The Front Page (1974 film)
| The Front Page | |
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Original poster by Bill Gold
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| Directed by | Billy Wilder |
| Produced by | Paul Monash |
| Screenplay by |
Billy Wilder I.A.L. Diamond |
| Based on |
The Front Page by Ben Hecht Charles MacArthur |
| Starring |
Jack Lemmon Walter Matthau Charles Durning David Wayne Susan Sarandon Austin Pendleton Carol Burnett |
| Music by | Billy May |
| Cinematography | Jordan Cronenweth |
| Edited by | Ralph E. Winters |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4 million |
| Box office | $15,000,000 |
The Front Page is a 1974 American black comedy-drama film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's play of the same name (1928), which inspired several other films.
Chicago Examiner reporter Hildebrand "Hildy" Johnson (Jack Lemmon) has just quit his job in order to marry Peggy Grant (Susan Sarandon) and start a new career, when convict Earl Williams (Austin Pendleton) escapes from death row just prior to his execution. Earl is an impoverished, bumbling leftist whose only offense is stuffing fortune cookies with messages demanding the release of Sacco and Vanzetti, but the yellow press of Chicago has painted him as a dangerous threat from Moscow. As a result, the citizenry are anxious to see him put to death.
Earl has not left the jail, and enters the prison pressroom while Hildy is alone there. Hildy cannot resist the lure of what could be the biggest scoop of his soon-to-be-over career. Ruthless, egomaniacal managing editor Walter Burns (Walter Matthau), desperate to keep Hildy on the job, encourages him to cover the story, frustrating Peggy, who is eager to catch their train. When Earl is in danger of being discovered, Mollie Malloy (Carol Burnett), a self-described "$2 whore from Division Street" who befriended Earl, creates a distraction by leaping from the third-floor window.
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