Andy Morel
Doctor Londino
Film 2600
10/1/11
I. This past week we viewed His Girl Friday. This movie starred Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell and was directed by Howard Hawks. We discussed how fast passed this movie was and how we really had to pay attention to the dialogue. That was an understatement, for the entirety of the film my eyes and ears were glued to the screen because if they weren’t I would not understand what was said or going on. Even with all of my focus on it I was only able to make out 75 percent of what was being said. This was a whole new different style of comedy. It was just like a Chaplin movie in the sense of its speed but at the same time it was not since Chaplin’s films were sped up this was real life time and sound. This was the first sound film we watched in class. His Girl Friday was released in 1940.
The article talks about the main actress Rosalind Russell who was born in 1907 but some other sources say 1908 or 1911. The age was not a factor though and never prevented studios from working with her. She was the middle of seven children. She was signed to MGM studios and made her debut in Evelyn Prentice in 1934. Rosalind received the role of “the other woman”. For years she took the backseat to the
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company’s other female stars, but her big break would eventually come. Once she got leading lady roles it was evident that she was a star this was in full effect on His Girl Friday which many consider to be her finest performance.
III. The article pin points and touches on his girl Friday being one of Rosalind’s most brilliant performances. I have not seen any other of her movies but this me seems like an accurate statement and cannot argue or disagree with it. She was brilliant in it and was the one that really made the film for me. The leading man Cary Grant spoke to fast for me to understand at times and her other love interest in the movie was a pretty boring character so she had to pull it together and save the movie. I loved how she interacted with the other male newspaper writers, and how she stood out in an all-male cast. It seemed so believable how she was respected by all her male peers in an era where women did not get much of it.
IV. Overall yet again I enjoyed the movie and cannot believe I am saying this. Even with all the fast talking I still enjoyed it and wouldn’t mind showing it to other people. I think the fast talking is a unique style of comedy that is dead and don’t see anymore, but if you pay attention to it you will die laughing at all the clever punchlines and jokes. I definitely appreciate the timing and delivery it takes to make a joke while talking that incredibly fast. This movie is regarded as a classic movie and I cannot disagree with that at all here we are in 2011 and im enjoying a movie that’s 70 years old and was filmed 50 plus years before I was born.
