Director - Howard Hawks
I am so so so sorry. I have been neglecting this blog something rotten. Still watching the films but only coming on here sporadically to binge post.
So here is my latest glut. Starting with this very odd little comedy.
This is a story set around a murder being reported by a bunch of papers. For the most part, this feels very strange as the murder itself (and the darkness and desperation around it) doesn't gel with the scenes set in the newspaper. However, by the end of the film it all seems to settle out into a full story.
The elements of the murder, and the moments in which Hildy (the reporter) is trying to best her competitors are the film's down moments.
Hildy herself is quite a complex character with her drive and passion going against her gloriously unfeminist ideas of 'just being seen as a woman' settling down with her dull fiancée and having some kids. However, she comes off as a bit of a non-character for a lot of the film. With one key exception. Whenever her ex-husband and roguish editor Walter (Cary Grant) her character becomes glorious.
Cary Grant makes this film a thousand times better. Every time he comes on screen, the pace picks up, the energy lifts and the dialogue becomes glorious.His girl Friday used to be a play, and you can see its routes in every witty back and forth between the central bickering couple of Hildy and Walter. Walter is comedy gold. He is a mix of arrogant idiocy and nefarious double crossing. He is a joy to behold.
Walter is very much the crux of the film. Not only are his scenes the best scenes. Not only does he bring out the best in his co-stars (Rosalind Russell's Hildy never sparkles as much as when she is pissed off by Walter) but he also uses all his conniving skills to get the best news story but also to attempt to break up Hildy's engagement.
And as these two plots get more complicated, so the film gets more farcical. As more elements come into play (Hildy's fiancee and future mother in law, Walters henchman Louis, a prostitute, counterfeit money etc) the film gets more frenzied, there are more unexpected twists and it becomes a glorious piece of nonsense.
The film zips along, the dialogue gets quicker and more ridiculous. It is a joy to watch.
It is just a shame that the film ends the way it does. The ending goes against everything that the film has built up and just seems to happen... with no build up or character arc.
It is a shame as it ends the film on a sour note. And whilst the film is in no way perfect (it flits in tone too frequently) it is - for the most part - very jolly and fun to watch. So its a shame that the final denouement left me a bit angry.
But Cary Grant is just about awesome enough to get me not to mind.
1 comment:
This is one of my favorites, for all the reasons you mention. It's a great one to re-watch, as you'll catch more on each viewing. I love how Walter and Hildy are really so much alike that they can't be together, but have to be, because everybody else is kinda, well, boring. Watch how Walter toys with the dull and dopey boyfriend (Ralph Bellamy) and see how Hildy starts to see him as that. But yeah, the ending is disappointing after you've been swept along and captivated by Grant. This is probably my favorite of his.
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