The Talk of the Town
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| The Talk of the Town | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover |
|
| Directed by | George Stevens |
| Produced by | George Stevens Fred Guiol |
| Written by | Irwin Shaw Sidney Buchman |
| Starring | Cary Grant Jean Arthur Ronald Colman |
| Music by | Friedrich Hollaender |
| Cinematography | Ted Tetzlaff |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1942 |
| Running time | 118 min. |
| IMDb profile | |
The Talk of the Town is a 1942 screwball comedy film, starring Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, Ronald Colman, Edgar Buchanan and Glenda Farrell.
The movie was adapted by Dale Van Every, Irwin Shaw and Sidney Buchman from the story by Sidney Harmon. It was directed by George Stevens. There was also a 1905 musical called The Talk of the Town that played at the Lyric Theatre in London.
It was nominated for a number of Academy Awards:
- Best Picture
- Best Writing, Original Story
- Best Writing, Screenplay
- Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Black-and-White (Fay Babcock, Lionel Banks, Rudolph Sternad)
- Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
- Best Film Editing
- Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture
[edit] Plot
Political activist Leopold Dilg (Cary Grant) is accused of burning down a mill and causing the death of a man in the fire. The fugitive escapes from jail and hides out in a house owned by former girlfriend Nora Shelley (Jean Arthur), who has leased it to distinguished law professor Michael Lightcap (Ronald Colman).
When Dilg is spotted by Lightcap, Shelley passes him off as her gardener "Joseph". Lightcap and Dilg enjoy having spirited discussions about the law, Lightcap arguing from an academic viewpoint, while Dilg subscribes to a more practical approach. They become good friends as a result.
Eventually, Dilg is unmasked and brought to trial. Meanwhile, under Shelley's prodding, Lightcap becomes suspicious. He romances the girlfriend of the supposed murder victim and discovers that he is still alive. Dilg is set free.
Soon afterwards, Lightcap is appointed to the Supreme Court. He asks Shelley to marry him; Dilg tells her that he's a fine man, but she decides in favor of Dilg.
