People Will Talk

Rating:
Summary: Good Doctor Praetorius and the Mysterious Mr. Shunderson
Review: "People Will Talk" is a movie that I first stumbled upon while flipping channels one day. Cary Grant plays Dr. Noah Praetorius, who both practices and teaches medicine with an apporach that is refreshingly modern, even by today's standards. When young Deborah Higgins (Jeanne Crain) collapses, the good Doctor learns she is pregnant, unmarried, and suicidal. After telling her a story about a frog to make her think she is not really pregnant, some things happen and he ends up marrying Deborah. Meanwhile, Professor Rodney Elwell (Hume Cronyn) find Praetorius's novel methods abominable and is trying to find out the truth about not only the good Doctor but his strange companion, Mr. Shunderson (Finlay Currie). The film's climax is an inquisition into Praetorius's past (which keeps him from conduction his orchestra made up of all the school's med students), where it seems that he cured people in a backwater town as their butcher. However, the more Elwell goes after Praetorius, the better the good Doctor looks. Then there is the unbelievable truth about Mr. Shunderson.

For me and a lot of other people the strengths of this film outweigh its weaknesses. The proposal scene does not really work, Grant's performance goes off in different directions from time to time, and you have to think Professor Elwell is too smart to be this stupid. But for me the reason I always watch at least the end of this film whenever I can is that the payoff for the mystery of Mr. Shunderson just bowls me over. Walter Slezak is wonderful as always playing Professor Barker, Praetorius's stout supporter, and although it might be a tad forced I love the scene where the three men are playing with the good Doctor's new train set. Hume Cronyn creates an extremely bitter little man to be the story's villain (pay attention to the little details of his performance). Basil Ruysdael does a nice job as the Dean, who finally restores sanity to the proceedings. Certainly there are massive holes in "People Will Talk," but for me the sum of the whole is greater than the parts. I know lots of better films that are not as enjoyable as this quirky little film.

Rating:
Summary: Good Doctor Praetorius and the Mysterious Mr. Shunderson
Review: "People Will Talk" is a movie that I first stumbled upon while flipping channels one day. Cary Grant plays Dr. Noah Praetorius, who both practices and teaches medicine with an apporach that is refreshingly modern, even by today's standards. When young Deborah Higgins (Jeanne Crain) collapses, the good Doctor learns she is pregnant, unmarried, and suicidal. After telling her a story about a frog to make her think she is not really pregnant, some things happen and he ends up marrying Deborah. Meanwhile, Professor Rodney Elwell (Hume Cronyn) find Praetorius's novel methods abominable and is trying to find out the truth about not only the good Doctor but his strange companion, Mr. Shunderson (Finlay Currie). The film's climax is an inquisition into Praetorius's past (which keeps him from conduction his orchestra made up of all the school's med students), where it seems that he cured people in a backwater town as their butcher. However, the more Elwell goes after Praetorius, the better the good Doctor looks. Then there is the unbelievable truth about Mr. Shunderson.

For me and a lot of other people the strengths of this film outweigh its weaknesses. The proposal scene does not really work, Grant's performance goes off in different directions from time to time, and you have to think Professor Elwell is too smart to be this stupid. But for me the reason I always watch at least the end of this film whenever I can is that the payoff for the mystery of Mr. Shunderson just bowls me over. Walter Slezak is wonderful as always playing Professor Barker, Praetorius's stout supporter, and although it might be a tad forced I love the scene where the three men are playing with the good Doctor's new train set. Hume Cronyn creates an extremely bitter little man to be the story's villain (pay attention to the little details of his performance). Basil Ruysdael does a nice job as the Dean, who finally restores sanity to the proceedings. Certainly there are massive holes in "People Will Talk," but for me the sum of the whole is greater than the parts. I know lots of better films that are not as enjoyable as this quirky little film.

Rating:
Summary: a dramatic misfire, but worth seeing
Review: "People Will Talk" used to be one of my favorite movies. Watching it again reveals that -- dramatically -- it's as sterile and antiseptic as Dr. Praetorius's operating room.

"Talk" -- and I deliberately selected "Talk" rather than "People" as the shorthand -- was Joseph Mankiewicz's follow-up to "All About Eve." He'd no doubt had this project on the burner, and "Eve"'s huge success gave him the clout to get it produced.

The story (from a German play) must have looked nice on paper -- an idealistic doctor keeps an out-of-wedlock pregnant woman from committing suicide, while successfully defending himself from unjust charges of medical impropriety -- but it doesn't play well on film. Not in Mankiewicz's adaptation, anyway.

Mankiewicz is more interested in being clever than humane, and in a story about what it means to be humane, he fails to make a sincere connection with the characters' inner lives. Even when the characters are forced to confront their situations, Mankiewicz's penchant for witty dialog overrides believable dramatic interaction. Issues are resolved in a "verbal Band-Aid" fashion, merely by the application of clever words.

"Talk" seems more a reflection of Mankiewicz's personality than anything else. The characters are spokespeople for his views rather than fleshed-out human beings. When Shunderson says he's reached the point where music is just about the only thing he enjoys, you suspect you're hearing Mankiewicz himself. (At the age of 57 -- and, like Mankiewicz, a Brahms freak -- I know what he means.)

The principal performances are ineffective. Dr. Praetorius -- who has a history he doesn't want made public -- must have appealed to Cary Grant, who was similarly hounded by rumors about his private life. But his doctor is more charming than deep. There is rarely the sense of "gravitas" you would expect from a person so concerned about the welfare of others. He comes perilously close to expressing a light, almost patronizing attitude towards the problems of human existence. You do, however, get to see the unique "Grant sidle" in the barn scene.

Jeanne Crain's performance is terrible. She's not only miscast -- there's no chemistry whatever between her and Grant -- but the script requires her to be both intellectually strong _and_ vulnerable enough to attempt suicide, while possessing the mental agility and wit to win a verbal fight with Dr. Elwell (Hume Cronyn). Even Bette or Kate would have had trouble handling all that. Poor Jeanne isn't remotely up to it. *

But the supporting players are a delight. Hume Cronyn is at his peak, playing the weaselly Dr. Elwell as a flawed human being, rather than a caricatured villain. Then there's Walter Slezak as a self-absorbed physicist, and marvelous Margaret Hamilton as Dr. Praetorius's ex-housekeeper. She's typecast, but brings far more to the role than you'd expect.

"Talk" is more than a half-century old, and shows it in many ways. The thought that an unmarried pregnant woman would even _consider_ suicide seems alien, even to someone (like myself) born before the film was made. The Code-enforced treatment of attempted suicide is delicate (we don't see Crain lying on the floor, only the people gathered around her), while Mankiewicz's reference to abortion -- without actually saying the word -- is a model of brilliant writing any would-be screenwriter should study.

So, with all this nay-saying, is "Talk" worth a look? Yes. Mankiewicz's dialog is always fun to hear. (His 1983 biography is titled "Pictures will Talk.") And the story _does_ have much to say about professional integrity and respect for other people's private decisions. It also presents the older view that medicine is not about treating symptoms, but treating people -- "Helping sick people get well," as Dr. Praetorius puts it. In an era when motion pictures are rarely "about" _anything_, it's a pleasure to watch a film that -- though it does so in a pompous, even self-righteous manner -- is not embarrassed to say something worth hearing.

The DVD (which I purchased 12/09/03) is sharp, finely detailed, with excellent contrast, but a lot of film grain (or is it coding artifacts?) visible in many scenes.

* The fault is at least partly Mankiewicz's. There is a lot to be said for Hitchcock's approach of letting the actors find their own way.

Rating:
Summary: An original plot and some great lines! Fantastic film!
Review: "People Will Talk" was a great movie that had everything that a classic movie lover wants. There were some great lines and characters, and throughout the whole movie, it kept me wondering exactly who Dr. Pretorius and his sidekick really were. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Ghastly
Review: Among the worst movies I've ever seen, "People Will Talk" is a confused, pontificating, gassy mess. The direction is non-existent and the acting (with Hume Cronyn the only notable exception) awful. Avoid.

Rating:
Summary: Dr. Praetorius I Presume!
Review: Another one of Joseph L. Mankiewicz's films to be lost in the wake of All About Eve, People Will Talk is a terrific comedy/drama featuring a wonderful cast. Cary Grant is Dr. Praetorius whose treatment of patients is somewhat controversial and unconventional. When he befriends a young, unmarried pregnant woman (Jeanne Crain), Grant finds himself the focus of an investigation lead by a jealous collegue (Hume Cronyn) at the university where they both teach. Grant's interest and concern for Crain goes so far as his proposing marriage. And then there's the matter of Mr. Shunderson (Finlay Currie), Grant's seemingly simple-minded, yet constant companion. No one seems to know the details of Mr. Shunderson's life, except Grant, and he's not telling. Not a huge hit when first released, People Will Talk has developed an almost cult following today, and like many past film "failures," it's now considerd a pretty good film. Perhaps it was ahead of its time, but it has some wonderfully rich characterizations, including great turns by the aforementioned Currie, Hume Cronyn, Walter Slezak, Sidney Blackmer, and a terrific bit by an unbilled Margaret Hamilton as Miss Pickett to keep the narrative moving. My favorite scene is Grant's visit to Crain's uncle's house (she and her father life with her uncle). Grant, Blackmer, Currie, and Crain are all sitting on the front porch. Crain objects to being the center of their discussion and refuses to leave the porch. She goes so far as to scream the cook's name "Bella" at the top of her lungs, rather than move from her perch. What the movie does say about the practice of medicine and human relationships is perhaps more relevant today than when first released in 1951. As with most Mankiewicz films, it is successful on the surface. If there was another intent by the director to tell another tale or an allusion to something else, look at this as an added bonus. Fans of Cary Grant will not be disappointed; this is one of his best and most relaxed performances on film. And fans of Jeanne Crain will be pleased as well. Her role is the more difficult one and she pulls it off quite well, besides looking beautiful in ordinary farm-girl dress. Any way you slice it, you'll be talking about People Will Talk.

Rating:
Summary: Best Cary Grant film ever - Reason is story is good and
Review: Cary Grant seems to be enjoying himself inthis role. A story that is novel and engrossing. Should admit I am a Cary Grant fan and have almost all his films.

Rating:
Summary: The Health of the Human Spirit
Review: Cary Grant stars as Dr. Noah Praetorius, a gifted physician who believes that his patients' emotional and spiritual states are critical to their overcoming physical challenges. There's a lot of mystery surrounding Grant's past, and Grant plays the character with such an even balance it adds to the mystery. He's given a lot of preachy speeches to deliver, some of which work and some of which don't, but Grant makes the character believable. Jeanne Crain is less successful as the young woman that Grant saves. She never zeroes in on her character's personality, although that may be, in part, a fault of the script. The rest of the cast does well, including Finlay Currie as Grant's mysterious, quiet manservant and shadow. The film left me with an odd feeling. I felt I was being preached to, but I did enjoy learning about the puzzle that was Grant's past and the role that Currie played in it. This is an unusual film, difficult to describe, that will fascinate some and frustrate others. It did both for me.

Rating:
Summary: Beware of Shunderson ?The Bat.?
Review: Dr. Noah Praetorius A doctor and teacher (Cary Grant) believes in holistic medicine. A fellow doctor and teacher (Hume Cronyn) has a nasty attitude and is jealous, so he plans to take Praetorius down a notch. Mean while back at the ranch Dr. Praetorious is getting romanticlay invalved with a young student that has a problem.

You think that Shunderson "the bat" is scary. This movie is a remake of Frauenarzt Dr. Prätorius (1950). Luckily it is much better than the original. Watching the train scene made me want to go "beep beep" or was that "beep beep beep?" This is one of those movies that just works. You can not pull it apart as each actor was excellent for his or her character. The music thy plaid was "Academic festival overture" (Brahms - The Greatest Hits ASIN: B000003QX4) what else for this sort of movie?

See Julia Dean "Old Woman" again as Julia Farren in "The Curse of the Cat People" ASIN: B00001W0G3

Rating:
Summary: Beware of Shunderson ¿The Bat.¿
Review: Dr. Noah Praetorius A doctor and teacher (Cary Grant) believes in holistic medicine. A fellow doctor and teacher (Hume Cronyn) has a nasty attitude and is jealous, so he plans to take Praetorius down a notch. Mean while back at the ranch Dr. Praetorious is getting romanticlay invalved with a young student that has a problem.

You think that Shunderson "the bat" is scary. This movie is a remake of Frauenarzt Dr. Prätorius (1950). Luckily it is much better than the original. Watching the train scene made me want to go "beep beep" or was that "beep beep beep?" This is one of those movies that just works. You can not pull it apart as each actor was excellent for his or her character. The music thy plaid was "Academic festival overture" (Brahms - The Greatest Hits ASIN: B000003QX4) what else for this sort of movie?

See Julia Dean "Old Woman" again as Julia Farren in "The Curse of the Cat People" ASIN: B00001W0G3