You’ll Never Guess Clint Eastwood’s Favorite Film—And It’s a Romantic Comedy!

Clint Eastwood is widely known as the quintessential tough guy of Hollywood—a man who’s defined his career through gritty Westerns, hard-edged police dramas, and haunting tales of American struggle. From his early days as Rowdy Yates in Rawhide to his iconic turn as The Man with No Name in Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy, Eastwood built his reputation as a no-nonsense leading man. As a director, his resume—packed with tense thrillers, intimate character studies, and political dramas—seems to confirm a taste for the dark and serious.

Yet, in a 2010 interview with the American Film Institute, Eastwood revealed a surprisingly lighter side of his cinematic palate. The director of Unforgiven and Gran Torino confessed that one of his all-time favorite films isn’t a Western, a thriller, or a cop drama—it’s Howard Hawks’s 1940 screwball comedy His Girl Friday.

“His Girl Friday remains one of my absolute favourite films,” Eastwood said. He praised Cary Grant’s sharp wit and impeccable timing in the role of Walter Burns, the fast-talking newspaper editor who’ll stop at nothing to keep his ex-wife and top reporter, Hildy Johnson (Rosalind Russell), from leaving journalism—and him—for good.

The film is celebrated not only for its zany plot, in which Walter schemes to keep Hildy in the newsroom while she tries to report on a condemned man’s story, but also for its rapid-fire dialogue. The exchanges between Grant and Russell are legendary, with lines delivered at lightning speed, each quip sharper than the last.

Eastwood singled out Grant’s performance for particular admiration. “Cary Grant I was a tremendous fan of,” he said. “He was another one of those guys that was a very distinctive personality on the screen—probably never got as much credit as he deserved. But he was one of the kings of doing that sort of thing… because he had such brilliant timing.”

Indeed, Grant’s chemistry with Russell, who was a relatively untested comedic actress at the time, helped establish His Girl Friday as a masterclass in screwball comedy. The pair’s verbal sparring is a highlight of a film that manages to balance humor, romance, and the high-stakes world of journalism with apparent ease.

For Eastwood, His Girl Friday offers more than just a few laughs. It stands as a reminder of how far a well-written script and perfectly executed performances can go in creating a cinematic classic. Coming from a man whose career often focused on the grim and the gritty, this love for one of Hollywood’s great romantic comedies is a delightful revelation—and a testament to the enduring appeal of Howard Hawks’s sharp, timeless masterpiece.