Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, and Ronald Colman are "The Talk of the Town"

The Talk of the Town (1942) is an American comedy-drama film directed by George Stevens and starring Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, and Ronald Colman. The supporting cast features Edgar Buchanan, Glenda Farrell, Lloyd Bridges, Leonid Kinskey, and Rex Ingram. The screenplay was written by Irwin Shaw and Sidney Buchman.

Leopold Dilg (Grant), a mill worker and political activist, is accused of arson and murder. He is accused of setting fire to the woolen mill and killing the foreman, Clyde Bracken (Tom Tyler). Dilg escapes from jail and hides out in a cottage owned by former schoolmate Nora Shelley (Arthur). He’s had a crush on her for years. In the meantime, a professor, Michael Lightcap (Colman) plans to stay at the cottage to write a book. The professor comes a day early while Dilg is in the house. Nora hides Dilg in the attic and pretends that he’s the gardener when he is discovered by Lightcap.

Nora convinces the professor that she should be his secretary and cook in a way to help keep Dilg safe. Will this plan work? Will Dilg prove to be guilty or innocent? And what about the professor?

 

George Stevens (1904 – 1975) was an American film director and producer. He was nominated for five Best Director Academy Awards, winning one for Giant (1956). Stevens got his start in the movies as a cameraman working on many Laurel and Hardy films. Stevens directed many of the top stars of Hollywood’s Golden age including Barbara Stanwyck, Katharine Hepburn, Ronald Colman, Ginger Rogers, James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Carole Lombard, Fed Astaire, Joel McCrea, Alan Ladd, Spencer Tracy, and Elizabeth Taylor. Other popular films directed by Stevens include Annie Oakley (1935), Gunga Din (1939), Woman of the Year (1942), The More the Merrier (1943), I Remember Mama (1948), Shane (1953), and The Diary of Anne Frank (1959).

Cary Grant (1904 – 1986) was an English-born American actor who became one of the most popular leading men in film history. Grant started his career in vaudeville before heading to Hollywood. He became a superstar in the late 1930s in a series of screwball comedies including The Awful Truth (1937) with Irene Dunne. He was a memorable C. K. Dexter Haven in The Philadelphia Story (1940) opposite Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart. He received two Best Actor nominations: Penny Serenade (1941) and None but the Lonely Hearts (1944). Other classic Grant films include Gunga Din (1939), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), and Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). He made four popular films with Alfred Hitchcock: Suspicion (1941), Notorious (1946), To Catch a Thief (1955), and North by Northwest (1959). He was presented with an Honorary Oscar at the 42nd Academy Awards in 1970.

Jean Arthur (1900 – 1991) was an American stage and film actress whose career spanned three decades. Arthur got her start in silent films but became a major star with the advent of sound. Her unique speaking voice made her a natural for comedy. She came to prominence by having major roles in a series of films directed by Frank Capra: Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can’t Take it With You (1938), and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). Other popular films Arthur starred in included Only Angels Have Wings (1939), The Talk of the Town (1942), and The More the Merrier (1943). For her work in The More the Merrier, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress; it was her only Academy Award nomination. Arthur’s last film role was in the western classic Shane (1953). After retiring from acting, she taught drama at Vassar College where one of her students was Meryl Streep.

Ronald Colman (1891 – 1958) was an English-born actor whose career started in the theatre. In 1923, Colman appeared opposite Lillian Gish in the silent film The White Sister. He was a hit with the public and starred in over 20 silent films in America. Due to his wonderfully trained stage voice, Colman made the transition to talking pictures with ease. Some of his sound films include Clive of India (1935), A Tale of Two Cities (1935), Lost Horizon (1937), The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), The Talk of the Town (1942), and Random Harvest (1942). Colman was nominated three times for the Best Actor Academy Award. He finally won for his performance in A Double Life (1947).

The Talk of the Town trivia

• Ronald Colman’s character is supposed to have just turned 40 in the film but he was 51 years old when the movie was filmed.
• Jean Arthur was 41 when she made this film but she only admitted to being 30-something.
• Claire Trevor was reportedly supposed to play a second female lead but that never materialized.
• Cary Grant was 38 at the time of filming.
• This was the first time that Colman was billed below a male star since his days in silent films.
• Grant and Colman made about $100,000 each while Arthur who was in the doghouse with Columbia Studio head Harry Cohn was only paid $50,000. Arthur was constantly at odds with Cohn for turning down roles he thought she should take.

 

George Stevens, Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, and Ronald Colman

To watch the film on YouTube click here.

 

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Discussion questions

1. The film is described as a comedy-drama. Do you think that’s the right classification for this film? Is it more comedy or more drama in your opinion?
2. Through the characters of Dilg and Lightcap, we get a good contrast between the letter and the spirit of the law. Did you find yourself siding with Dilg or Lightcap during their discussions?
3. Even though Colman is billed after Cary Grant, he has the more substantive role—even Grant thought so.
4. What do you think? Who had the bigger role?
5. Were you surprised/disappointed with the man Jean Arthur’s character chose at the end? Do you think she made the right choice? Why or why not?