People Will Talk
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Movie Reviews of People Will Talk
Movie Review: people will talk
Summary: 5 Stars
received in good time in excellent shape. I am very pleased. mjtMovie Review: High brow Joseph Mankiewicz...
Summary: 4 Stars
...shows his classic bent by bringing the story of Dr Praetorius to life. Cary Grant is the mysterious gynecologist who treats his patients holistically. (If my doctor looked like Cary Grant I think I would swoon and faint dead away). He is vaguely aware that he has an enemy in Dr. Elwell (wonderfully played as a fussy, nibbling, gerbil of a man by Hume Cronyn). Cronyn is on a witch hunt (it is the fifties after all) to run Praetorius off the faculty of the university where they teach. Having hired a private investigator, he knows that Praetorius may or may not really be a doctor, and also that Praetorius' ever present companion is a weird and maybe shady person. Consequently, Praetorius' problems mirror the problems of leftists in the country at the time. He may or may not have done something questionable, it doesn't matter, Elwell will get him anyway, and he is branded by the company he keeps. These were issues that must have been dear to Mankiewicz' heart as he helmed the Director's Guild during the focus of HUAC on Hollywood subversives. Mankiewicz was himself suspected of being such a subversive, and went through a hearing at the Guild similar to the one Grant goes through in the film. Fortunately, Mankiewicz' outcome was as satisfying as Grant's in the film. All of the background is interesting, but the film must stand alone as entertainment. I think it does.
This is not the typical Cary Grant comedy where we expect snappy dialogue, his incomparable doubletakes, and exciting heat with his leading lady. In this adaptation of a German play, the dialogue is witty, not snappy, the doubletakes make way for pregnant pauses for the audience to consider carefully, and the heat with the leading lady is a bit more tepid. (No slight to Jeanne Crain, I am a fan of hers, but the situation in which the characters find themselves is more conjugal than hot). The script is perfect for Mankiewicz, who was raised in a literate home by an academician. The score is classical and lovely, and the message is clear. Folks can be unconventional, but we shouldn't jump to conclusions about character without all of the facts, and people who properly mind their own business don 't need to pry into the lives of others who are acting within their rights under the law.
The problems with the film are that some of the scenes are stagey, and the transitions from one scene to another are a bit choppy. Jeanne Crain (whom Mankiewicz did not like or appreciate) is sometimes not clear in her interpretaion of her character's mood and emotions, so I thought her performance was a little confusing in some of her scenes.
Finlay Currie is really splendid as Mr. Shunderson, stage actor Walter Slezak really shows his flair for comedy, and Margaret Hamilton is wonderful in her opening scene. She sets the film up perfectly as one in which the audience needs to pay attention as we are in for something completely different.
Movie Review: Among Cary's Best
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a remarkable movie. Adapted to the American screen from writer Curt Goetz' "Frauenartz Dr. Praetorius", the plot is simple and somewhat superficial. In the hands of director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, though, it turns into a gentle, thought provoking comedy of manners that showcases Cary Grant's genius at debonair humor, even though it might come in the middle of surrounding high drama.
The movie opening introduces us to the immediate plot line, with Hume Cronyn, playing a stuffy professor of medicine obviously envious of the good Dr. Praetorius, investigating Cary Grant's background prior to arriving at the university. The romantic interest is carried by Dr. Praetorius being smitten with student Jean Crain (who, at 25, was initially considered to be too old to play the co-ed role) and her out-of-wedlock predicament.
If one is asked what the movie is about, it is a queston that is difficult to answer. The plot is fluff, but the themes of medical ethics, humane treatment of patients, selflessness and witch hunt prosecution of the innocent are universal and apropos of modern life. At one point, Dr. Praetorius speaks about the unthinking distillation of medicine to the point of creating a "mechanical doctor." Needless to say, love conquers all and the righteous prevail. All this, set to the rousing strains of Brahms' "Academic Festival Overture."
The supporting cast is wonderful, from Walter Slezak as the loyal friend to Margaret Hamilton in a delightful scene, to Finlay Currie, as Mr. Shunderson, practically stealing every scene he is in. Sidney Blackmer, Will Wright and Basil Ruysdael also play pivotal roles.
Much has been written about Cary Grant, more than can be cited in this small review. This movie, released in 1942, was at the beginning of an incredible run of fine movies Grant made (his first credited film was released in 1932) from 1937's "The Awful Truth" to "Walk, Don't Run" in 1966. Writers have commented on his good looks, his sartorial elegance, his panache, all the way to his dimpled chin. But, in my opinion, if one wants to understand what a complete actor he was, watch his hands. They are never out of character; they are always doing exactly what his character needs. They are as elegant, whether in drama or comedy, as Cary's character needs them to be.
As for the DVD version, there is nothing notable extra on the disk, but it is a good, clean copy. I saw only one awkward cut during a scene on the farm porch, otherwise it is intact. I last owned this movie in Beta format and have not seen it in some time, since it is no longer played on television. It was a pleasure to renew my acquaintance with a movie that left me feeling good about movie making again.
Movie Review: Cary Grant miscast
Summary: 4 Stars
I like this film and whenever it appears on TCM I watch it again. It is kind of quirky - certainly not just a romantic comedy, but there are some parts that are stilted. It's too bad that Cary Grant had such classic good looks because it made it inevitable that he play leading man roles. I think I've seen almost every Cary Grant film and he has never played a romantic lead successfully. That scene on the train in North by Northwest - ugh. He is not romantically believable in People Will Talk, Charade, To Catch a Thief, The Philadelphia Story, Suspicion, Father Goose, Notorious etc. He should have been portrayed as the essential bachelor.
On the other hand he is a fine actor. Being slotted into romantic leads allowed him to relax into a sterotype. He would have been great in action films, comedy (Arsenic & Old Lace) or anything else that would have stretched him as an actor. While he was not particularly successful as a romantic lead in this film, People Will Talk, he was first-rate as an unconventional physician and wonderfully exuberant as a conductor. The film is still worth having in any library
Movie Review: Underated Excellence
Summary: 4 Stars
A highly underated film in all books/reviews and in summaries of films starring Cary Grant. The film is brilliantly cast with supports like Stanley Blackmer/Hume Cronyn/Finlay Currie who are superbly directed by Manckiewz. It is an excellent under statement against the McCarthy witch hunts of the early fifties era and in our times of 2006/7 it may give all of us time to reflect on what value there is in standing up for personal belief and individual rights.
Grant gives one of his best performamces, thoughtful , understated , positive and with great expression , compassion and humour. Crain although slightly typecast in the times of the era is given a chance by the director to show that she can act as well as appear beautiful. Not to be missed