Customer Reviews

Talk of the Town [VHS]

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Leopold Dilg (played by Cary Grant, but where did they get that name?), a small town malcontent and challenger to the status quo, is framed for arson. Seeking to hide out in the home of Nora Shelley (Jean Arthur), he finds that he must hide from the new renter, Michael Lightcap (Ronald Colman). Luck seems to be on his side when it turns out that Lightcap is a famous legal scholar and Supreme Court nominee. However, Lightcap likes his law cold and academic. What will it take to both melt Lightcap and free Dilg? [Black and white, created in 1942, with a running time of 1 hour, 58 minutes.]

What a great movie! The cover for the tape looks like Mount Rushmore, and that is no exaggeration. Cary Grant AND Ronald Colman, who could ask for more? The story is humorous is a subtle way, and just as subtly romantic. This movie doesn't hit you over the head, but strongly looks at the use and abuse of the law in the United States. There is nothing objectionable in this movie, so you can watch it with small children, though it will probably prove too slow moving for them.

I recommend this movie absolutely!

Columbia Pictures has regressed in their shoddy film transfers of catalogue titles with this DVD. The film, a great screwball adventure that pits a prison escapee (Cary Grant) against a stuffy law professor (Ronald Colman) is about as witty, charming and utterly engaging as one could hope for. Resident studio do-gooder, Jean Arthur is a treat as the woman whose love for the two men is brought to hilarious fruition. As a film, it's five stars all the way! But the DVD is a thoroughly miserable experience with excessive film grain, fine detail shimmering, aliasing problems and varying degrees of stock footage used in the transfer. The hi-def packaging is also deceptive. * Note: the phrasing "remastered in hi-def" means nothing unless the source elements have first been cleaned up. Let the buyer beware! Over all, a mediocre experience. Wait for Criterion to get their hands on it or Columbia to come to its senses and do a restoration.

Sometimes I am tempted to describe this movie as having split personality disorder. On one level, it seems to be a lighthearted comedy with a love triangle between Cary Grant, Ronald Coleman, and Jean Arthur. And on another level, it aims to deal with deeper issues like the role of the law in society, etc, etc. But, actually, I think a more accurate way to describe this movie would be as a late screwball comedy. During the WWII years, screwball comedy, which had been so carefree in the depression, began to take on more serious issues, leading to movies like this one - strange mixes of the screwball spirit and deeper concerns.

Regardless of its strange synthesis of screwball and serious issues, however, The Talk of the Town is a classic, and a great movie! Essentially, it is about a small town rebel (Cary Grant, in an uncharacteristic role) who escapes from prision after being wrongly accused of arson and murder. He comes across a former friend (Jean Arthur) and stays with her, posing as the gardener when a law professor (Ronald Coleman) comes to rent her house. There are many hilarious situations in the house, but the movie also discussed the role of the law in society and whether law should be interpreted coldly and to the letter or have a more personal application.

The acting is very good. Cary Grant, though in a strange role, proves his talent as a more dramatic actor (and also shows off his incredible comedic skills). Even though he was ignored by the Oscars for years, Grant really was a spectacular actor - he just wasn't given enough credit because he tended to make it all look so easy. Ronald Coleman is also good as his urbane, cold rival, and Jean Arthur is great - her reactions steal scene after scene!

Anyhow, this movie is very good. Although it is somewhat of a strange mix, it is quite enjoyable and typical of the semi-screwball comedies from the war years. Get this and enjoy!

You need to know a few things before buying the DVD of this very entertaining George Stevens comedy. One, it's not really a 'screwball' comedy, so if you're expecting outrageous hijinks like Bringing Up Baby, or The Awful Truth you might be a little disappointed. In tone it's very much in line with the films of Frank Capra or George Steven's own The More the Merrier, another great film starring the seriously under appreciated Jean Arthur. The second thing you should know, is that Columbia aka Sony has done very little to warrant the $... list price for the DVD. Picture quality is poor and they have the nerve to charge this much money for a pan and scan version of a 60 yr old film with no extras. It's really disgraceful and disrespectful of Sony to do this to film lovers... (though the list price is five dollars less than Talk of the Town, it's still too much for a great film that's desperately in need of restoration) So in short, a very entertaining film in a very cheesy presentation.

Cary Grant is an innocently accused prison escapee, Ronald Coleman is a stodgy law professor escaping to the country for a little peace and quiet, and Jean Arthur is the woman in the middle.
A little too grounded and deliberately paced to qualify as a screwball comedy, a little too dark and brooding to support the froth of a light comedy, THE TALK OF THE TOWN is pretty much carried on the charismatic shoulders of its three lead stars.
It's a fruitless game trying to piece out a director's intentions, but George Stevens seemed to be striving for comedy with substance here. The opening scenes are very well done - Grant in a prison cell, Grant manhandling a guard through the bars of his cell and escaping into a stormy night. Tight close-ups on Grant's dark and evil eyes.
It's a great set up for a turgid crime melodrama. But the weather clears, Jean Arthur hides him and Coleman arrives. The gag is that Coleman doesn't know who he is, and Grant needs the jurist's help to clear his name.
THE TALK OF THE TOWN never really finds its comedy footings after that first scene. It works hard to do so, but the moody understory - the threat of mob violence if Grant is returned to jail - doesn't help much to lighten the mood. Nor does Edgar Buchanan, here Grant's lawyer convinced of his innocence, contribute what he's capable of. Most screwball comedies benefit from their colorful secondary characters, but Buchanan, a capable comedic actor, is wasted here. Director Stevens seems more interested in the blossoming friendship between Grant and Coleman as they prattle on and on in argument over Ideal and Practical Justice.
Stars can carry a story, and on that basis I recommend TALK OF THE TOWN. Certainly not as a screwball comedy, or really much of a comedy at all.

In the classic screwball comedy "Talk of the Town," Ronald Colman plays Michael Lightcap, a dry, by-the-book law professor who rents the house of school Nora Shelley, played by Jean Arthur, who happens to be harboring a fugitive from justice, Leopold Dilg, played by Cary Grant. Nora passes off Leopold as her gardener, which confuses Professor Lightcap. Judicial corruption and the wacky ways of American justice are satirized, which is a bit depressing when you realize it is 1942 and already things are pretty sad. As Leopold says at one point: "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." Certainly the idea that the less privileged deserve a fair deal is more popular today than it was then, but you would not say this film is really dated in that regard. All three principles turn in great comic performances. Glenda Farrell plays a woman who helps the professor find the real arsonist, and Edgar Buchanan, Charles Dingle and Emma Dunn all have choice supporting roles to play in the proceedings. The crackling dialogue in the script by Dale Van Every, Irwin Shaw and Sidney Buchman from Sidney Harmon's story is excellent but director George Stevens gets the highest marks, mainly because you do not think of him as doing this type of comedy.

This film is incredibly entertaining. Jean Arthur, Cary Grant and Ron Coleman made a great trio in this must-see film. It is films like "The Talk of the Town" and all the rest of the classic films of yesturday which should absolutely shame the immoral, tactless and untalented film industry of today.

Talk of the Town is a wonderful film that examines practical versus theoretical application of the law. I first rented this film expecting it to be a light comedy, but it does a great job combining comedy with thought provoking discussions of the role of law in society. All three lead actors do a great job maintaining comic and romantic tension in the film, and it is one of Cary Grant's best performances.

This is a witty comedy,full of some wonderful bon mots that dot the clever dialog, and essayed with zest by Grant, Arthur and Colman. Grant takes refuge in Arthur's house along with professor Colman. Cary was framed for arson by a corrupt local government, and what's more, the foreman (who supposedly died in the blaze) is very much alive (in the form of Colman!) George Stevens directs his cast well, handling the double-edged story with grace and style.This film was a hit with the public in 1942, and it gave Colman's career a much needed boost.

I can't begin to enumerate all the reasons people should take the time to see this film. It has it all! Comedy, romance, mystery, suspense, drama and Cary showing off his great talent for acrobatics. It's definitely worth a watch or two or...:)