People Will Talk (1951)
Movie Info
Watch it now
Cast
as Dr. Noah Praetorius
as Deborah Higgins
as Professor Rodney Elwell
as Professor Barker
as Shunderson
as Arthur Higgins
as Dean Lyman Brockwell
as Miss James
as John Higgins
as Miss Pickett
as Mrs. Pegwhistle
as Technician
as Business Manager
as Nurse
as Dietician
as Old Lady
as Secretary
as Student Manager
as Haskins
as Mabel
as Coonan
as Photographer
as Cook
as Toy Salesman
as Gussie
as Night Matron
as Bella
as Student
as Student
as Student
as Student
as Board Member
as Doctor
Critic Reviews for People Will Talk
All Critics (8) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (7) | Rotten (1) | DVD (3)
Joseph Mankiewicz's noble, mysterious 1951 comedy of medicine and mores...
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.
Despite the diminishing likelihood of a believable happy ending, there's an impressive authenticity to the leads' relationship, thanks chiefly to their performances.
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.
Mankiewicz's chatty and dyspeptic liberal response to Senator McCarthy's witch hunting days.
Brilliant, brilliantly subversive anti-McCarthy comedy
Audience Reviews for People Will Talk
An unusual Grant film, as he plays an unorthodox doctor (one who cares about his patients with a capital "C"), filled less with comedy than with preaching. And talk about implausible, the work is ripe with unbelievable actions, unbelievable motivations, unbelievable conclusions. In point of fact only the presence of Grant allows this tripe any hearing time at all. And the film is well aware of that fact.
Super Reviewer
A doctor treats and loves a pregnant woman amid scandals about the morality of his past. Predictable but charming, Joseph L. Mankiewicz once again proves why he's one of my favorite classic directors. His stories are tightly constructed, and the performances by his actors are always fun but with a kind of depth that many directors of his time weren't able to manage. Cary Grant, the great gentleman of classic film, is alternatively charming and petulant, able to convey a strength of character that is absent in present-day movie stars. I would have liked the film to be more morally ambiguous. The entire question of the film is whether or not Grant's character harbor some deep, black secret (as though one could be such a question on Grant), and by the time we realize he's as pure as he purports to be, it's like we been shown a box that contains a treasure, but once the box is opened, we discover it's only a scrap of paper reading, "Fooled you." Overall, I enjoyed People Will Talk, but the compelling story is not flawless.
Super Reviewer
A film that is less about the comedic prowess of the incomparable Cary Grant or even about the semblance of a plot, and more of a political and moral tale that addresses very little and pushes the envelope for its time. Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz pulls some truly rash decisions in writing the dialogue for this film, in times being cute and full of genuine humor and at others being obviously and obnoxiously interested in singular political dealings. Grant is usually either a debonair action hero, sweet tempered authority figure, or a romantic lead. He has many faces, many characters that flourish from witty scripts and beautiful leading ladies. Here his character is so flat and uninteresting that there is little to hold on to. He is depicted as a doctor and professor who cares for people and...that seems to be it. He's good. That is his sole characteristic, and he plays it to the best of his wholesome ability. Pair that with the situation of an unmarried young woman who he falls in love with and you would think there would be calamity, chaos, and comedy throughout. Instead it's this long paced, overwrought piece of American influence, rather than a film about anything that really matters. The chemistry between Grant and Crain is basically nonexistent. He pities her, they have a couple of trite conversations and he secretly, quietly marries her. The rest of the film is killing time to build the ending up to a gravitas level. The ending itself is also long and makes little sense to the rest of the film. It's just as pointless and self indulgent as the rest, though it references back to the beginning with a conservative professor who tries to foil him which goes nowhere. Though it is slow and overtly heavyhanded, some of the supporting characters are quite quirky and eccentric, but it's not a film that finds its humor in wit or even pratfalls but built up oddities and humorless storytelling. The entire point of the film or even its moral is lost or nonexistent. There is very little to enjoy in this except another goofy Grant performance where he lets himself become childlike in front of the camera. Still, it's little consolation for a life lesson that was unwanted to begin with.
Super Reviewer
People Will Talk Quotes
There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.