The Talk of the Town (B+ or 3/4 stars)
George Stevens' 'Talk of the Town' is a quick-witted serio-comedy driven by a trio of stellar performances by Jean Arthur, Ronald Colman, & Cary Grant. Michael Lightcap (Ronald Colman) is a renowned, if also stuffy law professor in line for a Supreme Court appointment, who looks to spend a nice, quiet summer at the isolated country house of sweet schoolteacher, Nora Shelley (Jean Arthur). But as it turns out, the 40 yr. old bearded Lightcap is not the only guest staying at Nora's idyllic home. Nora has also let one, Leopold Dilg (Cary Grant) - a political activist/rabble-rouser who had recently escaped from prison {we see this in the opening scene} where he was serving a sentence for being the man behind a deadly factory fire - stay at her house, telling Lightcap that he is simply her gardener.
In addition to striking up an unlikely friendship, Lightcap & Leopold also compete for the affections of Nora. Eventually, the professor learns of Leopold's true identity {in a very funny scene where some breakfast eggs hide Leopold's photo in Lightcap's morning newspaper}. Prof. Lightcap looks to send Leopold back to prison, but finds out that Leopold was actually framed by a corrupt local government; led by the foreman of the factory, who supposedly died in said fire. When Leopold Dilg is eventually captured by the eager police, Lightcap comes to his defense, bringing the very-much-alive foreman out of hiding and, in the process, clears Leopold of all the damning charges. All this sounds great, except, who will Nora choose to be with, the elegant, adoring professor, or the dashing Leopold? Melodrama & some light humor ensue.
Arthur, Colman, & Grant make for a terrific threesome; playing off of each other well in a well-constructed love triangle. Colman impressed me most, but Arthur is quite amiable as Nora, & Grant always charms. 'The Talk of the Town' is an effective motion picture; mixing screwball comedy with political themes concerning civil liberties. Now, the 1st 30-45 minutes are great; where lots of the screwball elements take place. I loved watching Grant escape, break-in to Nora's home in the rain, watching the very British, very stiff upper-lipped Colman enter the house not knowing that an escaped con is hiding out in the same house, etc. -- it all worked.
I also enjoyed the final half hour or so -- all very nice. But there is a 45 min. chunk in the middle concerning some heavy-handed political goings-on that simply disinterested me. None of it is bad, I just didn't care for it too much. There's also a lynch mob scene that doesn't come off to well in my estimation. But the strengths outweigh the weaknesses. This film is one of George Stevens' 1st successes; paving the way for quite the career ahead of him. The direction is quite fine; as is the writing, editing, black-&-white cinematography, cozy sets, costumes, & stirring music. All in all, 'The Talk of the Town' is a fun, feel-good movie that critics, Academy Award voters, & the public greatly enjoyed in 1942. I now see why.
In addition to striking up an unlikely friendship, Lightcap & Leopold also compete for the affections of Nora. Eventually, the professor learns of Leopold's true identity {in a very funny scene where some breakfast eggs hide Leopold's photo in Lightcap's morning newspaper}. Prof. Lightcap looks to send Leopold back to prison, but finds out that Leopold was actually framed by a corrupt local government; led by the foreman of the factory, who supposedly died in said fire. When Leopold Dilg is eventually captured by the eager police, Lightcap comes to his defense, bringing the very-much-alive foreman out of hiding and, in the process, clears Leopold of all the damning charges. All this sounds great, except, who will Nora choose to be with, the elegant, adoring professor, or the dashing Leopold? Melodrama & some light humor ensue.
Arthur, Colman, & Grant make for a terrific threesome; playing off of each other well in a well-constructed love triangle. Colman impressed me most, but Arthur is quite amiable as Nora, & Grant always charms. 'The Talk of the Town' is an effective motion picture; mixing screwball comedy with political themes concerning civil liberties. Now, the 1st 30-45 minutes are great; where lots of the screwball elements take place. I loved watching Grant escape, break-in to Nora's home in the rain, watching the very British, very stiff upper-lipped Colman enter the house not knowing that an escaped con is hiding out in the same house, etc. -- it all worked.
I also enjoyed the final half hour or so -- all very nice. But there is a 45 min. chunk in the middle concerning some heavy-handed political goings-on that simply disinterested me. None of it is bad, I just didn't care for it too much. There's also a lynch mob scene that doesn't come off to well in my estimation. But the strengths outweigh the weaknesses. This film is one of George Stevens' 1st successes; paving the way for quite the career ahead of him. The direction is quite fine; as is the writing, editing, black-&-white cinematography, cozy sets, costumes, & stirring music. All in all, 'The Talk of the Town' is a fun, feel-good movie that critics, Academy Award voters, & the public greatly enjoyed in 1942. I now see why.