The Front Page (film)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The Front Page |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1931 |
| length | 101 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Lewis Milestone |
| script |
Bartlett Cormack , Charles Lederer |
| production | Lewis Milestone, Howard Hughes |
| music | Erno Rapee |
| camera |
Glen MacWilliams , Tony Gaudio , Hal Mohr |
| cut | W. Duncan Mansfield |
| occupation | |
| |
The Front Page is a 1931 American comedy film directed by Lewis Milestone and considered the forerunner of screwball comedy . The script is based on the play Reporter (original title: The Front Page ) by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur .
action
Star reporter Hildy Johnson wants to leave the editorial office of the "Post" to marry his fiancée Peggy Grant and get a solid job in New York. Editor Walter Burns wants him to stay, but Hildy declines to speak to him because he knows his boss's powers of persuasion. Walter then triggers a false fire alarm in the city and intercepts Hildy when he loses the fight against his reporter instinct and rushes to the supposedly burning house. The two men go for a drink, with Walter remembering the big stories that Hildy brought. He also uses the flower to indicate the monotony of a life as a husband.
Hildy manages to escape from Walter, and he goes to the press room of the court to say goodbye to his colleagues. Here reporters are waiting for the execution of the unemployed Earl Williams, who murdered a black police officer and is being used as a "red threat" by the sheriff and mayor. The reporters want Williams to be hanged at five instead of seven in the morning so that they can cover it in the morning editions. The politicians, on the other hand, are interested in postponing the execution more and more in order to secure the votes of the black population shortly before the upcoming elections. Prostitute Molly Malloy, a friend of Williams', shows up briefly to share her opinion with those present and cries because of her cynicism about a human life.
Meanwhile, Williams is being examined in the prison opposite by a Viennese psychiatrist who wants to reconstruct the course of events with him. He thrusts the stunned sheriff's revolver into the prisoner's hand and tells him to behave in exactly the same way as he had done. The irritated Williams then shoots at the psychiatrist and takes flight. The reporters, alerted by the volleys of police rifles, rush to the examination room to get news. Hildy “relapses” and bribes a police officer to just tell him the details of William's escape. To do this he uses the money that was intended for his trip to New York with Peggy. Peggy finds him in the press room and accuses him of being more interested in his work than in it. While the police and the press are hunting down Williams, a courier from the governor suddenly appears on the scene, handing the mayor and the sheriff a pardon for Williams. So that the execution can continue, the messenger is bribed with ominous amenities.
When Hildy is alone in the press room, Williams surprisingly climbs in through a window. Hildy hides him in a lockable desk and informs his boss over the phone. Only Molly Malloy notices the presence of the wanted man. The other reporters return and Peggy's mother shows up to confront Hildy while Peggy waits in the taxi. When the crowd of reporters becomes suspicious and Molly tries to use force to coax Williams into hiding, she rushes out the window. In the general excitement, Walter appears at the scene, who only unmovedly asks Hildy about Williams' whereabouts. While reporters wait at the hospital to see if Molly gets through, Peggy's mother discovers Williams' hiding place. Walter accuses her of being drunk and instructs his gorilla to put her in a sobering cell. Hildy's pangs of conscience are quickly dispelled when Walter makes it clear to him that this is the story of his life and that streets will soon be named after him. Meanwhile, Peggy is fed up with waiting in the taxi, makes a scene to Hildy, who is typing feverishly, describes him as a lying, callous beast and breaks the engagement.
The reporters return, with the sheriff in their wake. Everyone now wants to know from Hildy what he knows about Williams' whereabouts. When Peggy's mother shows up with the police to accuse Walter of kidnapping, the chaos is perfect and Walter accidentally reveals Williams himself. The reporters have their story, the escapee is brought back to prison, Walter and Hildy are arrested by the sheriff. The sheriff and mayor are very satisfied, but when the courier shows up again with the pardon in a drunk state, they prefer to release Walter and Hildy by mutual agreement. Hildy quits and makes Peggy a new marriage proposal. Walter gives Hildy a wristwatch as a parting present. When the couple are on their way to New York by train, Walter calls the police: The officers are supposed to arrest Hildy at the first station of the train for stealing the watch.
criticism
The Variety described the film as very entertaining. Lewis Milestone created a panorama of action without fireworks.
Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times praised the film as witty and virile. It is a fast-paced conversation with sometimes rough humor.
Channel 4 praises everything in the film: excellent performance and direction, a tight script.
Awards
In 1931 the film was nominated three times for an Oscar, in the categories of Best Picture , Best Director (Lewis Milestone) and Best Actor (Adolphe Menjou).
In 2010, The Front Page was included in the National Film Registry as an American film that is particularly worth preserving .
background
The premiere took place on March 19, 1931 in New York.
Clark Gable , director Lewis Milestone, Herman J. Mankiewicz and Francis Ford , the brother of director John Ford , appeared in small supporting roles .
Adolphe Menjou got the role as a replacement for Louis Wolheim , who had suddenly died.
The names of the reporters in the film are based on the names of real Chicago reporters, colleagues of the playwrights. Hildy Johnson was the film name for Hildegard Johnson, Walter Burns for Walter Howey and Mac McCue for Buddy McHugh. The play premiered on August 14, 1929 in the Times Square Theater in New York and was performed 276 times.
Remakes
- 1940: His Girl Friday ( His Girl Friday ) - Director: Howard Hawks , with Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell
- 1945: The Front Page - Directed by Ed Sobol, with Vinton Hayworth and Matt Crowley
- 1949: The Front Page - TV series with John Daly and Richard Boone
- 1970: The Front Page - TV film with Robert Ryan and Helen Hayes
- 1974: Extrablatt ( The Front Page ) - Director: Billy Wilder , with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon
- 1988: A Woman Is Her Man ( Switching Channels ) - Director: Ted Kotcheff , with Burt Reynolds and Kathleen Turner
Web links
- The Front Page in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Critique of Variety ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English)
- ↑ Review of the New York Times (English)
- ↑ Kiritk from Channel 4 (English)
