The Talk of the Town (1942)

★ 7.3 1h 58m IMDb

Comedy Drama Romance

Hilarity ensues when a falsely accused fugitive from justice hides at the house of his childhood friend, which she has recently rented to a high-principled law teacher.

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Cast

Cary Grant as Leopold Dilg Died 1986 · Horfield, Bristol, England, UK Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904 – November 29, 1986) was a British-American actor, celebrated for his debonair charm, impeccable comic timing, and sophisticated screen presence...

Jean Arthur as Nora Shelley Died 1991 · Plattsburgh, New York, USA Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American actress celebrated as one of the defining screen personalities of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Known for her qu...

Ronald Colman as Michael Lightcap Died 1958 · Richmond, Surrey, England, UK British leading man of primarily American films, one of the great stars of the Golden Age. Raised in Ealing, the son of a successful silk merchant, he attended boarding school in Sussex, where he firs...

Edgar Buchanan as Sam Yates Died 1979 · Humansville, Missouri, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Edgar Buchanan (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television, most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson fr...

Glenda Farrell as Regina Bush Died 1971 · Enid, Oklahoma, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. She is best known for her role as Torchy Blane in the Warn...

Charles Dingle as Andrew Holmes Died 1956 · Wabash, Indiana, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Charles Dingle (December 28, 1887, Wabash, Indiana – January 19, 1956, Worcester, Massachusetts) was an American stage and film actor. Dingle made his Broadway...

Director George Stevens

Cast Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Ronald Colman, Edgar Buchanan, Glenda Farrell, Charles Dingle, Emma Dunn, Rex Ingram, Leonid Kinskey, Tom Tyler

John Chard 8/10 Jul 01, 2019

What is the law? It's a gun pointed at somebody's head. All depends upon which end of the gun you stand, whether the law is just or not.

The Talk of the Town is directed by George Stevens and Stevens co-produces with Fred Guiol. It's adapted by Dale Van Every, Irwin Shaw and Sidney Buchman from a story by Sidney Harmon. It stars Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Ronald Colman, Rex Ingram and Edgar Buchanan.

Leopold Dilg (Grant), a radical and political thinking man, is accused of burning down a mill and causing the death of a foreman in the subsequent fire. On trial for his life, he decides to escape from jail and makes his way to the home of his school day friend Nora Shelley (Arthur). However, his timing couldn't be worse, for Nora has taken in a tenant for the summer, a law professor, Michael Lightcap (Colman). Passing him off as the gardener, Nora has to hope that Lightcap doesn't cop on to Dilg being an escaped prisoner. But with both men feeling each other out, and both having designs on Nora, something is going to have to give.

Though nominated in seven Academy Award categories, "The Talk of the Town" won none. Perhaps more surprisingly is that of those seven nominations, none were for acting or direction. Surprising because the film is impeccably acted and smoothly directed. It was, however, rightly nominated for Best Picture (it lost out to William Wyler's "Mrs. Miniver") and was a big smash at the box office. The public quickly warmed to the blend of comedy with intelligent politico musings. The set up is safe, a potential love triangle - with the three leads playing off each other sublimely - is nicely played out whilst the two men partake in discussions about the law, the applications of such and its moral worth. The comedy that comes in fits and starts is not so much of the screwball variety, but more that of ebullience born out of beautifully written sequences. Some argue that the plot is heavily reliant on contrivances (how many 1940s comedies aren't?), but ultimately that is easily forgiven given the quality on show across the board. 8/10