of the 1931 film The Front Page. This, in turn, is a remake of the 1928 Broadway play. It was then remade in the late 80s with Burt Reynolds as Switching Channels.

Of all the versions, this one with Cary Grant is the best loved. And rightly so.

Grant gives one of his best comedic performances as the quick witted, fast talking newspaper editor. Rosalind Russell is his star reporter who wants to leave the business to get married to an arch bore. Grant tries to coerce Russell (as Hildy Johnston) to take on one last job and cover the execution of a convicted killer. Of course, it`s not as simple as that. Russell is actually Grant`s ex-wife and he wants her to ditch her fiance as well.

This is one of the great screwball comedies of all time. The script is fast, witty and sarcastic. Grant and Russell are on fine form as the antagonists and trade wisecracks almost faster than you can follow.

So, a great film, but what about the DVD?

Video

The video is black and white from 1940. No effort has been made to clean the video up; it is subject to all kinds of flaws such as dirt, scratches, hairs etc. Image isn`t particularly sharp either. But it is 60 years old and I suppose we can pardon this. It doesn`t detract from your enjoyment of a classic film.

However, there is very little difference between this and my VHS copy.

Audio

The audio is billed as DD 2.0. This is a bit optimistic.

It is, of course, mono with left and right channels carrying the same track.

Sound is as good or as bad as you would expect for a 60 year old film. You get the usual crackles and pops but, overall, it is acceptable. Dialogue is quite clear which is necessary given that it must be one of the most quick-fire film ever made. Dialogue is rapid and overlapped so you have to listen intently to catch all the wisecracks.

Again, OK, but little better than a VHS copy.

Features

The box bills this DVD as having the following features:

Interactive Menus
Dolby Digital 2.0
Aspect Ratio 4:3

So, that`s none then?

Worthy of special derision is the "Interactive Menus". What you actually get is one single menu screen with a single "Play Movie" button. You can`t do anything other than select "Play Movie". Extremely naff.

Also, note that there are no chapters. The movie is just one long chapter. This is frustrating as there as numerous set pieces that you may want to rewatch conveniently.

Conclusion

Overall, His Girl Friday is a superb film and one of my all time favourites. If you want great acting, quick-witted humour and superb comic timing, this is a must-see.

However, as a DVD this is lacklustre. I was interested to see how this compared with my beloved VHS copy and, to be honest, I couldn`t tell the difference.

If you haven`t seen His Girl Friday, I urge you to pick up a copy. However, if you can find a cheap VHS copy, I suggest you go for it instead of this DVD version. You won`t be missing anything.

Added 18/9/2000:

Columbia TriStar has announced that they will be releasing a remastered special edition (R1) on 21/11/00. This will include a commentary and 4 documentaries. If you want His Girl Friday on DVD, you should wait for this.