#245 - His Girl Friday

Breakdown: His Girl Friday (1940). Play written by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. Screenplay written by Charles Lederer. Directed by Howard Hanks. Starring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell.

Synopsis: A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying.

Review: What we've learned about 1930s-1940s cinema so far: Frank Capra was a monster. We'll be hitting on more of his films as a director (It's a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, among others) later in the list, but our first two films with Capra as an actor, although reputable, don't quite compare. In His Girl Friday, Capra and Rosalind Russel steal the show with their all-too-believable roles as cynical ex-lovers, but its predictable ending leaves whatever happens until then feeling a bit lackluster. Really, we're just waiting for North by Northwest.

Favorite Quote:
Walter: Sorta wish you hadn't done that, Hildy.
Hildy: Done what?
Walter: Divorced me. Makes a fella lose all faith in himself. Gives him a...almost gives him a feeling he wasn't wanted.
Hildy: Oh, now look, junior...that's what divorces are FOR!

Rating:

#247 - Arsenic and Old Lace

Breakdown: Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). Original play written by Joseph Kesselring. Screenplay written by Julius and Philip Epstein. Directed by Frank Capra. Starring Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey, Josephine Hull, Jean Adair.

Synopsis: A drama critic learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are homicidal maniacs, and that insanity runs in his family.

Review: One of the earliest examples of black comedy in cinema, Arsenic and Old Lace makes light of your typical grandmotherly, cake-baking old ladies...who murder people. The story closely follows the plot of the original play, which often makes it feel more like watching a play than a movie (one main set, over-the-top acting common of the era, etc.). Naturally, most fans of the play will be fans of the movie and vise versa. Also, fans of the movie are mostly dead.

Favorite Quote:
Jonathan: You mean that you and Aunt Martha have murdered twelve...
Abby: Murdered? Certainly not. It's one of our charities.
Martha: Why, what we've been doing is a mercy.

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