Film Listology: #106 - His Girl Friday

In this episode, hosts Garret Castleberry and Scott McMurry wrestle with the first in the line of ranked "honorable mentions" in the countdown to #100. Coming in at #106, from famed Hollywood Golden Age director Howard Hawks in 1940, His Girl Friday. The dialogic duo reveal key ways in which this adaptation departs from playwright Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's male ensemble stage play, The Front Page. The hosts weigh popular tropes that influence storytelling today while evaluating the film against the McMurry Super Index (MSI). Finally, Garret assigns a Cultural Significance Factor (CSF) in light of the film's sustainability as a madcap talkie. Does the movie's bravado female protagonist Rosalind Russell elevate Charles Lederer's beefy screenplay, or has this production lost momentum to the sands of time?
Hosts: Garret Castleberry, Scott McMurry
Producers: Garret Castleberry, Will McMurry (Audio Engineer), Alli Garner (Cover Art), Austin Foster (Music)
Recommended readings paired with our Film Listology season:
Rick Altman. Film/Genre. British Film Institute, 1999.
Jim Collins, Ada Preacher Collins, Hilary Radner (Eds.). Film Theory Goes to the Movies, 1st Edition. New York: Routledge, 1992.
Ways to Connect with us online:
Follow and engage with Special Topics in Media on Twitter at @podcast_topics.
"Like" to follow our Special Topics in Media Page on Facebook (search Special Topics in Media).
Join the Special Topics in Media Facebook Group and share your reviews of the film or this episode.
Subscribe to Dr. Castleberry's academic YouTube Channel.
Garret's academic website is available at https://garretcastleberry.academia.edu/.