A Hollywood movie remake is usually an invitation to a disaster. The movie is probably being remade because it did well at the box office the first time around. The movie remake typically strips out certain aspects of the original like a good script, engaging acting, and competent directing. The audience is left with a hot mess that only shares the title or plot of the original. Instead of adding a new layer to the progenitor, the movie remake’s incompetence leads to a yearning for the quality that came before. That is the standard course, but there are rare exceptions. Sometimes a fair film with a golden idea is remade into a better film. Rarer still, a great film is remade and becomes a classic.
The Front Page
The Front Page (the 1931 version) is a comedy about newspaper editor Walter Burns (Adolph Menjou) who uses a big story to entangle his star reporter Hildy Johnson (Pat O’Brien). Hildy is trying to leave town and marry his fiancé (Mary Brian), but he is continuously delayed by Burns’ machinations and his own professional drive. The fact that the newspaper keeps winning out over his impending marriage is what drives the comedy. Walter Burns only adds to the laughs by pulling everyone’s strings throughout the picture. The whole thing works. The writing and directing are very fine, and Adolph Menjou gives a winning performance. Naturally, a remake would be a terrible idea. What could they add?
Hawks, Grant, and Russel
In 1940 The Front Page was remade as His Girl Friday. The result is a great comedy transformed into one of the best films of all time. It wasn’t luck or fate. Some key choices were made that transformed the story.
Howard Hawks directed His Girl Friday, and he decided to change an important element from The Front Page. The character of Hildy Johnson, previously played by Pat O’Brien, was changed to a woman, played by Rosalind Russel. She’s still trying to get out of town to marry her fiancé, Ralph Bellamy, but now her relationship with editor Walter Burns is more than just professional. Hildy and Walter, played by Cary Grant, are recently divorced. This extra layer not only provides more material, but it also gives the lines more bite. Russel does a great job mining Hildy’s split loyalties for comedic gold.
Can You Hear Me Now
Howard Hawks also made a technical decision that enriches every scene of the film. He instructed the actors to speak over each other’s lines. Usually this would have resulted in an unintelligible hodgepodge. Hawks, however, had the overhead mikes manipulated within scenes to allow each actor’s voice to be clearly heard. This allows the dialogue to move at a machine gun pace because the pauses between actors’ lines are eliminated. The audience often finds itself listening to three conversations at once.
Everybody Wants to be Cary Grant
Alolph Menjou is great in The Front Page, but Cary Grant is a screen god, and he certainly gives an Olympian performance in His Girl Friday. Rosalind Russel matches Grant in rapid fire dialogue, but Grant is able to polish so many of his character’s facets that he truly straddles the film. The audience watches as Walter Burns turns from cocky boss to wounded lover, from sneaky Gepetto to outright taskmaster, and from heel to hero and back again. Every turn is convincing and builds the character of Walter Burns. Grant’s touch is so deft and his line deliveries so perfect that you quickly understand why audiences confused the star with his roles.
Everyone knows that movie remakes are usually the kiss of death, but His Girl Friday is one golden potato chip in a bag of sour spuds. Watch The Front Page first, and then see how Hollywood legends can elevate even great material into something unforgettable.
