Howard Hawks' 1940 film His Girl Friday has some of the most interestingly built dialogue I've yet to come across in a film. As one of my friends, a big fan of the film, put it in a conversation we had, "ex-lovers exchange biting quips and banter with the rapid-fire pace of a John Woo shootout". I honestly couldn't think of a better analogy. In the Criterion.com article "Words In Edgewise: Dialogue in His Girl Friday" the author brings up how the film "covers an unusually hefty, 191-page script in a fleet ninety-two-minute running time". You wouldn't need to know too much about the average length of film scripts to know how much of an achievement that actually is. Included in the same article is the above video, featuring Howard Hawks himself talking about the dialogue in His Girl Friday and the intentions behind it. Put simply, Hawks attempted to portray a more "realistic" take on dialogue. In the real world it's not "you say your line, then I say mine". Especially in dire situations, like the ones featured in His Girl Friday, words will often overlap and transitions will be non-existent. There was a specific dialogue choice continued throughout the entire run-time that I found myself really intrigued by, something that leads into our next topic. I was very much struck by the similarities between our two lead characters, Walter (played by Cary Grant) and Hildy (played by Rosalind Russell). Their manner of speaking is identical. The best way I can describe it is "Jimmy Stewart on speed". Fast as a race car yet as professional and confident as can be. Their mannerisms are also just as identical. I could use the image above as evidence, but I'll go one step further. Let's take a look at that restaurant scene. You can either take a look at the whole clip or the picture included above. Notice how Bruce (Ralph Bellamy) acts throughout the entirety. He's mostly tense and quiet. Now look at Hildy and Walter. They're the complete opposite. Relaxed and boisterous. (It could also be noted that the both of them are smoking, both also handling their cigarettes very similarly.) So what exactly do I think this is trying to say? Simple. Hildy and Walter were made for each other. Hildy can most certain believe that a quiet life with Bruce is best for her. A well-deserved break from the constant work of journalism. But at the end of the day, she's simply engineered for the line of work she's in. Her attitude, mannerisms, and personality are almost tailor-made for what she does and who she does it with, being Walter. That's not at all by chance. That's by fate. And in terms of the filmmakers, that's by design. Works Cited:
“Words in Edgewise: Dialogue in His Girl Friday.” The Criterion Collection, The Criterion Collection, 12 Jan. 2017, www.criterion.com/current/posts/4388-words-in-edgewise-dialogue-in-his-girl-friday. “Howard Hawks on the Dialogue in HIS GIRL FRIDAY.” YouTube, YouTube, 12 Jan. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=UN9M6jkgOsM “His Girl Friday (1940) - Hildy's Getting Married Scene (4/12).” YouTube, YouTube, 1 Feb. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eom_iOkd0-I. Pictures: https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w1280/9DBK5fA8YkqajUrFvWVLACPrgzh.jpg http://nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/hisgirlfriday3-062815.gif https://embarrassingtreasures.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/fridaysmile.jpg http://theplaylist.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Cary-Grant-and-Rosalind-Russell-in-His-Girl-Friday-1940-1200x520.jpg https://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Film/Pix/pictures/2009/2/19/1235046407940/Cary-Grant-and-Rosalind-R-001.jpg
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