His Girl Friday Page #41

Synopsis: When hard-charging New York newspaper editor Walter Burns (Cary Grant) discovers that his ex-wife, investigative reporter Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell), has gotten engaged to milquetoast insurance agent Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy), he unsuccessfully tries to lure her away from tame domestic life with a story about the impending execution of convicted murderer Earl Williams. But when Hildy discovers Williams may be innocent, her reporter instincts take over.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Production: Columbia Pictures
  2 wins.
 
IMDB:
8.0
Rotten Tomatoes:
98%
PASSED
Year:
1940
92 min
970 Views


BRUCE:

(taking it and

surveying it coldly)

You got it back, eh? There's something

funny going on around here.

BURNS:

Hildy!

HILDY:

All right, Walter.

She sits down and begins to type.

BRUCE:

I'm taking the nine o'clock train,

Hildy. And you can meet us at the

station.

HILDY:

Fine.

She types away.

BURNS:

(coming over to Bruce)

I'll see she's there, Bruce, I promise

you.

BRUCE:

(dramatically)

If she's not there, mother and I are

leaving anyhow!

But Hildy continues typing and doesn't even get it.

CAMERA TRUCKS WITH BURNS

as he leads Bruce away toward door.

BURNS:

I know how you feel, Bruce, but you've

got to forgive her. She's only a

woman, after all.

BRUCE:

Suppose she is -- I have feelings,

too! Do you know where I've been for

the last couple of hours? Locked up

in a police station and she didn't

move to do anything about it.

BURNS:

Ts! Ts! Ts!

BRUCE:

And now I don't know where my mother

is. She may be lost.

BURNS:

I'll find her, Bruce, if I have to

put every detective in the city on

the job. Tell you what -- go over to

the Missing Persons Bureau and

describe your mother. What does she

look like?

BRUCE:

She's -- well, she's very motherly.

That's about the best description I

know.

BURNS:

(nodding)

That's the kind of stuff they want!

They go out the door.

INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE DOOR MED. CLOSE SHOT

as they come out.

BURNS:

Oh, Bruce, let me see that money

Hildy gave you.

BRUCE:

The money? Why?

BURNS:

There's a lot of counterfeit big

bills going around.

BRUCE:

(worried)

Gee! Take a look, will you?

He hands the money to Burns. Burns looks at it carefully and

hands it back.

BURNS:

Oh, this is all right, Bruce. I just

wanted to be sure.

BRUCE:

Say, I want to be sure, too!

INT. PRESS ROOM MED. SHOT

Hildy is typing furiously. Burns enters, grinning, locks the

door behind him and goes to phone and picks it up.

BURNS:

(into phone)

Duffy. Good. Stick close.

He turns and crosses quickly to look out the window.

AT WINDOW:

Burns coming in to window.

BURNS:

(despairingly)

Now the moon's out!

He turns away, crossing to the desk, the CAMERA TRUCKING

with him. At the desk he taps three times, being answered by

three taps from within.

BURNS:

Fine. Three taps is me. Don't forget!

You're sitting pretty, now. Got enough

air?

He raises top an inch or two and fans air in to Williams.

BURNS:

Is that better? Now breathe deep!

We hear an intake of breath from inside the desk.

BURNS:

Attaboy!

He closes the desk and turns back to the table. As he passes

Hildy, who is still typing rapidly:

BURNS:

(looking over her

shoulder)

That's the stuff! Lam it into 'em,

Hildy.

He jerks the sheet from Hildy's machine, crosses to his desk

and picks up the phone.

BURNS:

(into phone)

Hello! Duffy, ready? Here we go!

CLOSEUP BURNS:

reading from the page he has taken from Hildy's typewriter.

BURNS:

(into phone)

"In the darkest hour of the city's

history --"

INT. MAIN FLOOR CRIMINAL COURTS BUILDING LONG SHOT

At the end of the hall are glass doors through which can be

seen a turmoil of activity in the street outside -- newsboys,

a crowd, and a mounted policeman or two. Bruce comes down

the hall, his face set and angry. As he goes, he sees a sign

set over a doorway in the hall. It reads: MISSING PERSONS

BUREAU. He stops and enters.

INT. PRESS ROOM - NIGHT CLOSEUP BURNS AT PHONE

BURNS:

(into phone)

Listen, did you impress it on Butch

that I want him and his gang here

right away? You did? Every minute

counts. All right.

(puts receiver down

on table)

Duffy's getting old!

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Charles Lederer

Charles Lederer was an American screenwriter and film director. He was born into a prominent theatrical family in New York, and after his parents divorced, was raised in California by his aunt, Marion ... more…

All Charles Lederer scripts | Charles Lederer Scripts

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Submitted by aviv on November 03, 2016

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