Few names ring true in the ears of western cinema fans quite like the one of Clint Eastwood. With appearances in some of the most memorable movies of the Old West throughout the latter half of the 20th century, Eastwood remains one of American cinema’s brightest and most enduring stars, becoming a genuinely titanic figure in the movie industry.
With efforts in Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy and further appearances in five Dirty Harry movies, Eastwood is a true hero of acting. However, one ought not to forget his wildly significant contributions to cinema as a director, too, with several acclaimed productions coming in the form of Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby and Letters from Iwo Jima, to name but a few.
Still, with all the acclaim that has come his way over the years as both a director and an actor, Eastwood has never stopped short of offering his praise for those who deserve it most. The film icon once spoke of his admiration for the classic Hollywood acting hero Cary Grant, known for his efforts in the comedy movies of the 1930s and 1940s.
“Cary Grant, I was a tremendous fan of, and he was another one of those guys that had a very distinctive personality on the screen,” Eastwood once told AFI of memories of Grant’s performances on screen. “He probably never got as much credit as he deserved, but he was one of the kings of doing that sort of thing, that romantic comedy.”
Eastwood then explained how Grant could go beyond the realms of his expectations, noting, “But he could do serious things, a Mr. Lucky noir-esque kind of thing, but he could also do the romantic comedies because he had such brilliant timing.” It was at that point that Eastwood revealed one of his favourite movies of all time.
The selection is something of a surprising inclusion, especially considering the kind of films that Eastwood himself has become associated with throughout his career, playing tough guys and western heroes. But one of his favourite movies of all time is proof that there lies a soft part of Eastwood underneath his tough exterior.
“His Girl Friday remains one of my all-time absolute favourite films,” Eastwood noted. The movie is Howard Hawks’ 1940 screwball comedy starring Grant as newspaper editor Walter Burns, who is on the verge of losing his best reporter and ex-wife, Hildy Johnson (played by Rosalind Russell), to another man.
There’s truly quick-fire, witty dialogue throughout the film and the chemistry between Russell and Grant is genuinely palpable. Adapted from the play The Front Page by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, His Girl Friday also serves as a fascinating insight into the fast-paced world of newspaper journalism, with the narrative unfolding over a single day.
In an attempt to keep his wife and ace writer, Walters suggests that both he and Hilda take on one last story and become invested in the case of a local murderer. One might not expect a screwball comedy with Cary Grant to be one of Clint Eastwood’s favourite movies of all time, but the western film icon has proven to surprise once again.