THE WRITER’S EYE with Dean James

THE WRITER’S EYE with Dean James

Watching The Classics From A Different Point View

Recipe for a classic comedy:

1 hard-bitten newspaper editor

1 ex-wife and former reporter ready to settle down

1 insurance salesman who is boringly normal

The seasoning: the ever-suave Cary Grant as the editor determined to win back his ex-wife, Rosalind Russell as the reporter ready to marry a boring man, and Ralph Bellamy as the dull insurance salesman

This film is a 1940 remake of the 1931 film, The Front Page, which is a movie rendition of the 1928 play by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. Cary Grant is the editor, Rosalind Russell is his ex-wife, and perennial second banana Ralph Bellamy as the prospective groom.

Grant is desperate to stop his ex from marrying another man because he wants her back. There’s a sensational murder case that needs a seasoned journalist to cover it, and Grant convinces Russell to do one last job for him. It’s part of a plot to stop the marriage and keep Russell from retiring to dull suburbia. She agrees to do it only if Grant buys a $100K life insurance policy from her intended so he’ll get a $1K commission.

Grant employs several means to separate Russell from Bellamy, including getting him arrested twice, conveniently put in the same jail as the murderer. Russell knows what Grant is up to, but her journalistic instincts kick in, and she’s hooked on the story.

The murderer, a shy bookkeeper, killed a policeman, but he swears it was an accident. Things get even more complicated by the killer’s girlfriend, Bellamy’s mother, a couple of gangsters, and a corrupt sheriff and mayor.

The plot is complicated, and the dialogue will have your head spinning. The director, Howard Hawks, had his actors talk as fast as they could, even talking over one another to achieve a truly fast-paced effect. It’s a brilliant comedy with a stellar cast.

What can a writer learn from this?

First, it’s another masterclass in screenwriting. Charles Lederer wrote the screenplay along with Ben Hecht, though Hecht is not listed in the on-screen credits. If you want to learn how to ramp up the pace of your story using dialogue, there’s no better movie to watch.

Finally, you want to combine comedic action with suspense? Guess what, this film has it all.