FRONT PAGE WOMAN (1935)

A newspaper romance that borrows a bit from THE FRONT PAGE (and therefore anticipates HIS GIRL FRIDAY). Bette Davis and George Brent are rival reporters who are also sort of in love. He wants her to give up her career for marriage and she wants him to admit that she is the equal of any male reporter. They both end up covering a murder case which in itself is not particularly interesting and never developed enough for the audience to care about, unlike the similar case in HIS GIRL FRIDAY. The two cheat each other in order to scoop each other and get into plenty of trouble with their bosses and the law. Finally, in a foregone conclusion, he admits that she *is* a great reporter and she agrees to quit her job and marry him. Except for the rather dispiriting ending, the movie is light and diverting. Roscoe Karns is Brent's photographer pal who seems to be subtly coded gay--and a dyke reporter named Nell (!) makes a brief appearance. Davis has two memorable lines: "Why don't you build a statue of yourself and hold services on Sunday?" and "When you smile like that, you look like a sick cat."