Review of His Girl Friday (1940) by Donnie D — 04 Mar 2011

#HisGirlFriday is a screwball comedy about capital punishment, political corruption, work ethics, and - oh, yes - love. Howard Hawks pulls it off and even combines equal parts slapstick, satire, repartee, and gags.

The DVD commentary track has some interesting information about the thought and work that went into the staging of some of the scenes. In the movie those scenes fly by effortlessly, but the commentary gives you an appreciation of what it means to be a master of the craft of filmmaking.

Of course, you can just enjoy the legendary performances of Russell and Grant without knowing anything about the behind-the-scenes work. Finding a current comedy to compare His Girl Friday to is difficult.

Of this movie you can truly say - if you can catch your breath from laughing - "They don't make 'um like this anymore." 5 out of 5 stars.