When bemoaning the state of modern cinema, it’s all too tempting to say they don’t make films like they used to. And then you watch a film like His Girl Friday and you realize that they really don’t make films like this anymore.

Sure, some have come close, like the Coen Brothers’ Hudsucker Proxy. Nothing, however, beats this classic screwball comedy starring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell as a pair of journalists and ex-lovers whose romance is rekindled as they try to exonerate a wrongfully accused man. Sparks fly between the two almost as fast as their crackerjack dialog, which is nigh-impossible to follow at times; even if you’re on your toes, you’re bound to miss a line here and there.

Even so, the film is smart and hilarious, and both Grant and Russell possess an effortless charm and charisma that only exists in Hollywood’s golden age.