Review of Front Page Woman

Here is a film which shows with great clarity just how difficult it is to be a great comedienne. Davis' native humor shines through all right, glimmering and warm, but her timing is weak, very weak indeed. It isn't the script or the direction, they're both strong. The dramatic turn of the shoulders, the hard gaze up at a leading man, the cutting voice, all the things made Bette Davis a famous actress in drama and melodrama, work against her in comedy. None of the mannerisms and acting tricks she used throughout her career help her when she's trying to be funny. She's far outside of her "comfort zone" here and it's admirable of her to work outside of her strengths, and a shame that she didn't do more comedy, because she likely would have improved if she had.

Brent on the other hand gives a great performance, and he proves it was no fluke a few months later with Kay Francis in the terrific "The Goose and the Gander." Then if any questions remained, he doubled down as he finished the year in the Ginger Rogers vehicle "In Person" where he shows that he can be an effective leading man with one of the two or three greatest comediennes in the history of American film (with Jean Harlow and Lucille Ball).

Still, comedy is a matter of taste - some people actually think Katharine Hepburn was funny, though it's impossible to see why - and this movie leaves one wishing there were more comedies from Bette Davis.