Friday Funnies - The Front Page (1931)

Hiya Kiddies! I actually covered a lot of the history of this film back in my discussion of His Girl Friday. That was actually a remake of this film, starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, which was originally based on a broadway play. So how do the two compare?

Honestly, this one certainly has a lot going for it. Cinematographer Glen MacWilliams brings some interesting shots to the procedings, and Director Lewis Milestone does keep things moving along at a brisk pace, but there is simply no way that Adolphe Menjou and Pat O'Brien as Walter Burns and Hildy Johson can match the onscreen preence and charm of Grant and Russell. Even in scenes which remain pretty much the same from film to film, there is still the sense of something lacking. Nonetheless, it is still defintiely entertaining and Bartlett Cormack and Charles Lederer's script defintiely shines.

Haven't been able to find an embeddable clip online, so we'll just go straight to the skinny:

Title: The Front Page
Release Date: 1931
Running Time: 101 min
Black and White
Starring: Adolphe Menjou, Pat O'Brien
Directed by: Lewis Milestone
Produced by: Lewis Milestone, Howard Hughes
Distributed by: United Artists

The Front Page is available to watch or download free here.
Amazon has it available for purchase on DVD: The Front Page (1931) [Remastered Edition].

Netflix appears to be out of stock at the moment: The Front Page.

Until next time, Happy Treasure Hunting,
-Professor Damian