The Front Page (1931)
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The Front Page Movie Review
The Front Page is a 1931 comedy film directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Adolphe Menjou and Pat O’Brien. It’s a pretty solid, though ultimately underwhelming movie.
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“The son of a…
…stole my watch!“
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It follows a reporter and his editor who want to cash in on a big story of an escaped accused murderer so they hide him before anyone else can find him. This is obviously a very important film from the thematic standpoint. Not only does it portray so well to what lengths would a reporter go for a big story, but it also does that with immediacy as well as timelessness. In this era of fake news, the film becomes even more relevant which was interesting to witness.
Mary Brian is fine as are some of the other minor characters too, but obviously Pat O’Brien and Adolphe Menjou are the best of the bunch. Not only are their characters the best developed, but both of their performances are so strong as is their terrific chemistry. Their shared scenes with fun interactions are some of the highlights of this screwball comedy.
Yes, The Front Page is a screwball comedy, albeit a very early, not the most representative one. It was very well directed by Lewis Milestone, but still coming way too short off of his previous masterpiece which is ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’. The acting is strong across the board, but the editing is rough. The film is better than overrated ‘His Girl Friday’, but it’s still frequently annoying how fast paced it is and how annoyingly talkative the entire movie is with too much yelling in particular.
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It’s still an effective film, but definitely not one of my favorites from this subgenre, especially because it is much more memorable as a thematically rich drama than a fun comedy because honestly it isn’t all that funny with a few terrific comedic exceptions here and there. The cinematography is also very mediocre. Its nominations for actor, director and best film are all solid, albeit far from great picks. It is the finest Best Picture nominee, though. But that’s not saying much from this year’s weak slate.
The Front Page has an uninspired look to it, it’s not particularly funny and it’s way too fast paced with too much yelling and talking, but it’s still a pretty solid Best Picture nominee with memorable turns from Adolphe Menjou and Pat O’Brien who share some wonderful interactions, some very good scenes here and there and a particularly effective journalism plot which is even more relevant now than it was back in 1931.
