People Will Talk

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People Will Talk

1951

1h 50m

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

89%

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9 Reviews

78%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

The unorthodox methods of Midwestern physician and lecturer Noah Praetorious (Cary Grant) make him popular with students and patients but ruffle the pride of Professor Rodney Elwell (Hume Cronyn). When student Deborah Higgins (Jeanne Crain) faints in Noah's class and confides that she is pregnant and unmarried, Noah takes an interest in her. Eager to ruin Noah, Elwell uses the doctor's connection to Deborah and to a mysterious and shady friend to bring charges of unsuitability against him.

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Richard Brody

The New Yorker

Sep 14, 2020

Joseph Mankiewicz's noble, mysterious 1951 comedy of medicine and mores...

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Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

Nov 27, 2025

6/10

A somewhat perfunctory story is enlivened by a strong cast and a sharp screenplay in Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1951 romantic comedy-drama People Will Talk. Based on a German play by Curt Goetz, it is a bright little gem for fans of classic Hollywood.

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Manny Farber

The Nation

Sep 15, 2021

Though People Will Talk is basically only a Dr. Kildare story about "good" medicine and "bad," it has been precociously adult-erated a the toniest film of the year.

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Aug 23, 2020

8/10

Despite the diminishing likelihood of a believable happy ending, there's an impressive authenticity to the leads' relationship, thanks chiefly to their performances.

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Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

Nov 26, 2019

People Will Talk had the nerve to present two such conventional box-office stars as Cary Grant and Jeanne Crain in a highly unconventional story which the bankers who underwrite Hollywood would never have sanctioned a few years ago.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Jul 6, 2005

3/5

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David B A

@RT25449522 Jul 8, 2026

A silly story with a bad script.

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Horror fan 4

@Horrorfan4life Nov 7, 2025

Cary Grant at his best. Charming, Handsome and great at delivering lines that would make every woman faint. My favorite part was the hearing during the final 20 minutes. Tim Treakle

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Martin B

@RT44235356 Jul 23, 2025

Cary Grant at his aloof, pompous best with a slow biting delivery that makes everyone in his presence seem slow witted and subordinate to his wisdom and lofty ethics. Nope, that Cary Grant does not work for me and marrying a pregnant gal over twenty years his junior didn’t change the equation at all. PS- and the butcher bit and revived hung companion was beyond ridiculous

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bao s

@RT77741678 May 13, 2025

Wonderful to see the wicked witch with Cary Grant. Nice acting, set design and pacing.

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Ingrid B

@RT12814231 Oct 8, 2024

Couldn’t even finish it. Film was all over the place.

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Patricia W

@RT52876138 Aug 21, 2024

Yeah,i watched this last night.Brutal.I usually love Cary Grant and Jeanne Crain is always lovely to look at but,this film stinks.It's talkie,boring and really has no likeable characters. I suppose it's overrated because of Joseph L. Mankiewicz but,this film isn't worth your time. One coincidence after another which all leads to nothing in the end.Pass.

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Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Director

Cary Grant

Dr. Noah Praetorius

Jeanne Crain

Deborah Higgins

Finlay Currie

Shunderson

Walter Slezak

Prof. Barker

Hume Cronyn

Prof. Rodney Elwell

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Synopsis

The unorthodox methods of Midwestern physician and lecturer Noah Praetorious (Cary Grant) make him popular with students and patients but ruffle the pride of Professor Rodney Elwell (Hume Cronyn). When student Deborah Higgins (Jeanne Crain) faints in Noah's class and confides that she is pregnant and unmarried, Noah takes an interest in her. Eager to ruin Noah, Elwell uses the doctor's connection to Deborah and to a mysterious and shady friend to bring charges of unsuitability against him.

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 29, 1951, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Runtime: 1h 50m

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