Evening star., 1940-02-10

old Hildy johnson, now Hildegarde,
role. She and Cary Grant as the
debonair, unscrupulous, resourceful
Managing Editor Walter Burns,
combine as one of the finest COM
edy teams that ever undertook to
demonstrate how far license can
go in the creation of farce. Their
flight through the frothy. mocking
narrative, with its jab at justice,
Journalism, love and number of
equally respectable institutions is
a thing of admirable spirit which
should move them up a notch or
two among Hollywood's farceurs.
1t is a piquant head that love
rears amid the professional antics
of Hildy and her aggressive man
aging editor, who is the ultimate
master of every dirty trick for scor-
ing a scoop. The two have just
been divorced on the ground that
she's sick to death of his devotion
to duty, but it is plain that love
fingers on, even when she is call
ing him the kind of baboon which
is prefaced by a dozen loud, un-
lovely adjectives. 1t is not so plain,
however, that love is going to find
the managing editors way (remar-
riage in spite of her engagement
to comfortable clod) before the
final big story upon which she
agrees to work is completed.
Some excellent scenes of high and
low comedy perforate the wild
movement of His Girl Friday"
One that is easily remembered is
that in which Grant and Miss Rus
sell are brought together with the
prospective second husband Ralph
Bellamy). 1t is a veritable field
day for Grant, with that quick, off
hand way of his for dealing with a
droll bit of dialogue, but it also is
quite as much of one for Miss Rus
sell, who is mistress of another cute
lot of tricks when it comes to han
ding brittle innuendo. Bellamy is
the perfect foil for their smartness,
not merely in this scene, but in the
bakers dozen which follow.
While these three are taking care
of the swirl of hilarity, the dramatic
burden is being we'll handled by
pretty Helen Mack. 1t is touch
ing picture she paints Of the tor
mented little soiled dove of the
story Miss Mack's moments in the
spotlight are few and brief, and one
is inexcusably unjust in its portrait
of gang of pressroom sentimental
lists, but they are intervals of pathos
which make sharp contrast to
the general mood of His Girl
Friday
The whole casting of the picture,
indeed, represents Mr.. Hawks at
his best in department in which
his skill needs no further praise.
He made a virtual masterpiece of
his choice of Gene Lockhart as the
boot-licking sheriff, Clarence Kolb
as the archpolitician mayor, and
Ernest Truck as the inSufferable
mite of reporter who fancles him
self as a poet. The others are we'll
NAio1SAA w u bIlC lliCll UclllR
Porter Hall, Roscoe Karns. Cliff
Edwards, Frank jerks, Regis Too
mey, etc.
They help wonderfully to give
this well-produced and well-direct-
ed picture the acting quality which
makes it look fresh even when one
knows every turning of the story.
X X X X
Something less than ecstasy-so
much less than ecstasy that the
word has no right in this review
arises from a contemplation of this
weeks stage show. 1t is pretty
much run-of- of-the-mill stuff, in spite
of the presence of Red Shelton as
an energetic m. c. and the Roxy
cites in one routine in which they
look so much like Petty girls that
Petty himself would be confused.
Beyond that, there is Betty Bruce
and her tap routines, the antic
music of Gregory and Raymond the
vocalizations of Carole Manners and
the comedy of Oldfield and Ware.
1t really is the picture that counts,
however