It's the hottest story since the Chicago fire...and they're sitting on it.
Overview
Ruthless Chicago newspaper editor Walter Burns resorts to dubious motives in order to get top reporter Hildy Johnson to cover one more big crime story before retirement.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.2/10
IMDb: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 57%
Metacritic: 62
TMDB: 7.3/10
Director
Billy Wilder
Production
Universal Pictures
Cast
Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Susan Sarandon, Vincent Gardenia, David Wayne, Allen Garfield, Austin Pendleton, Charles Durning, Herb Edelman, Martin Gabel, Harold Gould, Cliff Osmond, Dick O'Neill, Jon Korkes, Carol Burnett, Paul Benedict, Allen Jenkins, Barbara Davis, Biff Elliot, Lou Frizzell
Curator Review
Verdict
A brisk, sharply acted newsroom farce with real bite, but it lands more as a polished retread than an essential classic. The Lemmon-Matthau chemistry and Wilder’s timing keep it lively, though the material can feel dated and the film never fully escapes the shadow of earlier versions.
Best for
fans of fast-talking screwball comedy
viewers who enjoy newsroom chaos and cynical media satire
Billy Wilder completists
people who like Lemmon and Matthau sparring
audiences open to stagey, dialogue-driven ensemble comedies
Skip if
you want a modern sensibility or progressive gender politics
you prefer broad visual comedy over verbal repartee
you've already seen and love His Girl Friday
you dislike old-fashioned theatrical setups
you need a film with a strong emotional arc
Overview
Billy Wilder turns a famous newspaper play into a machine of interruptions, lies, and deadline panic. The movie runs on speed and attitude: reporters, cops, editors, and hangers-on all talk over one another while Walter Burns schemes to keep Hildy Johnson from escaping the paper and a final scoop. It is often very funny, and the cast knows exactly how to sell the rhythm of the material.
Worth noting
What keeps it from greatness is that the film feels more dutiful than revelatory. Wilder stages the action with polish, but the story is so well-worn that the jokes and reversals rarely surprise for long. The satire of sensational journalism still has some sting, yet the movie’s worldview is also steeped in the era’s casual sexism and hardboiled cynicism.
Bottom line
Even so, there is pleasure in watching experts work. Lemmon and Matthau make the verbal combat feel effortless, and the supporting ensemble helps the movie stay buoyant even when the plot becomes a blur. If you enjoy old-school studio comedy with a sharp edge, this is an easy watch; if you want Wilder at his most essential, there are stronger places to start.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (2.5★) · 162 likes
Action! - Three Auteurs: The Witty and Eclectic Mr. Wilder
The picture, which had already been brilliantly adapted by Howard Hawks, albeit under the name "His Girl Friday," sees the return of Billy Wilder's beloved Jack Lemmon and reuniting him with Walter Matthau in this wacky satire on the media, the press, and especially sensationalism.
Wilder's adaptation is faithful to the source material in that it features rapid action sequences and a brisk tempo. Amidst this mayhem, the film's interrogation… more
𝙿𝚊𝚘𝚕𝚘 𝙼𝚊𝚌𝙶𝚞𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚗 | 🇮🇹 (4★) · 108 likes
The Front Page is the third film version of Hect and MacArthur's play about a Chicago newspaper publisher who doesn't hesitate to resort to Machiavellian gimmicks to prevent his best reporter from leaving his job to get married. If Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon are hilarious as the two combative protagonists, the gallery of side characters is really excellent. Despite the theatrical structure, the extremely brilliant writing manages to give vigor and pace to the whole story, thanks in particular… more The Front Page is the third film version of Hect and MacArthur's play about a Chicago newspaper publisher who doesn't hesitate to resort to Machiavellian gimmicks to prevent his best reporter from leaving his job to get married. If Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon are hilarious as the two combative protagonists, the gallery of side characters is really excellent. Despite the theatrical structure, the extremely brilliant writing manages to give vigor and pace to the whole story, thanks in particular… more
Carlo Vanstiphout · 96 likes
It's jarring going from The Odd Couple to this, not because it also stars Lemmon & Matthau, but the way it's shot makes the former look like a banal sitcom. This shit looks like a MOVIE. If you're into (mostly) single location screwball comedies where people use a lot of old timey words like 'palooka' and 'wisenheimer', this'll be a treat, Uncle Moe, while ya eat.
Rizki (3.5★) · 69 likes
So much happens in The Front Page that even the least attentive viewer quickly gets the sense that paying attention to the plot doesn't matter, as long as the frictions between Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon generate their programmed sparks of hilarity. On that level, the film is a mild success and a tender reminder of one of the most endearing comedic duos... but there's a reason why it's seldom mentioned among Billy Wilder's greats.
But let's get things in… more
JBird (3.5★) · 69 likes
Walter Matthau will call and then plead,
Like he and Jack Lemmon agreed.
He wants to engage,
One more Front Page,
As they both go and bury the lede.
1959 · Comedy, Romance, Crime · 2h 3m · NR · Curator 9.7/10 (658.9K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, MGM Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
For Wilder at his most buoyant, with razor dialogue and a perfectly calibrated comic ensemble.