Comparison Between 'His Girl Friday And The Rules Of The Game'

The popularization of deep-focus cinematography in the 1940s brought about important changes to the style and framing of films. Coupled with this new technique was the expert use of sound by film director’s to create an artful combination of visual and audible cinematic space. In Howard Hawk’s His Girl Friday and Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game, both Hawks and Renoir utilize deep-focus cinematography, camera movement, and the rich layering of sounds to command visual and audible cinematic space, however, while Hawks utilizes these techniques to advance the narrative and character development within the film, Renoir wields them to serve artistic and thematic means. In His Girl Friday, Hawks allows the fast paced dialogue of the screwball

comedy to dominate the audible cinematic space as he simultaneously uses physical proximity and camera movement to detail the relationships between the main characters. In The Rules of the Game, Renoir’s artistic and realistic filming style enables him to maximize the space of each frame and allow viewers to become immersed in the film as a character themselves, as he simultaneously weaves in a blistering critique on French society.
The skilled use of deep-focus cinematography and the rich audio-vision of His Girl Friday are displayed in the opening scene. As Hildy walks through the gate of the newsroom, a long shot and deep-focus lens reveal the fast paced environment of the room. The camera slowly pans the length of the room, revealing to the audience the chaos of the world of journalism visually through the crowded desks and shuffling papers, and audibly through the constant chatter and telephone conversations in the background. Once Hildy enters Walter’s office, the audience is introduced to the fast paced dialogue between Walter and Hildy. The vococentrism of the film leads the dialogue to structure and dominate the audible cinematic space throughout the film. The quick dialogue between Walter and Hildy forms its own kind of intimacy between the two characters. Not only was this a purposeful technique to uphold standard genre conventions, but this intimate style of dialogue was used to fill the romantic space that could not be conveyed visually due to restrictions of the Hays Code. For instance, at one point Walter makes a reference to a certain dimple only Hildy is aware of, implying it is only visible when he is naked. The intimacy created by dialogue is complemented by the camera movement and position of the characters in the scene. The sequence lacks elaborate camera movement or extensive shot-reverse-shot cutting in favor of mostly shots that feature both characters. Not only does this allow the camera to be non-obtrusive so that the viewer focuses on the dialogue, but it emphasizes the close proximity of Hildy and Walter and allows the audience to focus on the two constantly invading each other’s personal space.
Throughout the opening scene, the audience is also made aware of the unconventional gender roles maintained in Hildy and Walter’s relationship. Most notable about their nontraditional relationship is the lack of chivalry exhibited by Walter. During their conversation in his office, Walter sits down and takes out a cigarette without asking Hildy if she wants one. Once she asks him for one, he proceeds to light only his own cigarette, and Hildy is once again forced to ask Walter for a match. At the conclusion of their conversation, Walter decides to go introduce himself to Bruce. He opens his office door and walks straight out without waiting for Hildy. This lack of chivalry is emphasized by a cut to a camera outside of Walter’s office, where the audience watches Walter walk out of the frame on the left and see the door close in Hildy’s face on the right. As the two begin walking down the hallway, Hildy mocks Walter’s lack of manners by chastising him for not walking beside her. After Hildy demonstrates to Walter the correct way to hold the gate open for a woman, the camera once again emphasizes the fact that Walter left Hildy behind by panning along with him as he walks so that Hildy is left out of the frame. The camera then cuts to a shot displaying the gate slamming on Hildy.
In the same way that audio-vision is used to highlight the intimacy and bond shared by Walter and Hildy, it is also used to show the incompatibility of Hildy and Bruce. This incompatibility becomes apparent in the scene in which Walter takes Bruce and Hildy to lunch. Stanley Cavell describes Walter and Hildy as being at home with one another and making Bruce into the guest. As they arrive at the table, Bruce goes to sit down in the chair next to Hildy, only to find that Walter has already snuck into the seat. The fast paced dialogue between Walter and Hildy prevents Bruce from getting a word in edge wise, and Bruce is constantly made into a third wheel as Walter leans in to talk directly to Hildy and turns his body to block Bruce from the conversation. Bruce’s third wheel status is emphasized visually throughout the scene. The connection between Hildy and Walter is subtly conveyed through the two of them both smoking a cigarette and taking their coffee with rum. The scene repeatedly cuts to a camera placed behind Bruce’s right shoulder that highlights the fact that Walter and Hildy sit mere inches apart on the opposite end of the table as Bruce awkwardly sits on the far side. As the three stand up as they prepare to leave, Bruce knocks Hildy’s hat out of place as he helps her into her coat, further displaying how out of sync they are in comparison to Hildy and Walter.
In The Rules of the Game, Renoir coupled deep-focus techniques with a rich soundscape of dialogue, action, and sound effects to create an artistic viewing experience similar to reality, allowing the audience to become a character in the film.

The long take shots and lack of close ups create a fluid visual style and continuous environment that adds to this realistic feel. Andre Bazin argues that the coming of sound film made viewers more passive as they were now getting the director’s vision rather than their own. However, he claims that deep-focus cinematography creates more ambiguity and consequently a more active viewing experience. The elaborate masquerade party thrown in celebration of Jurieux’s success is an excellent example of the active viewing experience Renoir created in the film. Through camera movement and minimal cutting, Renoir takes advantage of the entire space of the estate and fills the frame with action in the fore, middle, and background. An underlying theme throughout The Rules of the Game was its scathing critique of both the aristocracy and society more generally, and this sequence not only critiques the exorbitant lifestyle of the wealthy, but also the working class’s attempts to imitate their superiors. The sequence begins with a play put on by several guests. Renoir allows the audience to entirety of room during the play by first panning to left of the stage and then zooming out as the frame displays a collection of guests seated in chairs, as well as additional guests along the back

wall.
The extensive use of depth and layering allows for developments to happen in both the foreground and background of shots. During a second performance, at one point the shot shifts to a camera placed behind the performers on the stage. In the foreground, the viewer is able to clearly see the skeleton continue to dance on stage. While in the background, the viewer not only sees the ghosts run off the stage into the audience, but also the looks of surprise on the audiences faces as the ghosts circle the guests. The camera moves on to glide from room to room as it comes across nearly all the main characters. In the foreground of one shot Schumacher and Robert have a conversation, while in the background Marceau is seen sneaking away through a door. Another shot has the camera positioned in a sitting room behind Octave as he asks Saint-Aubin to help him remove his costume. Through the open door to the room, Schumacher and Lisette are visible in the hallway. Behind them through the next set of doors, the viewer can still see the ghosts from the play dancing. Even as the camera weaves between rooms and characters, the continuity of the sequence is upheld through both the long take shots as well as the sound. In this sequence as well as much of the film, Renoir uses diagetic sound to create a unified atmosphere as the camera constantly moves. The music that accompanies the various acts of the play is continued throughout the sequence and the volume simply fades in an out as the camera pauses on the conversations of the main characters. In addition to the music that plays in the background, there is also a rich layering of sound throughout the sequence through overlapping dialogue, screams and cheers from the audience, and the chaos and gunshots during Schumacher’s pursuit of Marceau.
Perhaps the most famous sequence of the film is the hunting scene, which is dripping with social and class commentary. The scenery provides the perfect space for the hunting sequence. The barren property features a large open grass area and leafless trees that create a bleak, uninteresting background that enables the viewer to fully focus on the carnage that follows. The sequence begins with a long shot among the trees, where the house staff slowly walks through the woods toward the camera as they bang on trees and whistle to scare out the animals. Following this scene are six cuts featuring many of the main characters who stand waiting for the animals to come running so that they can shoot them without having to take a single step or move beyond their post. Unlike the majority of the film, this sequence features a disproportionately higher percentage of shots and close ups, fifty one shots in about four minutes, creating a tense environment and making the scene stand out in stark contrast. A large portion of the sequence is strategically dedicated to showcasing the death of the animals within a minute long montage of shots featuring the characters shooting the animals and close ups of the birds falling from the sky or the rabbits stumbling to their deaths. Throughout the stream of shots, the audio space is dominated by the constant firing of guns. One shot provides a close up of a rabbit being shot, and the audience is forced to watch for several seconds as its legs continue to kick as it slowly dies. A long shot at the end of the sequence displays the open field in the foreground and trees in the distance, with the lifeless bodies of a dozen killed animals. The sequence comments on the luxurious life of the wealthy in times of war and the senseless killing during war. Renoir compares the lazy, mindless killing of innocent animals and fighting over who gets to claim them as trophies to the aristocracy, arguing they remain idle and leave the brute of the war effort to be shouldered by the working class. The scene can also be read as foreshadowing the death of one of the guests at the end of the film, Jurieux. Although he is mistaken for someone else, Jurieux’s death was explained away as “an accident,” and the rich went about their self absorbed lives, seemingly more upset by the end of the trip than Jurieux’s death.
Both His Girl Friday and The Rules of the Game command the use of audio-vision and space to construct rich works of cinematic art that require multiple viewings to observe all of the action. Hawks uses rapid fire dialogue to dominate the space of the film and the constant stream of jokes ensure the audience cannot possibly catch them all within one viewing. Similarly, the depth of field created by Renoir at times forces the audience be selective of which conversations and characters to follow.