Five fun facts about His Girl Friday
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1) Hildy was originally a man
His Girl Friday was adapted from the 1928 Broadway play The Front Page, which in turn was adapted into the 1931 film The Front Page. All three versions revolve around more or less the same plot, with one key difference – reporter Hildy Johnson was a male character in The Front Page (Lee Tracy 1928, Pat O’Brien 1931), while Hildy is female in His Girl Friday. The recast of Hildy as a woman adds a fun romantic twist, courtesy of Rosalind Russell as Hildy, Cary Grant as newspaper editor Walter Burns (and Hildy’s ex-husband), and poor Ralph Bellamy as Bruce Baldwin (Hildy’s fiancé). need i say more
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2) Jiminy Cricket, Sneezy and more…
From Pinocchio’s Jiminy Cricket (Cliff Edwards) and Snow White’s Sneezy (Billy Gilbert) to Shapeley (Roscoe Karns in It Happened One Night) and the judge who has to decide if Santa Claus is real (Gene Lockhart). in Miracle on 34th Street), the film’s cast of supporting characters is rich in recognizable faces and voices. You might also recognize Billy Gilbert from the classic Laurel and Hardy short The Music Box as Professor von Schwarzenhoffen. 🙂
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3) Can you tell inside joke?
Well, I just love waiting for the two big inside jokes during this movie:
1) When Cary Grant (who was born Archibald Leach) says, “Listen, the last man to tell me that was Archie Leach, just a week before he cut his throat.” – and…
2) When Cary Grant says (about Bruce Baldwin played by Ralph Bellamy), “He looks like, uh, that guy in the movies, you know, Ralph Bellamy.”
But I just found out about a third (potential) inside joke, or maybe coincidence(?):
3) When Cary Grant (who played the mock turtle in 1933’s Alice in Wonderland) says, “Come back in, you mock turtle!”
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4) Do I hear wedding bells?
Although Cary Grant’s character planned to live “happily ever after” with Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday, in real life, Cary actually turned the wheels on so Roz could meet her soulmate and lifelong love, Frederick Brisson. Roz and Freddie married in 1941 and lived “happily ever after”. And Cary Grant was best man at their wedding. 🙂 You can read more about it here at rozrussell.com.
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5) I’ll say it again, poor Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Bellamy was also on the losing side of love in The Awful Truth (1937) – another screwball comedy in which ex-husband Cary Grant tries to win back ex-wife Irene Dunne and outmaneuvers poor Ralph Bellamy once again :). Incidentally, The Awful Truth was also based on a play (The Awful Truth 1922) and was also a remake of an earlier film (The Awful Truth 1929).
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Well, those were my five facts, but here are a few extra bonuses, for those who are so inclined 🙂
His Girl Friday was released nationally in the US on January 18, 1940, which also happens to be Cary Grant’s 36th birthday (born January 18, 1904).
The film was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 1993.
In addition to His Girl Friday, director Howard Hawks made two other films with Cary Grant and screenwriter Charles Lederer, both also screwball comedies – I Was a Male War Bride (1949) and Monkey Business (1952). Hawks also worked with Cary Grant on two other films (Bringing Up Baby and Only Angels Have Wings) and with Lederer on two other films (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The Thing from Another World, although Hawks is uncredited).
A few classic movie coincidences here:
- Alice in Wonderland (1933) featured Cary Grant as The Mock Turtle and Roscoe Karns as Tweedledee.
- Miracle on 34th Street (1947) starred Porter Hall as the nervous, cranky store “psychologist” and Gene Lockhart as the honorable judge Henry X. Harper.
- Regis Toomey has starred in The Bishop’s Wife with Cary Grant, Man’s Favorite Sport with Roscoe Karns, You’re in the Army Now with Clarence Kolb and They Died with Their Boots On, and Meet John Doe with Gene Lockhart
AND – as part of our partnership with Best Classics Ever – you can stream His Girl Friday for free this month on the Classic Movie Hub Channel. Just click here, join for free (no obligation), scroll down and click the CMH Channel button – and start watching for free. So feel free to explore many other free movies to watch every month.
Other related blog articles:
Stream for free this month on Best Classics Ever.
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–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub
You can read more Five Fun Facts blog posts here.
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