Editing Lewis Milestone (section)

===''The Front Page'' (1931)===

''[[The Front Page (1931 film)|The Front Page]]'' (1931), in which Milestone depicted backroom denizens of Chicago newspaper tabloids, is considered one of the most influential films of 1931 and introduced the Hollywood archetype of the experienced, fast-talking reporter. The film's script retains the "sparkling dialogue [and] hard, fast and ruthless pace" of [[Ben Hecht]]'s and [[Charles MacArthur]]'s 1928 stage production.<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 82: "Probably the most famous of all newspaper dramas{{nbsp}}... backed by sparkling dialogue [and] hard, fast, and ruthless pace{{nbsp}}... Milestone's control of dialogue and performances set a new "house standard" at Warner Brothers [and] sparked off a cycle of newspaper films"<br />Wood, 2003: "The definitive fever-pitch newspaper comedy, [the] 1928 play ''The Front Page'' is a cornerstone of the screwball [film] genre."<br />Strago, 2017: Hughes and Milestone "stuck close to the original play{{nbsp}}... a trendsetter when it first hit the screen in 1931. It became famous, sometimes infamous, for its frankness about sleazy backroom politics and reckless, sensationalist newspapers{{nbsp}}... it made rapid-fire, overlapping dialogue fashionable."</ref> ''The Front Page'' began the 1930s journalism genre, which other studios imitated, and a number of remakes—including Howard Hawks' ''[[His Girl Friday]]'' (1940) and [[Billy Wilder]]'s ''[[The Front Page (1974 film)|The Front Page]]'' (1974)—appeared.<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 60: "The success of The Front Page created a spate of newspaper films, so that the type became almost a genre during the 1930s." p. 54: "Milestone's The Front Page remains the finest film, the best artistic success of the three." p. 53: On Hawks' and Wilder's remakes<br />Wood, 2003: "serving as the foundation for several big-screen classics{{nbsp}}... innumerable imitations that followed in its wake, transforming the fast-talking, conniving reporter into a ''bona fide'' cinematic icon."</ref>

Milestone was disappointed with the casting of [[Pat O'Brien (actor)|Pat O'Brien]] as reporter "Hildy" Johnson; he wanted to cast [[James Cagney]] or [[Clark Gable]] in the role  but producer Howard Hughes vetoed this choice in favor of O'Brien, who had performed in the Chicago stage production of ''The Front Page''.<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 53: "Hughes considered Cagney 'a little runt' while Gable's ears reminded him "of a taxi-cab with both doors open'" And O'Brien's film debut. And "Casting became the major production difficulty in the Milestone filming of ''The Front Page''{{nbsp}}... [leading man] [[Pat O'Brien (actor)|Pat O'Brien]] was too clean-cut and sincere [for the part of] Hildy Johnson, but his antagonist, the ruthless editor Walter Burns, was toned down considerably by the dapper Adolph Menjou, who had played only sophisticated ladies men"</ref>

According to Biographer [[Charles Higham (biographer)|Charles Higham]] (1973), "''The Front Page'' surpasses ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' in being wholly a masterpiece, and one of the greatest pictures of the period. Milestone achieved a perfect marriage of film and theater. The picture has a vividness not matched in a newspaper subject until [[Citizen Kane]]"<ref>Higham, 1973 p. 127</ref>

According to Joseph Millichap:
{{blockquote | Milestone employs "several framing devices, a quick cross-cutting between scenes, a moving camera intercut with close-ups, juxtaposition of angles and distances, and a number of trick shots{{nbsp}}... Overall, the deft combination of Realistic ''mise-en-scene'' with an Expressionistic camera draws the best out of the realistic, melodramatic and comedic elements of the original [play]{{nbsp}}... creating the most cinematically interesting, if not the most entertaining, version of ''The Front Page''.<ref>Millichap, 1981 Composite quote from pp. 53, 55 and 60. Note: capitalized words in the original.</ref><ref>Strago, 2017: Milestone "maintains a cinematic style even when the setups are utterly theatrical."</ref><ref>Baxter, 1970 p. 133: "Howard Hawks' remake ''His Girl Friday'' (1940) succeeded far better because of his skill with fast conversation and the Hawks-invented idea of making the reporter character a woman [[Rosalind Russell]]."</ref>}}

Milestone's technique is demonstrated in the opening tracking shots of the newspaper's printing plant, and the confrontation between Molly Malloy ([[Mae Clarke]]) and a throng of reporters.<ref>Canham, 1974 p. 82: "The visual signature of [Milestone's] long tracking shots is there at the opening, with a stunning track through the newspaper machine room."</ref><ref>Strago, 2017: Milestone "achieves some spectacular effects, like the camera traveling with Molly as she confronts a row of reporters—it's as if she were a prisoner facing down a firing line [and] when Milestone takes you on a tour of the Morning Post, the camera follows Menjou's Burns as he strides through the printing plant, with the heavy machinery of a thriving industry rumbling behind him."</ref> ''The Front Page'' received a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards and  a ''[[Film Daily]]'' poll of 300 movie critics listed Milestone among "The Ten Best Directors".<ref>Millichap, 1981 p. 54: Milestone "at the height of his creative powers" with The Front Page. And p. 60: Section on Rain (1932), listed as top director with Film Daily.<br />Strago, 2017: The Front Page "augmented Lewis Milestone's stature as a director and Howard Hughes's as a producer."<br />Strago, 2017: "Dwight Macdonald said it was 'widely considered to be the best movie of 1931'."<br />Koszarski, 1976 p. 317: ".his most important films were from the early talkie period, ''All Quiet on the Western Front'' and ''The Front Page''."</ref>