Cute movie -- but way overrated + revealing of secret American psychosis
It seems to me that anything mediocre, decent, or even passably OK is revered in our society as something incredible and amazing.
His Girl Friday is a decent movie ... its entertaining. But lets be candid here: the dialogue trick of overlapping lines is used WAY too much, the banter between them is really the stuff of sitcoms. There are a couple of good lines, and some good set-ups and back and forth bickering, but mostly this is corny, undeveloped, one-dimensional characters.
What irks me more about this than anything is that the movie truly makes Cary Grant's character to be "GOOD" even though he is a total prick and *beep* and should have been imprisoned on several occasions. America roots for cads and scumballs based on our Greek / European heritage -- the myth of Ulysses (Odysseus) as told in The Oddessy. Ulysses was a jerk and lied and did whatever he could to survive so he could achieve his goals. In the end he is considered "good" and widely admired because he prevailed. Walter (Cary Grant) is just liket that character.
Cary Grant may have been trying to publish the truth, but all of his actions were personal and selfish (get the girl, sell newspapers, retain power and wealth). Unfortunately, he didn't follow any classicly good values or virtues: he lied, cheated, pushed people around on his own whim, he yelled and screamed and bullied others, he manipulated and had criminal associates. And we're supposed to cheer that "he got the girl?" I found Grant's character to be -- quite simply -- nasty.
(look at the leaders in Congress and White House)