Note: This essay was originally submitted on October 5, 2026 to faculty mentor Frank Demos at Thomas Edison State University as an assignment for his class, FIL-1100: American Cinema. It was then subsequently published on Ashersisneros.com
His Girl Friday (1940) is about one domineering newspaperman’s attempts to win his ex-wife back before she marries an insurance salesman. But he does not try this through conventional means and sweet-talk. He does this by pulling her back into the world of journalism, which convinces her that she loves the exciting life with him far more than the monotonous security of an insurance man. His tactics are oftentimes callous and sometimes illegal, but in the end, he succeeds in winning her heart back. Yet even though this love triangle is the underlying theme of the film, that theme is often overshadowed by the satire that mocks stereotypes in the 1940s.
For one, there is the clear masculinity of the female love interest, Hilda. Now she is not masculine in the sense that she has large arms or a deep voice or walks with a sway in her shoulders; but she is masculine by 1940 standards in the way that she interacts with the other male journalists and in the way that she dominates her fiance. For example, whenever she enters the news room, the men do not treat her with chivalry, and she does not treat them with submissive respect. They respect her as an equal, if not more than an equal, and she is quick to mock them and join in their playful jabs. As for her fiance, it is she who talks on their behalf, she who makes decisions for them, and she who saves him time and time again. In this way, His Girl Friday (1940) inverts the female norms of that era.
The film also satirizes politicians and journalists. That is most evident in the mayor’s corruption. Not only does he instruct the sheriff to execute a man who might be innocent in order to help his reelection campaign, but he also tries to blatantly bribe a courier from the governor. The governor is more righteous, but he is also lazy. Every time someone wants to contact him, he is busy fishing or hunting. No one can seem to get a hold of him whenever they need to. And the journalists are no better. Throughout the film, the protagonist Walter jokes about blackmailing the governor and frames Hilda’s fiance repeatedly for crimes he did not commit.
Those are just two ways that His Girl Friday (1940) uses the power of satire. Of course, Hilda’s boisterous and domineering personality helps to make the film memorable, and so do the hilarious jabs at journalist and politician stereotypes. But there was another benefit to this use of satire. By filling the film with satire that mocked stereotypes and cultural norms, the filmmakers were able to make a romance that was not sexually provocative and, therefore, did not violate the Hays Production Code (Hollywood Lexicon n.d.). This made the satire both a stylistic filmmaking choice and a practical business decision.
References
What is a screwball comedy? (n.d.) Hollywood Lexicon.
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