Front Page Woman (1935)

Best movie of this year hands down!

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

By the time she made this film, Bette Davis had been in more than two dozen movies, and she had attained leading lady status. Never known or remembered for comedy, she nevertheless made several comedies and this is one of her early ones. In "Front Page Woman," Davis has the looks and smarts that make her a competing "newspaperman," to rival journalist and boyfriend George Brent. Davis plays Ellen Garfield and Brent is Curt Devlin. A good supporting cast is headed by Roscoe Karns as Toots, a news photographer. All the cast are good and Ellen and Curt have a friendly rivalry for getting the front-page story. At times they are very serious, but love is in the making with these two. As the plot unfolds here, the two match wits to solve a crime and get the big front-page splash ahead of the cops and one another.It's a fun story and the leads have very good chemistry. Davis smiles a lot in this film – something moviegoers didn't see very often with this giant of the silver screen over five decades in her many serious, dramatic and mystery roles. It's nice to see Davis with Brent, whom she considered among her favorite leading men. It's easy to see why he was her favorite in this film. He has an affable, kind persona here, even as an otherwise shrewd and accomplished reporter. Most people should enjoy this film.

With Bette Davis doing a role that Glenda Farrell or Joan Blondell was used to doing and George Brent standing in for James Cagney or Pat O'Brien, Front Page Woman is about a sob sister columnist wanting to prove she's as good at investigative reporting as the man she loves. Brent's a good guy all right, but he certainly believes that woman's place is in the home or writing a woman's column about same.The chance comes when both are sent by their rival papers to cover a fire. The fire it turns out was only a ruse to cover the stabbing of a bigshot played by Huntley Gordon. As the investigation, arrest, and trial proceed, Davis and Brent go on scooping spree to show the other up who is the better reporter. That kind of fun can certainly put a strain on a relationship and the two of them, Brent more so, play fast and loose with the criminal justice system to get that scoop over the other. In the end the crime revolves around a love triangle with Gordon, mystery lady Wini Shaw, and polo player Gordon Westcott.Contrary to rumor Bette Davis could play comedy though it was not her strong suit. Her material is slight, but she does her best to rise above a role she's miscast in. Her devoted fans will certainly not turn away from Front Page Woman.

Greatly enjoyed this Betty Davis film which I had never viewed and found Davis at her very best in appearance and in a very light hearted role she portrayed as Ellen Garfield. I believe Davis was around 27 years of age when she appeared in this film and she was very charming and had a good supporting actor, George Brent, (Curt Devlin) who was a star reporter for his newspaper and was in competition with Ellen Garfield to get the big scoop or headline stopper for their respective newspapers. This couple were also love birds who had intentions to get married only under certain terms they agreed upon together, a sort of contest that would lead to some very important big steps in their lives. Veteran actor Roscoe Karns, (Toots O'Grady) was the photographer for Curt Devlin and gave a great supporting comical role through out the entire picture. This is a very enjoyable 1935 Classic film and I believe that Davis and Brent both gave outstanding performances. Enjoy.

Bette Davis seems miscast as a hard-working dynamic reporter in a rivalry with star reporter, George Brent, who works for a different newspaper. The role is more suited to wise-cracking, fast-talking stars such as Glenda Farrell (who made a similar film, Blondes at Work (1938)), or Joan Blondell (who also made a similar film, Back in Circulation (1937)). Her make-up, too, belied her profession. With perfectly tweezed eyebrows and immaculately applied lipstick, she looked like, as well as sounded like, a Hollywood star rather than a reporter. Still, Bette Davis is always a pleasure to watch even if not perfect. She and Brent are supposedly in love, but she won't marry him until he admits she is just as good a reporter as he is. You would think he wouldn't place any obstacles in her path towards reporting equality, but his vanity won't allow that conclusion, so he does. After a jury comes to a "guilty" verdict in the trial both are covering, and the jurors leave the jury room, Brent sneaks in to examine the ballots so he can get an extra on the street as quickly as possible. But sensing Davis is following him, he replaces the ballots with ones that read "not guilty." With friends like that, who needs enemies? Davis does report the wrong verdict to her editor, leading to the two rival newspapers coming out at the same time with opposite verdicts. Davis gets fired because of this hostile and vicious act, but, of course, it's not the end of the story, and she does get the last laugh in the matter.