Front Page Woman

Bette Davis and George Brent are sort of engaged. They are also reporters on competing newspapers who keep swiping each others' stories in this fast-paced Warner Brothers movie, with the full stock company on display, in this engaging effort.

Warner Brothers worked these two actors hard in 1935. Brent made seven movies in 1935, Miss Davis five. Director Michael Curtiz also worked the script hard. He seems to pack two hours of dialogue into 82 minutes, mostly by having the actors start talking the instant the previous speaker has finished. There's tremendous chemistry between the two leads; they worked together in eleven movies. It's that chemistry that carries the movie, given a standard script; RKO seems to have made essentially the same movie twenty times to less effect.

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 and George Brent star in "Front Page Woman," a 1935 film from Warner Brothers.

Davis and Brent, of course, were often paired, and they make a cute couple here. Davis is reporter Ellen Garfield, and Brent is ace reporter Curt Devlin. They're in love, but competitive at the same time, Ellen determined to prove herself.

Given the time period, Curt pooh-poohs Ellen's abilities, because of course as a married woman, she isn't going to be working. But she's not marrying him until she proves herself, and as far as working after marriage -- well, we'll see.

The two compete getting the story on a murder case, even listening at the keyhole during jury deliberation and both reporting opposite verdicts - and both making headlines. It's a game of oneupmanship all the way through.

Surprisingly feminist in its tone at the end, "Front Page Woman" is a fun film, with a hilarious performance by Roscoe Karns as a photographer thrown in. Always great to see Davis at any age. Here, young, blond, and vivacious, she's adorable.

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.

In this film, Bette plays Ellen Garfield, the sole female reporter for The Daily Star. Bette's character is engaged to Curt Devlin, portrayed by the ever reliable George Brent. Brent's character is also a reporter at the rival newspaper. Brent keeps pressuring Davis to marry him, but she won't until he admits that she is as good a "newsman" as he is. It seems that Brent, along with all the other men in this film, feel that Davis couldn't possibly be a good reporter, because she's a woman. As per usual in these types of films, Davis sets out to "scoop" her fiance and not only prove to him that she's a good newsman, but also prove to her employer and herself.

Davis and Brent both arrive at the scene of a fire to get the story for their respective newspapers. Davis' story ends up being a fluffy writing piece about the fire. Brent's story on the other hand, involves a missing persons case that results from the fire. Of course, Davis' employer is furious that her story is nothing and Brent found an angle that no other newspaper found. Davis is close to being fired, but she promises her employer that she'll come back with a new story, something really great and exclusive.

The remainder of the story involves Davis and Brent both investigating the same missing person case and trying to "out-scoop" each other at every turn. Davis has to continually deal with chauvinistic comments from her fiance and colleagues which only fuels her desire to prove them all wrong.

I thought this was a really fun film and enjoyed how the story and mystery progressed. While Brent is never exciting, I thought he was fine in this film and was a good foil for Davis. I can see why she made so many films with him--he was never going to outshine her. Perhaps this is why she didn't get along with male co-stars like Errol Flynn.