The Talk of the Town
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Movie Reviews of The Talk of the Town
Movie Review: Leave the flowers where they are
Summary: 3 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Entertaining classic with starred cast
Summary: 3 Stars
This George Stevens screwball comedy hasn't aged as one would have wished. It has an excellent cast. Cary Grant is in his best, Ronald Colman does his role fine, and Jean Arthur does her best. The first 3 minutes so many things happen, and so fast, that one expects to have a sure great time. But once the story gets going the scenes run repetitive and slower. The lines grow longer and become empty talk. A screwball comedy is not an easy thing to do, but you only have to compare this one to Hawks' "Bringing Up Baby" and "Ball of Fire" to see how far from the target Stevens was hitting. Frank Capra's too, are much better than this one.
2 hours is way too long for this film. The theme of idealism vs practicality, theoretical knowledge vs first-hand experience, and taking the justice into one's own hands vs trusting a dubious justice system, however high-minded, just don't win our complete attention. Colman's role is too stiff and apathetic, and it doesn't play well against Grants's excess of extroversion. Jean Arthur does all she can to make the thing funny but there's just not enough juice in this orange. It feels like she overacts sometimes. (Can't help comparing her to Hepburn's better role in "Bringing Up Baby").
Good entertainment, but a little disappoining.
Movie Review: 3 great actors & a great director sometimes only equals an ok movie
Summary: 3 Stars
its always nice to realize that even at my advanced age there are still cary grant movies i havent seen. the problem here is that he is the distinctly less interesting male in the riomantic triangle with jean arthur and ronald colman. matter of fact, the most interesting relationship is between grant and colman, but being that it IS cary grant after all, he has to get the girl. the politics also beg the question quite a bit, as the movie never seems to want to make up its mind. still, worth watching for the 3 terrific leads as well as a great supporting turn from edgar "uncle joe" buchanan.Movie Review: A disappointing transfer makes for a dismal film experience!
Summary: 2 Stars
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.Movie Review: DVD does not play on my region 1 Sony player
Summary: 1 Stars
I wish I could give a review of the film, but this product's formatting apparently does not meet region 1 playing standards, so it wouldn't play.
I bought this from MovieMars, told them about the DVD's disfunction, and received back an extensive e-mail(form letter) from MovieMars listing numerous information requirements to be submitted to them before getting any refund or replacement.
Buried in the text of this e-mail was the line "Region errors are not considered defective."
So if you buy this from MovieMars, and have a region 1 DVD player, what you've got is an inadequate frisbee for your dog - and wave goodbye to your money.