Do you want to see ‘The Talk of the Town’?

The Talk of the Town (1942)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 14
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 1

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Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 2
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 0

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Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 2,843

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Movie Info

George Stevens' Talk of the Town is a quick-witted comedy driven by wonderful performances by Cary Grant, Ronald Colman and Jean Arthur. Michael Lightcap (Colman) is a stuffy law professor in line to a Supreme Court appointment, who is spending the summer at the house of schoolteacher Nora Shelley (Arthur). But Lightcap is not the only guest at the house. Shelley has also let Leopold Dilg (Grant)--a man who had recently escaped from prison, where he was serving a sentence for false accusations

Unrated, 1 hr. 57 min.

Drama, Classics, Comedy

Directed By: George Stevens

Written By: Irwin Shaw, Sidney Buchman, Sidney Harmon

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1942 Wide

On DVD: Feb 25, 2003

Cast

Cary Grant
Leopold Dilg
Jean Arthur
Nora Shelley
Ronald Colman
Michael Lightcap
Edgar Buchanan
Sam Yates
Glenda Farrell
Regina Bush
Rex Ingram
Tilney
Charles Dingle
Andrew Holmes
Emma Dunn
Mrs. Shelley
Leonid Kinskey
Jan Pulaski
Tom Tyler
Clyde Bracken
Don Beddoe
Chief of Police
George Watts
Judge Grunstadt
Clyde Fillmore
Sen. James Boyd
Frank M. Thomas
District Attorney
Georgia Backus
Lloyd Bridges
Forrester
William Benedict
Western Union Boy
Ferike Boros
Mrs. Pulaski
Al Bridge
Desk Sergeant
Leslie Brooks
Secretary
Eddie Bruce
Reporter
Jack Carr
Usher
Eddie Coke
Gino Corrado
Waiter
Joe Cunningham
McGuire
Ralph Dunn
Al Ferguson
Detective
Joe Garcia
Jack Gardner
Cameraman
Bud Geary
William Gould
Sheriff
Edward Hearn
Sergeant
George Hickman
Maynard Holmes
Vendor
Eddie Laughton
Henry
Joe McGuinn
Jailer
Patrick McVey
Cop
Clarence Muse
Doorkeeper
Ralph Peters
Lee Phelps
Lee Prather
Sergeant-at-Arms
Dewey Robinson
Jake
Al Seymour
John Shay
Roberta Smith
Frank Sully
Road Cop
Mabel Todd
Operator
Lelah Tyler
Woman
John Tyrrell
Ralph Volkie
Man
Max Wagner
Moving Man
Lee "Lasses" White
Hound Keeper
Robert Keats
Frank Mills
Charles T. Perry
Dorothy Babb
School Girl
Dutch Hendrian
Harold Kruger
Ball Player
Bill Lally
Al Rhein
Victor Travers
Holger Bendixen
Dave Harper
Dick Jensen
Jack Lowe
Workman
Herman Marks
Robert Walker
Deputy Sheriff

Critic Reviews for The Talk of the Town

All Critics (14) | Top Critics (2) | Fresh (14) | Rotten (1) | DVD (11)

It may be off beam in its philosophy, but its quality of humor is not strained.

March 25, 2006 Full Review Source: New York Times

| Comment

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

Top Critic

Overblown, too long, and not nearly as much fun as it's cracked up to be.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment (1)

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

Though verbose and dragging, this darkly humorous film benefits from star power of Cary Grant in an atypical role, Jean Arthur, and Ronald Colman, mostly witty dialogue, and timely subject matter, considering it was released in the midst of WWII.

March 5, 2008 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

| Comment

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

The acting by Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, and Ronald Colman is top-notch.

January 14, 2008 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

The contrivance of plot is compensated by one of the most genial casts in history.

November 13, 2007 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

| Comment

TV Guide's Movie Guide

An attractive serio-comic tale of civic corruption.

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

| Comment

Tom Milne

Time Out

Part romantic triangle, part Capra-esque hokum, all coast on star power.

February 17, 2006 Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com

| Comment

Kent Turner

Film-Forward.com

If someone had told me they could skillfully blend social-crime drama with screwball comedy, I'd have said they were, well, screwy.

February 3, 2006 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

| Comment

James Plath

Movie Metropolis

In addition to its status as one of the great screen comedies, the film is a treasure trove of homosexual undercurrents, many of which aren't all that disguised.

August 14, 2005 Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies

| Comment

Michael W. Phillips, Jr.

Goatdog's Movies Source: Goatdog's Movies

Effective, if peculiar, mixture of screwball comedy and political moralising.

May 24, 2003 Full Review Source: Film4

| Comment

Film4

Brilliantly directed, acted, scripted thought-provoking comedy

August 21, 2002 Comment

Ken Hanke

Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

The Talk of the Town (1942) is a classic romantic comedy/drama of the 1940s from producer/director George Stevens and Columbia Pictures.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films

| Comment

Tim Dirks

Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films

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Audience Reviews for The Talk of the Town

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Another of my favourite Cary Grant movies, and Jean Arthur and Ronald Colman movies too. I guess you could just say it's one of my favourite movies! The story is both thrilling and hilarious. Plus, you learn a lot about politics and philosophy and things that people cared about in the forties. I highly recommend this movie.

September 5, 2010

AJ Verser

Super Reviewer

Wonderfully funny even if it does have a very serious point. The three leads do an absolutely brilliant job in conveying a growing relationship and are perhaps one of the only believable and functional threesomes in cinema. The script doesn't drag itself down by having a rivalry breakout between the two males, making

June 20, 2008

Luke Baldock

Super Reviewer

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