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The Front Page (1974)
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Reviews Counted:23
Fresh:16
Rotten:7
Average Rating:5.9/10
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau again team with Wilder in the third film version of the Hecht-MacArthur classic comedy. The familiar story finds hard-nosed editor Walter Burns (Matthau) trying every... Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau again team with Wilder in the third film version of the Hecht-MacArthur classic comedy. The familiar story finds hard-nosed editor Walter Burns (Matthau) trying every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter Hildy Johnson from leaving the newspaper business to get married. When Earl Williams (Austin Pendleton) an anarchist facing execution, breaks out of prison, Walter has found the perfect hook to keep Johnson in Chicago for a little longer. The escaped convict suddenly pops up in the press room and Hildy hides him in a rolltop desk until he's able to get a location for an exclusive interview. Despite the pleas of Molly Malloy (Carol Burnett), a prostitute in love with Williams, the newsmen refuse to let him go. As Hildy begins looking into the activities of the Sheriff (Vince Gardenia) and the Mayor (Harold Gould), it seems like they've decided to execute the wrong man. Matthau, Lemmon and Martin Gabel as a lunatic psychiatrist give wonderful performances. [More]
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Vincent Gardenia, Susan Sarandon
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Vincent Gardenia, Susan Sarandon, Allen Garfield, David Wayne, Charles Durning, Austin Pendleton, Carol Burnett, Herb Edelman, Martin Gabel, Harold Gould, Cliff Osmond, Dick O'Neill, Jon Korkes, Paul Benedict, Doro Merande, Noam Pitlik
Director: Billy Wilder
Director: Billy Wilder
Screenwriter: Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond
Story: Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur
Producer: Paul Monash
Composer: Billy May
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Reviews for The Front Page
It drags in the middle, but a good first act and a stellar finale make the movie completely worthwhile.
It bombed then. It looks better now, but it's still a distant third in films of the play
Not the finest adaptation of the oft-visited source material, but hey, it's Wilder, Lemmon, and Matthau!
Full of wonderful comedic business, throw-away lines and some effortless ensemble set pieces, The Front Page bristles with its collection of talents on both sides of the camera.... It's that Billy Wilder touch of hurtful grains of truth inside every com
Even though the mechanics and demands of movie-making slow what should be the furious tempo, this Front Page displays a giddy bitterness that is rare in any films except those of Mr. Wilder. It is also, much of the time, extremely funny.
This slick remake of the ebullient original falls short of being the film it could have been, despite the presence of master filmmaker Wilder and his engaging costars.
Matthau and Lemmon put in their usual faultless turns, but cannot lift a pervading air of pointlessness.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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