Summary
Ruthless Chicago newspaper editor Walter Burns resorts to dubious motives in order to get top reporter Hildy Johnson to cover one more big crime story before retirement.
Good for
- Date night
- Friends night
- Party vibe
Where to watch
Fingerprint
At a glance
Critics vs audiences
Audiences like it more than critics (+16)
Critics 57Audiences 73GoodWatch 65
Tomatometer57%
Audience score74%
IMDb7.3
Letterboxd · 15 K ratings3.6/5
Box office
3.8×its budget
- Budget
- $4 M
- Worldwide
- $15 M
Worldwide it earned $11 M more than it cost.
Running time
1 h 45 min
A typical length for comedies, +5 min on the typical 100
typical 100105Half of all comedies run 91–111 min.
Reach
Streams in 5 countries, rent or buy in 33 more
Released
1974
November 1, 1974
52 years ago
Genre
ComedyLanguage
English
Original language
Made in
- United States
Rated
- PGUnited States
Not for young kids: it's rated PG in the United States, and the viewing guide lists it for teens and adults.
What's in it
- ViolenceLittle or none
- Gore, disturbing imagesLittle or none
- Frightening scenesLittle or none
- Sex, nudityLittle or none
- Dark themesMild
Levels from the title analysis.
Viewing guide
AdultsDate NightFriends NightParty VibeIntergenerationalPartner WatchPublic Viewing SafeSolo WatchTeensBackground WatchComfort WatchDrop-in FriendlyPure EscapismNot listed for kids or family movie night.
24 of 25
Jack LemmonHildebrand Johnson
Walter MatthauWalter Burns
Susan SarandonPeggy Grant
Vincent GardeniaSheriff
David WayneRoy Bensinger
Allen GarfieldKruger
Austin PendletonEarl Williams
Charles DurningMurphy
Herb EdelmanSchwartz
Martin GabelDr. Max J. Eggelhofer
Harold GouldMayor
Cliff OsmondOfficer Jacobi
Dick O'NeillMcHugh- JKJon KorkesRudy Keppler
Carol BurnettMollie Malloy
Paul BenedictPlunkett
Allen JenkinsTelegrapher- BDBarbara DavisMyrtle
Biff ElliotPolice Dispatcher
Lou FrizzellEndicott
Doro MerandeJennie
Noam PitlikWilson
Joshua ShelleyCab Driver
John FurlongDuffy
Directing · 1
- Billy Wilder Director, Screenplay
Writing · 3
- I. A. L. Diamond Screenplay
- Ben Hecht Theatre Play
- Charles MacArthur Theatre Play
Production · 2
- Jennings Lang Executive Producer
- Paul Monash Producer
Camera · 1
- Jordan Cronenweth Director of Photography
Editing · 1
- Ralph E. Winters Editor
Sound · 2
- Robert Martin Sound Designer
- Robert L. Hoyt Sound Designer
Art · 2
- Henry Bumstead Art Direction
- James W. Payne Set Decoration
Costume & Make-Up · 1
- Burton Miller Costume Design
Other crew · 23
- Carey Loftin Stunt Coordinator
- Richard Farnsworth Stunts
- Roger Creed Stunts
- Gary Davis Stunts
- Tommy J. Huff Stunts
- Wally Rose Stunts
Tropes
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