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The Front Page

The Front Page

Comedy · 1974

Ruthless Chicago newspaper editor Walter Burns resorts to dubious motives in order to get top reporter Hildy Johnson to cover one more big crime story before retirement.

Movie details

The Front Page

“It's the hottest story since the Chicago fire...and they're sitting on it.”

1974 Comedy 1h 45m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.3 / 10

Community rating

Ruthless Chicago newspaper editor Walter Burns resorts to dubious motives in order to get top reporter Hildy Johnson to cover one more big crime story before retirement.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Front Page?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The Great Outdoors

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Comedy · 1988

It's vacation time for outdoorsy Chicago man Chet Ripley, along with his wife, Connie, and their two kids, Buck and Ben. But a serene weekend of fishing at a Wisconsin lakeside cabin gets crashed by Connie's obnoxious brother-in-law, Roman Craig, his wife, Kate, and the couple's two daughters. As the excursion wears on, the Ripleys find themselves at odds with the stuffy Craig family.

Carry On Nurse

Carry On Nurse

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In Haven Hospital, a certain men's ward is causing more havoc than the whole hospital altogether. The formidable Matron's debut gives everyone a chill every time she walks past, with only Reckitt standing up to her. There's a colonel who's a constant nuisance, a bumbling nurse, a romance between Ted York and Nurse Denton, and Bell wants his bunion removed straight away, so after a couple of pints, the men decide to remove the bunion themselves!

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The Toy

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Comedy · 1982

On one of his bratty son Eric's annual visits, the plutocrat U.S. Bates takes him to his department store and offers him anything in it as a gift. Eric chooses a black janitor who has made him laugh with his antics. At first the man suffers many indignities as Eric's "toy", but gradually teaches the lonely boy what it is like to have and to be a friend.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Billy Wilder

Written by

Billy Wilder · I. A. L. Diamond

Jack Lemmon

Jack Lemmon

Hildebrand Johnson

Walter Matthau

Walter Matthau

Walter Burns

Susan Sarandon

Susan Sarandon

Peggy Grant

Vincent Gardenia

Vincent Gardenia

Sheriff

David Wayne

David Wayne

Roy Bensinger

Allen Garfield

Allen Garfield

Kruger

Austin Pendleton

Austin Pendleton

Earl Williams

Court is in session

Put The Front Page on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.