People Will Talk (1951)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writers:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz (writer)
Curt Goetz (play)

Release Date:

29 August 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Plot:

Dr. Noah Praetorius falls in love with Debra, a student who finds out that she is pregnant by her old boyfriend who recently died in combat.

Plot Keywords:

Foreign Language Adaptation | Secret | Academic Hearing | Pregnancy | Double Bass

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Dr. Noah Praetorius
Jeanne Crain	...	Deborah Higgins
Finlay Currie	...	Shunderson
Hume Cronyn	...	Prof. Rodney Elwell
Walter Slezak	...	Prof. Barker
Sidney Blackmer	...	Arthur Higgins
Basil Ruysdael	...	Dean Lyman Brockwell
Katherine Locke	...	Miss James

Also Known As:

The Dr. Praetorious Story (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #15270) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (2005)

Filming Locations:

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The eyelashes of the 'cadaver' can be seen to twitch during one of her close-ups.

Quotes:

Doctor Noah Praetorius: Professor Elwell, you are the only man I know who can say 'malignant' the way other people say 'Bingo!'.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Frauenarzt Dr. Prätorius (1950)

Soundtrack:

A Hot Time in the Old Town

A Little Masterpiece

I have watched this film tens of times over the years without ever getting bored and was delighted to recently find it on DVD in the United States. The film contains all the ingredients for the viewer's pleasure ....... romance humour suspense strangeness ......... I was especially taken aback by the Shundersson mystery. I also found that the film although over 50 years old as I write doesn't really seem dated in the attitudes and ideas it expresses. Clothes and cars may hark back to the beginning of the 50's but the dialogues are quite simply timeless. I don't wish to dwell on the story by let's say they are lots of twists and turns and a plentiful supply of humour. Of course I have always loved Cary Grant but I find that in this film he turns in a particularly interesting performance, a little above the usual level of the character he plays. It's also very intersting to watch Grant's reaction in embarassing situations and notably the "interrogation" carried out before the concert at the end. As for Jeanne Crain, his "wife" I find her every time stunningly beautiful. Professor Elwell's character must be one of the most obnoxious in the entire history of cinema ......... !!