Front Page Woman

"Front Page Woman" is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Michael Curtiz. The screenplay by Roy Chanslor, Laird Doyle, and Lillie Hayward is based on the novel "Women Are Bum Newspapermen" by Richard Macauley.

ynopsis

Ellen Garfield refuses to marry fellow reporter Curt Devlin until he admits she is as good at her craft as any man. The two work for rival newspapers, and their ongoing efforts to better each other eventually leads to Ellen getting fired when Curt tricks her into misreporting the verdict of a murder trial. The tables are turned when she scoops him by getting the real perpetrator, Inez Cordoza, to confess to the crime. Forced to admit Ellen is a good reporter, he finally wins her hand.

Production notes

The film's working title was "Women Are Born Newspapermen". The plots of the 1937 release "Back in Circulation", allegedly based on a story by Adela Rogers St. John, and the 1938 Torchy Blane film "Blondes at Work" are very similar to "Front Page Woman" [ [http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/title.jsp?stid=3351&atid=5303&category=overview "Front Page Woman" at Turner Classic Movies] ] .

The Warner Bros. release was one of three 1935 films co-starring Bette Davis and George Brent. The two were paired on-screen a total of thirteen times.

This was the fourth collaboration for Davis and director Michael Curtiz. The two worked together a total of seven times.

Principal cast

*Bette Davis ..... Ellen Garfield
*George Brent ..... Curt Devlin
*Roscoe Karns ..... Toots O'Grady
*Wini Shaw ..... Inez Cordoza
* Walter Walker ..... Judge Hugo Rickard
*J. Carrol Naish ..... Robert Cardoza
*June Martel ..... Olive Wilson
*J. Farrell MacDonald ..... Hallohan

Principal production credits

*Producer ..... Samuel Bischoff
*Original Music ..... Heinz Roemheld
*Musical Supervision ..... Leo F. Forbstein
*Cinematography ..... Tony Gaudio
*Art Direction ..... John Hughes

Critical reception

The "New York Times" said, "The three writers who adapted it . . . did a clever script job and Michael Curtiz directed at a brisk pace. Add to that a cast with a neat sense of comedy and you have an excellent tonic for the mid-July doldrums." [ [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9400E5DC1E39E33ABC4A52DFB166838E629EDE "New York Times" review] ]

"Variety" said, " [It] lacks authenticity and is so far fetched it'll hand newsscribes around the country a constant run of ripples. But it's light and has some funny lines and situations." [ [http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117791149.html?query=Front+Page+Woman "Variety" review] ]

References

External links