People Will Talk (1951)

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Dr. Noah Praetorius (Cary Grant) falls in love with Deborah (Jeanne Crain), a student who finds out that she is pregnant by her old boyfriend.The film's investigative trial has parallels to the congressional hearings by anti-communist crusaders. And just as some refused to name names in such hearings, the lead character, played by Cary Grant, declines to clear his own name by revealing the private business of another person, in this case a convicted murderer.The film runs a bit long, and I could do without the musical parts. But this is a good character for Grant: pompous, but also very witty and quite principled. He is romantic in the sense that he is willing to stand up for others when they are at their lowest.

It's interesting to note the relatively solid rating this film gets here on IMDb (7.3 at the time of this writing), and to read the reviews and discussion. There's no doubt about it -- this is an odd film -- almost desafinado -- slightly out of tune.The opening segment of the film is interesting...and funny. Pipsqueak Professor Elwell (Hume Cronyn) is interviewing Margaret Hamilton (the witch in "The Wizard Of Oz") trying to find out information about the mysterious Dr. Praetorious (Cary Grant) and his constant companion Shunderson (Finlay Currie; the devout follower of Christ in "Ben-Hur").From there we meet young Jeanne Crain who faints in class. She goes to Dr. Praetorius and learns she is pregnant, and he learns she is unwed. She attempts suicide and stays at his clinic, but then disappears. But, Cary Grant pursues her to her uncle's farm where she and her father unhappily live...but not for long...he proposes.And then comes the climax of the film -- the hearing where Elwell brings charges against Preatorious. It's a great scene as Grant responds to all the charges, one by one. But then comes the question about the mysterious Shunderson, which he refuses to answer. Will he fall on this? No, because Shunderson enters the room and tells his own marvelous story. Hearing over. And Shunderson, in private, calls Elwell a "little man".I enjoy this film every time I watch it, and I must have watched it more than half-a-dozen times. And the main reason I enjoy it is the wonderful performance of an aging and very tan Cary Grant; it really is one of his best performances. Jeanne Crain is superb here, as well, and this is one of her best role. Finlay Currie is wonderful as the mysterious Shunderson. Although his character is not likable, Hume Cronyn's performance is exceptional. Walter Slezak plays a lovable curmudgeon who is friends with Praetorious. And this was the film where I first noticed Sidney Blackmer...a fine and underrated character actor; this is one of his best roles. Basil Ruysdael does well as the college dean.Earlier I said that this film was almost desafinado. But that is not a negative. It's gloriously different. Highly recommended!

In "People Will Talk," Joseph Mankiewicz, writer and director, delivers the witty, clever dialogue for which he is noted. But it soon becomes clear that he is so caught up in being clever that he pays little attention to how people would really react to and behave in the situation that he has placed them in, improbable as it is.As Mankiewicz's mouthpiece, Cary Grant fires off one clever line after another, each meant to show that he has much more insight into the human aspects of treating patients than the typical doctor. Much of this is so obvious that one wonders that the entire orthodox medical establishment can consist entirely of dunces, or at least of people not nearly as blessed with the gift of gab as Cary Grant. It is hard to disagree with his character when he asserts time and again that patients are human beings, but I would still be wary of letting him do a colonoscopy or diagnose a lung condition.The Jeanne Crain character hits the bulls eye when she describes Cary Grant as a pompous know-it-all. Nevertheless she falls in love with him instantly, and he with her, though there is never a scene that shows why either might be attracted to the other. Love just happens, and all the rest is talk.The Cary Grant character is in fact something of a secular saint. He tricks Jeanne Crain into marrying him, then lets her know that she is really pregnant after all, with another man's child. That would be credible if we had any sense of why he loves her so deeply, but--see the preceding paragraph.But there's much more to Cary Grant's saintliness. He calls Shunderson his friend and allows him to follow him through life like a faithful dog. He instantly takes a liking to Jeanne Crain's father, an unbearably self-pitying man who seems to spend life sitting around his brother's farmhouse bemoaning his fate--particularly in view of how sensitive he is and how worthy of a better condition in life. But indeed, Cary Grant not only marries Jeanne Crain but takes her father into his household, creating a menage a quatre that includes Shunderson as well.Of course, it's difficult to be really self-satisfied without someone to look down on with contempt, so Mankiewicz has created the character of Jeanne Crain's uncle, who is cartoon-like in his meanness and small-mindedness. Cary Grant really has a good time hitting on him. Even the dog is shown to be miserable in the uncle's house and is taken along to join Cary Grant's marital menage.It's a smug movie that claims to know much about human nature and in fact seems to know nothing.

While the title suggests a Doris Day-Rock Hudson comedy, TALK is actually a drama interlaced with bits of humor about a doctor (Grant) whose unusual bedside manner stirs the ire of a fellow doctor (Cronyn at his weasely best). This leads to some problems for the good doctor, who goes by the moniker of Praeorius (now, where have we heard that name before?). The good doctor, who it turns out has quite a colorful past, runs a clinic, treating mostly female patients. In time, he falls for one of them, a troubled young woman played by Jeanne Crain. They eventually marry and the rest of the plot then quickly unfolds. Oh, the good doctor also conducts symphony orchestras in his spare time. The movie is deeply rooted in the conservative, uptight 1950s, although the emotions and motivations of various characters are just as relevant today. The debonair Grant keeps things moving swiftly along, and is aided and abetted by the wonderful Walter Slezak as his best buddy and most ardent supporter. The film is a historic curiosity at best, based on an old German play. Recommended for hardcore film buffs only