Page One: ‘His Girl Friday’ (1940)

Screen play by Charles Lederer, from the play “The Front Page” by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur

See the writing credit: “screen play”? That is not a misprint. During the 30s and 40s, that was the official designation. Why? Once the ‘talkies’ began in 1927, a flood of playwrights hit Hollywood. Thus, a movie script was perceived as a screen version of a play. During the 40s, the credit began to evolve to ‘screenplay’ as writers began to transform this unique narrative form into what it has become today.

Page One is a daily Go Into The Story series featuring the first page of notable movie scripts from the classic era to contemporary times. Comparing them is an excellent way to study a variety of writing styles and see how professional writers start a story.

For more Page One posts, go here.

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