--- title: "His Girl Friday: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/his-girl-friday/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/his-girl-friday" critics_score: 88 critics_reviews: 13 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # His Girl Friday (1940): what the critics said Critics' score 88 from 13 reviews: 12 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics greet His Girl Friday with enthusiasm, with praise clustering around Howard Hawks’ brisk direction, the overlapping dialogue and the chemistry between Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. The reviews repeatedly single out Russell’s forceful Hildy and Grant’s comic timing, finding that making the reporter a woman gives the professional sparring and romantic tension fresh energy. Several also stress the comedy’s darker side: its sharp treatment of journalism and gallows humour keep the verbal speed from being its only attraction. The disagreement centres on whether that pace helps or hinders the comedy. The New York Times finds the noise and frenzy hard to follow, providing the lone mixed assessment. Variety is more measured than most, describing a close reworking of The Front Page while still praising the casting and pressroom action. The spread is therefore largely between approval and enthusiasm, with little resistance to the leads. ## Radio Times — Tony Sloman Rating 5/5. This is the fastest-talking comedy in Hollywood history and an ideal showcase for Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. The interplay between the ex-spouses and the black comedy of the gallows situation make it clever, witty and satisfying. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-w8y9s4/his-girl-friday/) ## The Times Rating ★★★★★. 5 December 2025. The critic praises this gender-flipped adaptation of The Front Page as a dizzyingly accomplished screwball comedy masterpiece, highlighting the propulsive, rapid-fire dialogue and the crackling romantic tension between Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/his-girl-friday-review-1940-p8hl725gt) ## Time Out — Joshua Rothkopf Rating 5/5. 15 December 2009. The film is a masterpiece of rapid banter and screwball energy that makes journalism seem thrilling. Hawks' direction, the sparkling script and the perfect chemistry between Grant and Russell are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/his-girl-friday) ## Empire — Colin Kennedy Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic hails Howard Hawks' timeless screwball comedy as the finest example of its genre, elevated by the gender-swapped adaptation of The Front Page that turns it into a classic battle-of-the-sexes romp. Grant's comic timing and Hawks' dynamic direction are singled out for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/girl-friday-review/) ## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 11 January 2017. The critic hails the Criterion restoration of one of the greatest American comedies, praising Hawks’ perfect realization of professional camaraderie and verbal warfare between Russell and Grant, the film’s alive and electric quality, and its tart, unsentimental edge beneath the acclaim. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/his-girl-friday-blu-ray-review-howard-hawks-criterion/) ## The AV Club — Caroline Siede Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 11 September 2020. The critic celebrates the film as a dense, rapid-fire screwball classic that redefined the genre with its overlapping dialogue at record speed, morally complex take on journalism, and iconic Hawksian woman in Russell’s Hildy, while noting its enduring influence on rom-coms and TV. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/his-girl-friday-redefined-the-screwball-comedy-at-240-w-1844950994) ## The Hollywood Reporter — THR Staff Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 January 2024. The critic finds the film a fast-moving and always interesting picture that furnishes good entertainment, with strong turns from Russell as the gender-swapped reporter and Grant as the scheming editor, plus solid support from the cast and brisk direction from Hawks. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/his-girl-friday-review-1235785495/) ## Little White Lies — Adam Scovell Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 18 January 2020. Hawks' 1940 film remains one of Hollywood’s finest and most radical comedies thanks to its frenetic overlapping dialogue and seamless blend of laughs with darker themes. The shift to rapid-fire, multi-layered speech and the handling of morbid source material are highlighted. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/his-girl-friday-howard-hawks-classic-hollywood-comedy) ## The New Yorker — John C. Mosher Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 6 January 1940. The critic praises the gender-swapped adaptation as fresh, undated and bright, highlighting Rosalind Russell’s verve in the Hildy role and the retention of the original’s lively dialogue and central scenes. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1940/01/13/1940-01-13-059-tny-cards-000002349) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 1940. The review notes the film is essentially The Front Page with Hildy as a woman but praises the excellent casting of Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell and the still-exciting plot developments in the pressroom. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1939/film/reviews/his-girl-friday-1200413040/) ## The New York Times — Frank S. Nugent Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 12 January 1940. The critic finds the film a frenzied, noisy remake of The Front Page that is hard to follow amid the clamor but still concedes it is the maddest newspaper comedy of its time. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1940/01/12/archives/the-screen-in-review-frenzieds-the-word-for-his-girl-friday-a.html) ## /Film — Lee Adams Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 12 July 2025. The critic praises the film's relentless pace, overlapping dialogue, and Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell's chemistry as making it one of the most accessible and forward-thinking screwball comedies. They highlight its satire of journalism and modern gender dynamics in the workplace. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1900211/cary-grant-best-screwball-comedy-his-girl-friday-streaming-free/) ## The Playlist — Oliver Lyttelton Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 30 May 2012. The critic highlights the whiplash-inducing dialogue, fizzy chemistry between Grant and Russell, and the film's energy from gender-flipping the leads, noting its sharp satire of journalism that has only grown in stature. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/essentials-5-great-howard-hawks-films-20120530/2/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/his-girl-friday.md