Ep1204: His Girl Friday (1939) - Movie Review

This Valentine's Day, Ian and Jeff explore the darker side of a comedy classic, His Girl Friday ! Howard Hawks' uproarious and influential rom-com centers on Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell), a former newspaper reporter who clashes with her ex-publisher/ex-husband, Walter Burns (Cary Grant) over a breaking story. She's supposed to marry an insurance salesman (Ralph Bellamy), but gets tempted into covering a political conflict involving the pending execution of a cop killer (John Qualen). His Girl Friday takes place over a rapid-talking, action-packed 12 hours, during which Hildy and Walter re-evaluate their rocky relationship. The question is: should they be together? In this unusual look at a beloved, iconic film, the guys dig beneath the laughs to get at the heart of two characters who may not have one--caught in a business and a system too corrupt for anyone's good. They also compare His Girl Friday to Lewis Milestone's The Front Page , which came out in 1931 and was the inspiration for Hawks' gender-swapped comedy! Support Kicking the Seat on Patreon ,

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Ep1204: His Girl Friday (1939) - Movie Review is an episode from Kicking the Seat by Ian Simmons.

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This episode was published on Feb 14, 2026.

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