An escaped prisoner has to prove his innocence to a stuffy law professor with the help of a spirited school teacher.An escaped prisoner has to prove his innocence to a stuffy law professor with the help of a spirited school teacher.An escaped prisoner has to prove his innocence to a stuffy law professor with the help of a spirited school teacher.
- Nominated for 7 Oscars
- 7 nominations total
- Supreme Court Spectator
- (uncredited)
- Schoolgirl Noticing Beard
- (uncredited)
- Townswoman
- (uncredited)
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
- Western Union Boy
- (uncredited)
- Mrs. Pulaski
- (uncredited)
- Desk Sergeant
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen the professor is unconscious on the floor, Tilney (Rex Ingram) asks Sam if he is a doctor. Ironically, Rex Ingram was himself a trained physician in real life.
- GoofsFollowing a torrential nighttime rainstorm, the dirt driveway and surrounding earth around the house are perfectly dry early the next morning.
- Quotes
Michael Lightcap: This is your law and your finest possession - it makes you free men in a free country. Why have you come here to destroy it? If you know what's good for you, take those weapons home and burn them! And then think... think of this country and of the law that makes it what it is. Think of a world crying for this very law! And maybe you'll understand why you ought to guard it. Why the law has got to be the personal concern of every citizen. To uphold it for your neighbor as well as yourself. Violence against it is one mistake. Another mistake is for any man to look upon the law as just a set of principles. And just so much language printed on fine, heavy paper. Something he recites and then leans back and takes it for granted that justice is automatically being done. Both kinds of men are equally wrong! The law must be engraved in our hearts and practiced every minute to the letter and spirit. It can't even exist unless we're willing to go down into the dust and blood and fight a battle every day of our lives to preserve it. For our neighbor as well as ourself!
- Alternate versionsThe AMC television showing of this film omits the actual moment, shown in the complete version, in which 'Ronald Colman' is actually informed of his Supreme Court appointment.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Lady with the Torch (1999)
The factory owned by Charles Dingle has burned down, arson is suspected and Cary Grant in an unusual working class role is the suspected arsonist. He's a man of radical opinions in the town so he's a convenient suspect. As the factory was the main employer in the town you can imagine that folks are crying for blood.
Which brings an escaped Cary to that same house that Jean Arthur has rented to Colman.
Though there are some amusing moments to be sure from all three of the stars, I find The Talk of the Town to be more serious than dramatic. Grant challenges Colman to come down out of the ivory tower he's been living in and apply his high minded principles to real life, if not necessarily his case.
When he does Colman does it with a vengeance and it brings down a whole lot of Lorchester's leading citizens.
Though Grant and Arthur are first billed, this film really belongs to Ronald Colman. His character is modeled I believe on a recent Harvard law professor who was also appointed to the Supreme Court, one Felix Frankfurter.
Of course what the impeccable English Ronald Colman playing WASP Michael Lightcap and a Viennese Jew have in common is not obvious at first. But before becoming mentor to a host of New Deal civil servants, Felix Frankfurter was not only a professor of law at Harvard, but concerned himself with a host of social issues. He was for instance, very prominent in the defense of Sacco and Vanzetti whose plight in the twenties is very similar to Cary Grant's. Like Colman's character Lightcap, Frankfurter was also known as a man of impeccable integrity, who even his worst enemies conceded. He could also be a bit too high minded at times and had to be brought to realize in his philosophy of judicial restraint, that the courts are and should be an instrument for progress and social change. His story would make an excellent film itself.
Although I can't see Felix Frankfurter putting the moves on beauty parlor owner Glenda Farrell to learn the truth about the arson. Farrell who graced many a Warner Brothers crime feature in the Thirties has the best of the supporting roles in The Talk of the Town. Also the ever unctuous Charles Dingle is wonderful as the very corrupting influence on the town itself.
Colman's final speech to the mob who are ready to lynch Cary Grant is a masterpiece, one of his best moments on screen. The words ought to be required reading and viewing for those who would dismantle our judicial system out of heated passion of the moment.
As a film that challenges folks to live up to the creed they espouse The Talk of the Town should not be missed.
- bkoganbing
- Apr 19, 2007
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- George Stevens' The Talk of the Town
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 58 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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