His Girl Friday (1940)

His Girl Friday is a crackling screwball comedy about love, ambition and the chaotic world of a 1940s newsroom. When ace reporter Hildy Johnson returns to The Morning Post to tell her ex-husband and editor Walter Burns that she’s quitting to marry a bland insurance man and move to Albany, Walter does everything in his power to keep her — as a reporter and as a wife. He lures her into covering the sensational case of Earl Williams, a convicted cop killer whose impending execution and unlikely escape touch off a cascade of comic schemes, corrupt politicians, bumbling lawmen and fast-moving plot twists. Seeing the film is like stepping into a whirlwind: rapid-fire, overlapping dialogue; lightning-fast pacing; and a constant stream of wisecracks and comic set pieces. The tension between Hildy’s craving for a normal life and her compulsive love of the story fuels sharp romantic heat and moral questions about career vs. domesticity. The newsroom setting becomes a character itself, a theater of manipulation where Walter’s manic ingenuity turns ordinary events into farce. You’ll laugh at the madcap antics — arrests, escapes, and public relations spin — and feel the electric chemistry between the leads as they spar and reconnect amid the chaos. The movie also skewers political ambition and tabloid tactics, so alongside the romance and comedy there’s a satirical edge that still resonates. Tightly directed, witty and energetic, His Girl Friday delivers a brisk, entertaining experience: smart banter, screwball romantic tension, and nonstop momentum that make it a perennial classic for anyone who loves sharp dialogue and fast comic storytelling.

Actors: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy

Director: Howard Hawks

Runtime: 92 min

Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance

8.0 /10 94 /100 7.8 /10 8.4 /10