The Talk of the Town (1942)

Director:

George Stevens

Writers:

Irwin Shaw (screenplay) &
Sidney Buchman (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

20 August 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Screen comedy so gay... drama so thrilling... love so exciting, it will be the talk of YOUR town!

Plot:

An escaped prisoner and a stuffy law professor vie for the hand of a spirited schoolteacher.

Plot Keywords:

Law | Factory | Gardener | Hide Out | Lawyer

Awards:

Nominated for 7 Oscars.

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Leopold Dilg - Joseph
Jean Arthur	...	Miss Nora Shelley
Ronald Colman	...	Professor Michael Lightcap
Edgar Buchanan	...	Sam Yates
Glenda Farrell	...	Regina Bush
Charles Dingle	...	Andrew Holmes
Emma Dunn	...	Mrs. Shelley
Rex Ingram	...	Tilney
Leonid Kinskey	...	Jan Pulaski
Tom Tyler	...	Clyde Bracken
Don Beddoe	...	Police Chief
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sam Ash	...	Supreme Court Spectator (uncredited)
Dorothy Babb	...	Schoolgirl Noticing Beard (uncredited)
Georgia Backus	...	Townswoman (uncredited)
Holger Bendixen	...	Townsman (uncredited)
William 'Billy' Benedict	...	Western Union Boy (uncredited)
Ferike Boros	...	Mrs. Pulaski (uncredited)
Al Bridge	...	Desk Sergeant (uncredited)
Lloyd Bridges	...	Donald Forrester (uncredited)
Leslie Brooks	...	Secretary (uncredited)
Eddie Bruce	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Jack Carr	...	Usher (uncredited)
Eddie Coke	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Nightclub Waiter (uncredited)
Joe Cunningham	...	McGuire (uncredited)
Lew Davis	...	Waiter at Regina's Shop (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn	...	Cop on Stairs (uncredited)
Al Ferguson	...	Detective (uncredited)
Clyde Fillmore	...	Senator James Boyd (uncredited)
Joe Garcia	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Jack Gardner	...	Cameraman with Forrester (uncredited)
Bud Geary	...	Townsman (uncredited)
William Gould	...	Sheriff with Hounds (uncredited)
Jay Guedillio	...	Man (uncredited)
Dave Harper	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Edward Hearn	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
Oscar 'Dutch' Hendrian	...	Mob Member Carrying Rope (uncredited)
George Hickman	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Maynard Holmes	...	Vendor (uncredited)
Dick Jensen	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Robert Keats	...	Man (uncredited)
Stubby Kruger	...	Baseball Player (uncredited)
William Lally	...	Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Eddie Laughton	...	Henry, Photographer (uncredited)
Jack Low	...	Workman (uncredited)
Herman Marks	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Frank McClure	...	Nightclub Patron (uncredited)
Joe McGuinn	...	Jailer Overpowered by Dilg (uncredited)
Patrick McVey	...	First Policeman (uncredited)
Frank Mills	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Clarence Muse	...	Supreme Court Doorkeeper (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Courtroom Spectator (uncredited)
Blanche Payson	...	Supreme Court Spectator (uncredited)
Charles Perry	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Ralph Peters	...	Eddie, Moving Man (uncredited)
Lee Phelps	...	Detective (uncredited)
Lee Prather	...	Sergeant At Arms (uncredited)
Al Rhein	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Dewey Robinson	...	Jake (uncredited)
Cy Schindell	...	Townsman at Ballgame (uncredited)
Dan Seymour	...	Headwaiter at Nightclub (uncredited)
Jack Shea	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Roberta Smith	...	Schoolgirl Noticing Beard (uncredited)
Charles St. George	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Frank Sully	...	Policeman in Station Wagon (uncredited)
Frank M. Thomas	...	District Attorney Scott (uncredited)
Mabel Todd	...	Operator (uncredited)
Victor Travers	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Lelah Tyler	...	Townswoman (uncredited)
John Tyrrell	...	Townsman at Ballgame (uncredited)
Ralph Volkie	...	Townsman (uncredited)
Max Wagner	...	Moving Man (uncredited)
Robert Walker	...	Deputy Sheriff (uncredited)
George Watts	...	Judge Grunstadt (uncredited)
Lee 'Lasses' White	...	Hound Keeper (uncredited)

Directed by
George Stevens

Writing credits
Irwin Shaw		(screenplay) &
Sidney Buchman		(screenplay)
Dale Van Every		(adaptation)
Sidney Harmon		(story)

Produced by
Fred Guiol	....	associate producer
George Stevens	....	producer

Original Music by
Friedrich Hollaender		(as Frederick Hollander)

Cinematography by
Ted Tetzlaff		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Otto Meyer

Art Direction by
Lionel Banks

Makeup Department
Rhoda Donaldson	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Fred B. Phillips	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Norman Deming	....	assistant director
Earl Bellamy	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Bud Brill	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Rudolph Sternad	....	associate art director
Fay Babcock	....	set dresser (uncredited)
Bill Black	....	props (uncredited)
H. Hopkins	....	props (uncredited)
Reggie Smith	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Eldon Coutts	....	sound engineer (uncredited)
Lodge Cunningham	....	sound (uncredited)

Stunts
Paul Stader	....	stunt double: Cary Grant (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Fayte M. Browne	....	second camera operator (uncredited)
M.S. Burns	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Joe Citron	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Walter Meins	....	grip (uncredited)
John Miehle	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Sam Rosen	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Irene	....	gowns: Miss Arthur
Thomas S. Dawson	....	wardrobe: men (uncredited)
Gail Ducharme	....	wardrobe: women (uncredited)
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Paul Borofsky	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Morris Stoloff	....	musical director (as M.W. Stoloff)
Daniele Amfitheatrof	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Donald W. Starling	....	montage effects (as Donald Starling)
Steve Benton	....	stand-in: Edgar Buchanan (uncredited)
Dorothy Dunn	....	stand-in: Emma Dunn (uncredited)
Mrs. Roy Feldman	....	stand-in: Ferike Boros (uncredited)
Jack Mannick	....	stand-in: Leonid Kinskey (uncredited)
Mal Merrihugh	....	stand-in: Cary Grant (uncredited)
Buddy Roosevelt	....	stand-in: Ronald Colman (uncredited)
Floyd Shackelford	....	stand-in: Rex Ingram (uncredited)
Kay Smith	....	stand-in: Jean Arthur (uncredited)
Ralph Stein	....	stand-in: George Watts (uncredited)
Frances Waverly	....	stand-in: Glenda Farrell (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1942) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures Corporation (1942) (UK) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Columbia (1943) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Epoca (????) (Argentina) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"George Stevens' The Talk of the Town" - USA (complete title)

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #8071) | Australia:PG (TV rating) | USA:Not Rated | Argentina:13

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

A radio theatre presentation of The Talk of the Town (1942) was broadcast on CBS radio on the Lux Radio Theatre on 5/17/1943; with Cary Grant, Ronald Colman and Jean Arthur recreating their roles from the movie. It's a 60 minute adaptation of the movie.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After escaping from jail one evening and spending the entire night hidden away in an attic with no access to plumbing, Dilg awakes cleanly shaved the next morning.

Quotes:

Leopold Dilg:Stop saying "Leopold" like that, tenderly. It sounds funny. You can't do it with a name like Leopold.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: Episode #22.68" (2005)

Soundtrack:

High Pressure And Love

Colman, Grant and Arthur - how can it miss? It doesn't.

Cary Grant is Leopold Dilg, "The Talk of the Town," in this 1942 film also starring Ronald Colman and Jean Arthur. The outspoken Digl is framed for arson and murder and escapes from prison. He ends up in the home of a schoolteacher he's known since childhood, Nora Shelley. She's preparing her home to be rented the next day - except the renter, an attorney named Professor Lightcap (Colman) shows up right then. Since Leopold has a bad ankle, Nora lets him hide in the attic. Though Lightcap wants peace and quiet to write a book, things don't quite happen that way. Nora insists on being his secretary/cook - because she has to take care of Leopold - and every time Lightcap turns around, there's Nora's mother, the police looking for Dilg, furniture deliveries and a delivery of all of Nora's clothing - before he agrees to hire her.

Nora and Dilg's attorney Yates (Edgar Buchanan) attempt to drag the brilliant ivory tower attorney into the unfair assumption of guilt of Dilg, but Lightcap refuses. His type of justice, it seems, is all on paper. He doesn't want to get involved with any real people. Leopold, posing as the family gardener, gets into some heated discussions with him, and at Leopold's urging, Nora gives Lightcap special attention. But is any of it enough to make him cave and help Digl?

This is a grand comedy with very serious undertones. Who would ever expect two of the most elegant men in film history, Grant and Colman, to be facing off in a comedy, no less, where one of them is very definitely NOT elegant. Grant is terrific, a truly great actor who rarely let his audience see anything but the famous "Cary Grant" persona. Here, he's a man of the people with a clumsy walk and casual clothes. His pantomime to Nora through his attic window of wanting something to eat is hilarious. The bearded Colman plays the role of a stuffy professor very straight. Lightcap is barely able to stand the chicanery of Nora's household at first, as he has a strict routine. Fast forward and he's flirting and dancing with a smart-mouthed beautician (Glenda Farrell) in order to pump her for information about her boyfriend. His acting, particularly his courtroom speech toward the end of the film, is magnificent. Arthur plays Nora as a dizzy, confused and nervous woman, completely thrown as a landlord, a friend and a woman by the appearance of Leopold and the brilliance of Lightcap, as well as his admiration of her. She's torn between the two of them - and keeps the audience wondering.

Really a must-see for the lesson that true justice must be not read, not preached, but lived and for the wonderful characterizations and direction by Stevens.