The Front Page (1931 film)
| The Front Page | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Lewis Milestone |
| Produced by |
Lewis Milestone Howard Hughes |
| Written by |
Bartlett Cormack Charles Lederer |
| Based on |
The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles McArthur |
| Starring |
Adolphe Menjou Pat O'Brien Mary Brian Edward Everett Horton |
| Cinematography | Glen MacWilliams |
| Edited by | W. Duncan Mansfield |
Production company |
The Caddo Company |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $700,000[1] |
The Front Page is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film, directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Adolphe Menjou and Pat O'Brien. Based on a Broadway play of the same name, the film was produced by Howard Hughes, written by Bartlett Cormack and Charles Lederer, and distributed by United Artists. The supporting cast includes Mary Brian, George E. Stone, Matt Moore, Edward Everett Horton and Walter Catlett. At the 4th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Picture, Milestone for Best Director, and Menjou for Best Actor.
In 2010, this film was selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[2]
Plot
The film, considered a screwball comedy, centers on a reporter, Hildebrand 'Hildy' Johnson (Pat O'Brien) and his editor (Adolphe Menjou), who hope to cash in on a big story involving an escaped accused murderer, Earl Williams (Stone) and hide him in a rolltop desk while everybody else tries to find him.
Cast
- Adolphe Menjou as Walter Burns
- Pat O'Brien as Hildebrand "Hildy" Johnson
- Mary Brian as Peggy Grant
- Edward Everett Horton as Roy V. Bensinger
- Walter Catlett as Jimmy Murphy
- George E. Stone as Earl Williams
- Mae Clarke as Molly Malloy
- Slim Summerville as Irving Pincus
- Matt Moore as Ernie Kruger
- Frank McHugh as "Mac" McCue
- Clarence Wilson as Sheriff Peter B. "Pinky" Hartman
- Fred Howard as Schwartz
- Phil Tead as Wilson
- Eugene Strong as Endicott
- Spencer Charters as Woodenshoes
- Maurice Black as Diamond Louie
- Effie Ellsler as Mrs Grant
- Dorothea Wolbert as Jenny
- James Gordon as Fred, the Mayor
Adaptations
The film has been remade or adapted on several occasions. CBS radio turned it into a one-hour episode of Academy Award Theater with O'Brien and Menjou, June 28, 1937 episode of Lux Radio Theater with Walter Winchell and James Gleason and May 9, 1948 episode of the Ford Theatre starring Ed Begley and Everett Sloane.[3] The story was adapted for Howard Hawks's comedy His Girl Friday (1940), a 1974 remake of The Front Page starred Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau and another version was made as Switching Channels (1988) with Burt Reynolds, Kathleen Turner and Christopher Reeve.
See also
References
- ↑ Balio, Tino (2009). United Artists: The Company Built by the Stars. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 978-0-299-23004-3. p111
- ↑ Barnes, Mike (December 28, 2010). "'Empire Strikes Back,' 'Airplane!' Among 25 Movies Named to National Film Registry". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
- ↑ Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of Over 1800 Shows. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0351-9.
External links
- The Front Page at the Internet Movie Database
- The Front Page is available for free download at the Internet Archive
- The Front Page at the TCM Movie Database
- The Front Page at AllMovie