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Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: People Will Talk

This week’s selection as part of Todd Mason’s ongoing blog series is one that I have wanted to discuss for a while. I am referring to Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s People Will Talk from 1951. The film stars Cary Grant (Dr. Noah Praetorius) a doctor dedicated to a holistic, humanist approach to patient care and Jeanne Crain (as Deborah Higgins) a troubled young woman who finds herself in his care.

Among the supporting players we have Walter Slezak, Dr. Praetorius’ confidant and Hume Cronyn, a fellow physician who finds Praetorius’ methods and popularity among the students very distressing. And finally there is Shunderson (Finlay Currie), the doctor’s right hand man who has a very mysterious past.


What I always found strange about this film is that by all appearances, it posits itself as a romantic comedy (see poster below). However, you do not have to go that deep (just sit down and watch it actually) to see that the film is quite dark; in fact, it deals with a few ideas that I would imagine were taboo at the time – namely suicide and an unplanned pregnancy. Heavy stuff indeed.

As with any Mankiewicz piece, the writing (he is a credited co-writer as well as director) is clever and witty, despite the subject matter.

Have you seen this? Let me know what you think below …

 

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Tuesday’s Overlooked Film: The Grass is Greener (1960)

This week’s overlooked selection is the 1960 Stanley Donen comedy feature, The Grass is Greener. The film stars an all-star cast including Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons. The film is based on the play of the same name that found success on London’s West End.

Grant and Kerr’s characters, the Rhyalls, are lording it up on a stately English manor that is facing hard financial times. In an effort to raise the money needed to maintain the estate, they decide to open up the house for tourists.

Among the people to come in are the “stereotypically” newly minted American tycoon Charles Delacro (Mitchum) and the Earl Rhyall’s equally annoying ex-sweetheart, American heiress Hattie Durant (Simmons). What follows is a comedy of manners (of sorts) in which the four principal characters find themselves entangled in a ‘love square.’

The film received mixed reviews at the time of its release and was a domestic box office disappointment. While it is admittedly not the best work of any of the folks involved, for fans of any of the actors, it is definitely worth your time.

Check out the trailer here.

PLEASE BE SURE TO VISIT TODD MASON’S BLOG FOR OTHER OVERLOOKED SELECTIONS!

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Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

Every time I see Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, I am reminded by how entertained by it. The first ten minutes alone are well worth the price of admission. It cannot be mentioned enough the almost genius of the comedy of Cary Grant’s physical presence. For me this hearkens to some of the comedy of the silent era.

This film is also the second and final pairing of Cary Grant and Myrna Loy in a light comedy. One can only imagine how successful a duo they would have been if their screen partnership were allowed to flourish .
And let us not forget the supporting talents of Melvyn Douglas as the “voice of doom.”
One thing always leave me scratching my head – given present sensibilities if the story were to be retold nowadays, don’t you think that Bessy would have sued her (former) employer for ripping off her ad slogan?
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