1. His Girl Friday is a typical screwball comedy. The movie was released in 1940, a time when screwball comedies were really starting to pick up in terms of production. This influential film also happened to be released in a time where silent films were a thing of the past. His Girl Friday had audio that wasn’t just music slapped on to the film. The on screen talent didn’t have to rely upon their physical appearances or gestures as their sole form of acting anymore. Of course with sound, came some limitations.
Having sound in a movie, meant that scenes were limited by mobility. Microphones were stationary which forced the scenes to be shot around them. Not only that, the audio quality was appalling as well. The combination of fast-paced speech along with poor audio technology, meant for the viewer to pay particularly close attention to what was said in His Girl Friday. Also note worthy is the fact that when film moved into the sound age, many people involved in the industry couldn’t adapt. New actors; ones who could speak, new directors; ones who knew how work around the microphone limitations, and new writers; ones who could write a movie with dialogue. Hollywood found itself raiding New York for these pioneers of a new age of cinematography.
Once new crews and staff were hired, theaters would have to evolve to show movies with audio. Theaters would have to be wired to make the transition to play sound. Not all theaters were able to afford the cost. Sound was expensive, but it also revived the film industry, pumping more money into the larger companies than ever before. Since more money was being made, these theaters could change their appearances drastically. They were transformed into lavish entertainment hubs. Without sound, His Girl Friday may have not been able to make the transition from play, to movie with the success that it did have.
2. An article for further reading and enrichment on His Girl Friday, access this article: http://www.filmsite.org/hisg.html
2-3. This article, which is part of AMC’s film site, offers a background to His Girl Friday and then the script to the story. Tim Dirks article mentions that the film is “Howard Hawks' speedy and hysterically funny, modern-style screwball comedy, and one of the best examples of its kind in film history.” Just like mentioned in class, the article hints as this movie as being one of the leading and most well-respected screwball comedies ever made. It had paved the way for others like it to make their mark in the industry. Also mentioned in class was the fact that this movie was respected for its witty and quick dialogue. Dirks, also mentions this in his article. Before the article goes on to give the story in the form of a screenplay, the reader is told about the other versions of this movie; The Front Page. I remember a mention in class about other versions and how the two main characters were both originally male, with the absence of the romance angle.
4. Unlike The Gold Rush, I wasn’t pleasantly surprised with the screening. I will admit it did have its moments of laughs, but I disliked it for a reason many people actually enjoyed it. I know this movie was picked, specifically for its dialogue. However, I feel that the dialogue is actually the downfall of the movie. It was too ambitious for the audio technology of 1940. If audio quality was on par to what it is today, I’m sure my opinion of the dialogue would be a whole different story. There were times in the movie where the fast-paced was just too much to handle. I respect why it was chosen, and understand that it holds a great deal of influence in its use of dialogue. However, I personally did not enjoy it as much as I would have hoped.
