"People Will Talk" starring Cary Grant and Jeanne Crain

Tonight I watched an unusual movie that's a bit hard to classify : "People Will Talk" (1951), starring Cary Grant and Jeanne Crain. It's basically a romantic melodrama, but through the dialogue a lot of ideas are explored, some political, others philosophical or even metaphysical. There's also an element of mystery concerning the background of a main character, and finally, there are some laughs too. In fact, the movie is listed as a "comedy, drama, romance" on IMDB, where it has a very high rating of 7.4. I don't know that I'd list "comedy" as the main identifier, it seems a fairly serious film to me, but because the more dramatic aspects are portrayed without much rancor, and because there are lighthearted characters to add atmosphere, I suppose you could categorize the film as a comedy if you switched the order around and put it in the third position as a "drama, romance, comedy". Laughs though, are hardly the main ingredient.

Grant plays "Dr. Praetorius", the name of the German play on which the film is based. To his patients he is a miracle worker, but to his colleague at the local University (unspecified location), he is a quack. As the movie opens, Margaret Hamilton (in crabby Almira Gulch mode) is sitting in the office of a university medical professor (Hume Cronyn). He is out to get rid of Dr. Praetorius and is looking for information on his background. Margaret Hamilton's got it. She knew him in the early days of his practice in a small town down South. The story begins as she dishes the dirt to Hume Cronyn......

Meanwhile, a new patient arrives at Dr. Praetorius' clinic (I will refer to him as Grant since it's quicker to type). Grant splits his time between his clinic and the University, where he teaches medicine. The new patient is Jeanne Crain, who suspects she may be pregnant. Because she is unmarried, and this was a big deal even as late as 1951, she is worried about the shame it will bring. She is especially concerned about the effect the news will have on her father (Sidney Blackmer), a decent but broken-down man who is penniless and living with Crain at his brother's house. Dad is a depressive type. Crain worries that her taboo pregnancy could drive him over the edge. Cary Grant performs a "rabbit test", using a frog instead. I don't know how these tests worked, but by using a rabbit or frog, probably as the recipient of the patient's blood sample, a doctor was able to determine pregnancy.

Grant informs Crain that she is indeed pregnant. Distraught, she leaves his office and promptly tries to kill herself. Grant and his nurses hear the gunshot, right there in the hallway. Fortunately, Crain has only grazed herself. Grant tapes up her wound, keeps her overnight at the clinic, and when she wakes up the next day, he informs her that he's made a terrible mistake. Her "frog test" was mixed up with that of another woman. The results are reversed; she isn't pregnant after all and she needn't worry about telling her father. Unspoken by Grant is the implication that she need not attempt suicide again, either. He sends her home to her Uncle's farm, where she is living with her father.

Meanwhile, Hume Cronyn continues to gather evidence for Grant's removal, which he will soon present to the University Board. Grant ignores his efforts, and goes about his business, which includes conducting an orchestra made up of members of the faculty. He is close friends with an Atomic Science professor. They will engage in several scenes of the film's conversational, philosophical dialogue. One day, Grant drives out to the farm to see how Jeanne Crain is doing. There he meets her father and his crab-apple brother, a well-off skinflint, who gripes about having to feed two extra dinner guests, Grant and his manservant Mr.Shunderson (played by the elderly but linebacker-sized Finlay Currie, whom you've seen in a million movies). Mr. Shunderson, a shy man who seldom speaks, will play a big role in Hume Cronyn's effort to smear Cary Grant. I can't reveal any more about that.

At the farm, Grant and Crain inevitably fall in love. Soon they are married and Crain leaves the farm to live with Grant in the city (also unspecified). Her father moves in with them, too. Grant has a big apartment with plenty of room. Crain will soon learn that she is pregnant again, this time for real. She is overjoyed to be starting a family with her new husband, but then Grant drops a bombshell. I don't wanna tell you exactly what it is, but it has nothing to do with their marriage or love for one another, so don't worry about that. I guess I can say that it involves math. Think about those two things, pregnancy and math, and then consider that Crain had that previous pregnancy test, before she was married to Grant, and you'll probably be able to figure out what I'm hinting at.

Grant's revelation will cause a minor rift in their relationship. Jeanne Crain, a lovely actress and one of my favorites, will question his motives for marrying her, but they will come together stronger than ever when Hume Cronyn, who specialized in playing Officious Weasels, haha, presents his case against Grant to the University Board. This is where the mysterious Mr. Shunderson will have his say, and boy does he ever have a story to tell! Wow and Holy Smokes, my fellow motion picture fans, now I've heard it all. The stage play was adapted for the screen by the great Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who also directed. FIY, he was the great Uncle to Ben Mankiewicz of TCM. Again, I have no way to categorize this movie, which is one of the reasons I thought it was so great. You never know where the script will go next. So many topics are discussed in the course of a love story, from farming to religious faith to McCarthyism. Cary Grant is at his best here. Of course, he was always at his best, but this time, in addition to his charm he's got a little bit of that "man on a mission" quality that Jimmy Stewart excelled at. The cast of supporting actors is stellar, as is the black and white photography.

We are on an incredible roll lately, with some real gems. You can add "People Will Talk" to that list. I give it Two Gigantic Thumbs Up. It's score on IMDB is well deserved, and it gets my highest recommendation.  /////

That's all I've got for the moment. Now it's time for a quick stroll and then back to Pearl's for the Impeachment News. See you tonight at the Usual Time.  :):)

Tons and tons of love!  xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo  :):)