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Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht's classic newspaper comedy--about a conniving editor who talks his star reporter out of getting married long enough to cover a big story--has survived lesser adaptations than this one. (Ever see Switching Channels?) But few have been more disappointing. Billy Wilder teamed Walter Matthau (as the unscrupulous editor) and Jack Lemmon (as the fast-talking reporter), who try to get the scoop on everyone else in the story of a convicted killer who escapes on his way to the electric chair. But Matthau and Lemmon, as good as they are, succumb to the temptation to do shtick--and Carol Burnett shows up in a florid, unfunny performance as a hooker. An attempt to bottle the same lightning that struck with The Sting--but Wilder, Lemmon, and Matthau just can't do it. --Marshall Fine
From the Back Cover
Recently seen in Grumpy Old Men and Out to Sea, and soon to appear in a sequel to Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, Jack Lemmon and Walter Mattau play battling newspapermen in 1920's Chicago. In this fast-pace version of the comedy classic from legendary director Billy Wilder (Some Like it Hot, The Apartment), Lemmon is ace reporter Hildy Johnson and Matthau his irascible editor, Walter Burns. Hildy wants to quit and marry Peggy Grant (Susan Sarandon), but Walter will do anything to stop him an an escaped killer (Austin Pendleton) gives him just the scoop he needs to lure Hildy back to work. Wilder and Longtime collaborator I.A.L Diamond adapted the Ben Hecht/Charles MacArthur stage hit, previously filmed under its own title and as His Girl Friday, and later remade as Switching Channels.
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- Package Dimensions : 7.32 x 4.19 x 1.12 inches; 6.13 ounces
- Director : Billy Wilder
- Run time : 1 hour and 45 minutes
- Release date : March 2, 1998
- Date First Available : September 29, 2006
- Actors : Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Susan Sarandon, Vincent Gardenia, David Wayne
- Studio : Gaiam Americas, Inc
- Producers : Jennings Lang, Paul Monash
- Country of Origin : USA
- Writers : Ben Hecht, Billy Wilder, Charles MacArthur, I.A.L. Diamond
