His Girl Friday is an effective screwball comedy that often captures the audience’s attention due to great directing from Howard Hawks. Even though the film is in black and white, it still finds a way to boast colorful, vibrant characters and a plot that is thoroughly engaging and compelling. Although the inherent wackiness, gags, and snappy dialogue of screwball comedies can often feel like a little too much, I personally didn’t find that to be the case here. 

 Both the comedic and the romantic elements feel oddly natural, even though there’s a slightly over the top storyline, and I really appreciate how Hildy Johnson, the protagonist, isn’t solely defined as being an angelic love interest. While there are a few contradictions throughout, such as how Hildy wants to stop pursuing her passion for journalism in order to be a beyond stereotypical housewife — with responsibilities like taking care of kids and doing household chores — I feel that Hildy mostly comes across as strong, talented, hard-working and, most importantly, unchained by hackneyed perceptions of women. As much as this could be cited as the genre’s famous ability to switch gender roles, placing women in control of situations and occasionally presenting men as slightly silly, incompetent buffoons, I think the film goes beyond what is previously expected. 

 Rosalind Russell succeeds in making Hildy Johnson genuinely determined and driven. And along with the character’s ability to survive all of the tricks and manipulation of Walter Burns, who’s her ex-husband, Russell makes Hildy Johnson a reporter to remember. 

 Camera shots-wise, I didn’t find anything too out of the ordinary, but I do like how medium shots were the bread and butter of the film; they help ensure that nothing too radical takes away from the film’s delivery of jokes. However, I think that it could have been useful for Director Howard Hawks to have potentially used more close-ups, especially as a way to emphasize Hildy’s facial expressions (such as in response to her pure fascination with journalism) and her shift in character. Furthermore, the implementation of a few more wide shots could have been beneficial. Although the vague setting is quite possibly purposeful, allowing viewers to imagine any American metropolis (most likely either Chicago or New York) as the headquarters of The Morning Post, it would have been intriguing to establish the scenery to a greater degree. 

 Nonetheless, it’s a very enjoyable and entertaining screwball comedy, and as perhaps the pinnacle of the genre, it’s worth investing your time in ninety minutes of nonstop, relentlessly intoxicating fun. Journalists will be pleased.