> Lewis Milestone's 1931 film The Front Page was loyally adapted from Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur's 1928 play of the same name. It was a perfected prototype of the screwball comedy, and many re-makes of both the film and the play have since followed.

> When Howard Hawks heard the part of Hildy Johnson read by his secretary, he realized that the role would be even more humorous if played by a woman. And so this re-worked version of The Front Page soon became His Girl Friday, pitting Cary Grant against Rosalind Russell in a rapid-fire battle of words and wit. This adaptation pioneered the technique of overlapping dialogue. In films prior, actors primarily spoke in turn so that each phrase could be clearly heard. But for this adaptation, Howard Hawks wanted to keep as much of the original dialogue as possible while adding improvisations and keeping the film within the necessary time-frame, which inspired him to let the actors talk over one another as if in a race to speak and also to give a more practical rendition of how people argue and banter in real life.

> Billy Wilder himself worked as a reporter prior to his start in the film industry. His vivid experiences in the world of journalism came to good use while crafting the remake, The Front Page (1974) pairing Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. Unlike Howard Hawks, Wilder decided to focus on the nuances of journalistic life and the camaraderie between two friends/colleagues instead of the reconciliation of a previously married couple.

> A remake of both The Front Page and His Girl Friday includes Ted Kotcheff's Switching Channels (1988) starring Burt Reynolds, Kathleen Turner, and Christopher Reeve.