Customer Reviews

People Will Talk

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Honestly? P.U.

despite being a huge Cary Grant fan, I can't buy him in this role. both the character (selfless gynecologist to the down-trodden, amateur orchestra conductor, sensitive soul, all 'round renaissance man) and grant's performance (all over the map) are far too precious to be taken seriously. or even comically. which may be the problem w/ the film: the odd mixture of satire, moralizing, and cautionary anti-mccarthy tale just doesn't hang together well.

I'd write this off as yet another retread of hollywood's ham-handed self-congratulatory liberalism. if you're looking for vintage mank, stick w/ "all about eve;" for classic cary, "north by northwest."

"People Will Talk" used to be one of my favorite movies. Watching it again reveals that -- dramatically -- it's as sterile and antiseptic as Dr. Praetorius's operating room.

"Talk" -- and I deliberately selected "Talk" rather than "People" as the shorthand -- was Joseph Mankiewicz's follow-up to "All About Eve." He'd no doubt had this project on the burner, and "Eve"'s huge success gave him the clout to get it produced.

The story (from a German play) must have looked nice on paper -- an idealistic doctor keeps an out-of-wedlock pregnant woman from committing suicide, while successfully defending himself from unjust charges of medical impropriety -- but it doesn't play well on film. Not in Mankiewicz's adaptation, anyway.

Mankiewicz is more interested in being clever than humane, and in a story about what it means to be humane, he fails to make a sincere connection with the characters' inner lives. Even when the characters are forced to confront their situations, Mankiewicz's penchant for witty dialog overrides believable dramatic interaction. Issues are resolved in a "verbal Band-Aid" fashion, merely by the application of clever words.

"Talk" seems more a reflection of Mankiewicz's personality than anything else. The characters are spokespeople for his views rather than fleshed-out human beings. When Shunderson says he's reached the point where music is just about the only thing he enjoys, you suspect you're hearing Mankiewicz himself. (At the age of 57 -- and, like Mankiewicz, a Brahms freak -- I know what he means.)

The principal performances are ineffective. Dr. Praetorius -- who has a history he doesn't want made public -- must have appealed to Cary Grant, who was similarly hounded by rumors about his private life. But his doctor is more charming than deep. There is rarely the sense of "gravitas" you would expect from a person so concerned about the welfare of others. He comes perilously close to expressing a light, almost patronizing attitude towards the problems of human existence. You do, however, get to see the unique "Grant sidle" in the barn scene.

Jeanne Crain's performance is terrible. She's not only miscast -- there's no chemistry whatever between her and Grant -- but the script requires her to be both intellectually strong _and_ vulnerable enough to attempt suicide, while possessing the mental agility and wit to win a verbal fight with Dr. Elwell (Hume Cronyn). Even Bette or Kate would have had trouble handling all that. Poor Jeanne isn't remotely up to it. *

But the supporting players are a delight. Hume Cronyn is at his peak, playing the weaselly Dr. Elwell as a flawed human being, rather than a caricatured villain. Then there's Walter Slezak as a self-absorbed physicist, and marvelous Margaret Hamilton as Dr. Praetorius's ex-housekeeper. She's typecast, but brings far more to the role than you'd expect.

"Talk" is more than a half-century old, and shows it in many ways. The thought that an unmarried pregnant woman would even _consider_ suicide seems alien, even to someone (like myself) born before the film was made. The Code-enforced treatment of attempted suicide is delicate (we don't see Crain lying on the floor, only the people gathered around her), while Mankiewicz's reference to abortion -- without actually saying the word -- is a model of brilliant writing any would-be screenwriter should study.

So, with all this nay-saying, is "Talk" worth a look? Yes. Mankiewicz's dialog is always fun to hear. (His 1983 biography is titled "Pictures will Talk.") And the story _does_ have much to say about professional integrity and respect for other people's private decisions. It also presents the older view that medicine is not about treating symptoms, but treating people -- "Helping sick people get well," as Dr. Praetorius puts it. In an era when motion pictures are rarely "about" _anything_, it's a pleasure to watch a film that -- though it does so in a pompous, even self-righteous manner -- is not embarrassed to say something worth hearing.

The DVD (which I purchased 12/09/03) is sharp, finely detailed, with excellent contrast, but a lot of film grain (or is it coding artifacts?) visible in many scenes.

* The fault is at least partly Mankiewicz's. There is a lot to be said for Hitchcock's approach of letting the actors find their own way.

I love Cary Grant films, and I love Makiewicz, but this film is a significant disappointment in both of their careers. Far from engaging, this is one of the low-points in both of their careers.

Not recommended!

I love Cary Grant and Jean Crane, but this movie does neither one justice. The "sinister" undercurrent takes away any attempt at humor. Plus, there is no spark between Cary and Jean either. Forget this waste of time and stick to comedies or Hitchcocks.

Wanted to comment on the DVD quality. Excellent. I thought it would be lacking because of price but was impressed.

I had no idea I would like this movie so much. It's not the standard run of the mill film that everybody would like, but it's incredibly non-judgmental and sweet. I like that movies can show the best sides of human nature, and develop a male character who is so extremely non-judgmental of a woman and her human frailty, particularly for the time the film was produced.

In addition to the quality story line, the chemistry between the two lead characters is amazingly good. I have seen Cary Grant with his other onscreen ladies, and he does not always create a heat wave when he's in his romantic element. Oh, he's charming, al right. But he doesn't really appear to be interested in his leading ladies all that much. But in this movie, he seemed to be interested, and the chemistry was more than evident.

Good movie!

Dr. Noah Praetorius A doctor and teacher (Cary Grant) believes in holistic medicine. A fellow doctor and teacher (Hume Cronyn) has a nasty attitude and is jealous, so he plans to take Praetorius down a notch. Mean while back at the ranch Dr. Praetorious is getting romanticlay invalved with a young student that has a problem.

You think that Shunderson "the bat" is scary. This movie is a remake of Frauenarzt Dr. Prätorius (1950). Luckily it is much better than the original. Watching the train scene made me want to go "beep beep" or was that "beep beep beep?" This is one of those movies that just works. You can not pull it apart as each actor was excellent for his or her character. The music thy plaid was "Academic festival overture" (Brahms - The Greatest Hits ASIN: B000003QX4) what else for this sort of movie?

See Julia Dean "Old Woman" again as Julia Farren in "The Curse of the Cat People" ASIN: B00001W0G3

The asbolute best scenes of the movie are at the end, when Mr. Shunderson (Finlay Currie) tells the story of his past and then tells Professor Rodney Elwell (Hume Cronyn) off with some of the best lines ever...Short and to the point! I never knew of this movie and happened upon it late one night on AMC. See the film, it's one of those C.G. movies that sneak up on you, grab your attention and leave you smilling at the end, glad that you stuck with it.

This movie reminds me of Miracle on 34th St. It has the same gentle tone, though with a few more villains, and the same quality of cast. Both films used character actors perfectly cast. There are a few scenes that, to modern eyes, are unintentionally funny -- an open hospital ward with ashtrays on the window sills, but the overall effect of the movie is the feeling that if there wasn't a Dr. Noah Praetorius, there should have been. The observations on patient care ring at least as true today as when the movie was made.

Another one of Joseph L. Mankiewicz's films to be lost in the wake of All About Eve, People Will Talk is a terrific comedy/drama featuring a wonderful cast. Cary Grant is Dr. Praetorius whose treatment of patients is somewhat controversial and unconventional. When he befriends a young, unmarried pregnant woman (Jeanne Crain), Grant finds himself the focus of an investigation lead by a jealous collegue (Hume Cronyn) at the university where they both teach. Grant's interest and concern for Crain goes so far as his proposing marriage. And then there's the matter of Mr. Shunderson (Finlay Currie), Grant's seemingly simple-minded, yet constant companion. No one seems to know the details of Mr. Shunderson's life, except Grant, and he's not telling. Not a huge hit when first released, People Will Talk has developed an almost cult following today, and like many past film "failures," it's now considerd a pretty good film. Perhaps it was ahead of its time, but it has some wonderfully rich characterizations, including great turns by the aforementioned Currie, Hume Cronyn, Walter Slezak, Sidney Blackmer, and a terrific bit by an unbilled Margaret Hamilton as Miss Pickett to keep the narrative moving. My favorite scene is Grant's visit to Crain's uncle's house (she and her father life with her uncle). Grant, Blackmer, Currie, and Crain are all sitting on the front porch. Crain objects to being the center of their discussion and refuses to leave the porch. She goes so far as to scream the cook's name "Bella" at the top of her lungs, rather than move from her perch. What the movie does say about the practice of medicine and human relationships is perhaps more relevant today than when first released in 1951. As with most Mankiewicz films, it is successful on the surface. If there was another intent by the director to tell another tale or an allusion to something else, look at this as an added bonus. Fans of Cary Grant will not be disappointed; this is one of his best and most relaxed performances on film. And fans of Jeanne Crain will be pleased as well. Her role is the more difficult one and she pulls it off quite well, besides looking beautiful in ordinary farm-girl dress. Any way you slice it, you'll be talking about People Will Talk.