diff --git a/src/editor.rs b/src/editor.rs
index 9f9bdde..4466c7f 100644
--- a/src/editor.rs
+++ b/src/editor.rs
@@ -1271,21 +1271,32 @@ impl Editor {
 
     /// Open a file for display
     pub fn open(&mut self, filename: &str) -> io::Result<()> {
-        self.filename = filename.to_owned();
+        let file = File::open(filename);
 
-        self.select_syntax_highlight();
+        match file {
+            Ok(_) => {
+                let buf_reader = BufReader::new(file.unwrap());
 
-        let file = File::open(&self.filename)?;
-        let buf_reader = BufReader::new(file);
+                let lines = buf_reader.lines().map(|l| clean_unwrap(l));
 
-        let lines = buf_reader.lines().map(|l| clean_unwrap(l));
+                for line in lines {
+                    self.insert_row(self.rows.len(), &line);
+                }
 
-        for line in lines {
-            self.insert_row(self.rows.len(), &line);
+                // Make sure the whole file is loaded before
+                // showing the filename and selecting the syntax
+                // for highlighting
+                self.filename = filename.to_owned();
+                self.select_syntax_highlight();
+
+                self.dirty = 0;
+            },
+            // Gracefully handle errors opening a file
+            Err(e) => {
+                self.set_status_message(&e.to_string());
+            }
         }
 
-        self.dirty = 0;
-
         Ok(())
     }
 
@@ -1311,7 +1322,7 @@ impl Editor {
 
                 self.set_status_message(&format!("{} bytes written to disk", data.len()));
             }
-            Err(e) => self.set_status_message(&format!("Failed to save: {:?}", e)),
+            Err(e) => self.set_status_message(&format!("Failed to save: {}", e.to_string())),
         };
 
         file.sync_all()?;
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 9c88b73..878a6a9 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -36,10 +36,10 @@ fn main() -> Result<(), Error> {
     let args: Vec<String> = env::args().collect();
     if args.len() >= 2 {
         editor.open(&args[1])?;
+    } else {
+        editor.set_status_message("HELP: Ctrl-S = save | Ctrl-Q = quit | Ctrl-F = find");
     }
 
-    editor.set_status_message("HELP: Ctrl-S = save | Ctrl-Q = quit | Ctrl-F = find");
-
     // Main input loop. Editor::process_keypress uses an Option Enum as a sentinel.
     // `None` is returned on a quit action, in other cases, `Some(())` is returned,
     // continuing the loop