The Front Page (1974)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Ben Hecht (play) and
Charles MacArthur (play) ...

Release Date:

17 December 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

It's the hottest story since the Chicago Fire... And they're sitting on it.

Plot:

Hildy Johnson is the top reporter on a Chicago newspaper during the 1920s. Tired of the whole game he's determined to quit his job to get married...

Plot Keywords:

Journalism | Independent Film | Based On Play

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Jack Lemmon	...	Hildebrand 'Hildy' Johnson
Walter Matthau	...	Walter Burns / Otto Fishbine
Susan Sarandon	...	Peggy Grant
Vincent Gardenia	...	Peter B. 'Honest Pete' Hartman Sheriff of Clark County
David Wayne	...	Roy Bensinger of the Tribune
Allen Garfield	...	Kruger
Austin Pendleton	...	Earl Williams
Charles Durning	...	Murphy
Herb Edelman	...	Schwartz (as Herbert Edelman)
Martin Gabel	...	Dr. Max J. Eggelhofer
Harold Gould	...	The Mayor / Herbie / Green Hornet
Cliff Osmond	...	Officer Jacobi
Dick O'Neill	...	McHugh
Jon Korkes	...	Rudy Keppler of the Chicago Examiner
Lou Frizzell	...	Endicott

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:11 | USA:PG

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Carol Burnett was extremely unhappy with her performance in this film (as were a lot of critics). The comedienne likes to tell the story of how she was a passenger on an airline that had "The Front Page" as its in-flight movie. At the film's conclusion, Burnett stood up and apologized to the passengers for what they'd just witnessed.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the blinds are pulled they are inside the window, after Earl crashes through the window the blinds are on the outside of the window.

Quotes:

Murphy: May the wind at your back never be your own.

Movie Connections:

References Some Like It Hot (1959)

Soundtrack:

Wedding Bells Are Breaking Up That Old Gang Of Mine

May the wind at your back never be your own.

Billy Wilder's remake of the Ben Hecht play is a little better than the 1931 original, but not as good as the 1940 Cary Grant version (The Front Page).

Still, Jack Lemmon (won an Oscar the year before for Save the Tiger) and Walter Matthau (The Fortune Cookie, Kotch) give excellent performances, and Vincent Gardenia (Oscar nominated the year before for Bang the Drum Slowly ) and Susan Sarandon (a relatively new actress) support them to the extent that this is still a superior film.

Funny, funny film about politics and newspapers and some the the early seventies best actors. Catch this one and also see The Front Page.