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His Girl Friday

(1940, Rated NR, Classic, Starring Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, Rosalind Russell)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 10, age appropriate for kids over 12; suggested age 12.

  • Is it any good?

    5.0

  • Common Sense says

    Sassy, screwball classic with a feminist twist.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 12 and Up

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    A lot of underhanded behavior, including lying, passing counterfeit money, stealing, gambling, bribery, and conniving. There's also considerable sexism: When a woman walks into the newsroom, one of the reporters says, "Take off your shirt." On the plus side, Hildy is a strong female role model, showing tenacity, brains, and compassion.

  • Violence:

    A surprising amount of violence, including a woman jumping from a window. We see her face-down on the pavement below. Gunshots are aimed at a press room. Many characters aim guns at one another. Characters threaten to hurt one another, saying things like "I'm going to kick you in the teeth."

  • Sex:

    Some gazing into eyes, but that's it.

  • Language:

    Not an issue.

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Everyone smokes cigarettes and Hildy and Walter take their coffee with rum.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About His Girl Friday

Parents need to know that while there's no sex or bad language in this film, you do see a character jump out the window to her death and many characters pull guns on one another. There's also a considerable amount of underhanded behavior. For instance, Walter has Bruce arrested twice, gives him counterfeit money, and plans to rig the election with biased reporting.

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Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the choices Hildy had to make: Either be a "normal person" and have a family or be a "newspaperman" and have a career. How has it changed today and how is it still similar?
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