joedorchack-71590
Sparkling wit, sprinkled with genuine humanity make this simply a GREAT motion picture! We've all been treated by doctors at one time or another in our lives. Would that we had all been treated by Doctor Noah Pretorius. His whole approach is wonderfully refreshing, namely that the needs of the patient come first. An often overlooked performance in this film is that of Walter Slezak. He ranges from charming to oblivious, but above all he demonstrates just what a good friend ought to be. Finley Currie is excellent as Mr. Shunderson, especially when you consider that he manages to sound "Canadian" even though he has a thick Scottish brogue. And Jeanne Crain is both beautiful and a delight. Invest the time to take in this film, you won't be disappointed!
gavin6942
Dr. Noah Praetorius (Cary Grant) falls in love with Deborah (Jeanne Crain), a student who finds out that she is pregnant by her old boyfriend.The film's investigative trial has parallels to the congressional hearings by anti-communist crusaders. And just as some refused to name names in such hearings, the lead character, played by Cary Grant, declines to clear his own name by revealing the private business of another person, in this case a convicted murderer.The film runs a bit long, and I could do without the musical parts. But this is a good character for Grant: pompous, but also very witty and quite principled. He is romantic in the sense that he is willing to stand up for others when they are at their lowest.
Robert J. Maxwell
Well, Cary Grant will never be anything but elegant and Joseph L. Mankievicz will never be anything but literate, yet this mostly fails as comedy, romance, and drama. Maybe Goetz's play had something to do with it.Cary Grant is Dr. Praetorius, a name to be conjured with ever since "The Bride of Frankenstein." Cary Grant knows his way around the human body, having been a doctor at least once before, in "Crisis," in which he was pretty good. Here, as a professor, humanitarian healer, conductor of the university orchestra, owner of his own obstetrical clinic, a man who can help a dying patient by describing death as a trip on a magic carpet, a man with a mysterious past, he should be every woman's dream. But he's either miscast or he doesn't play it well. He comes up with all these pseudo-philosophical apothegms but he does it with a knowing smirk, as if the person he's talking to is a complete dolt and Grant, the Great Physician, is holding back ninety percent of what he knows. It's a little embarrassing to watch.The dialog, by Mankiewicz from Goetz's play, is often embarrassing too. It strains to be elegant and lyrical -- it creaks at the JOINTS -- but it doesn't quite catch the bar. Contractions are avoided. "I will not do it." "You are a well-known person." "One's commitment to a profession should be complete." People speak lines that sound as if they were formal notes that had just been discovered in an attic trunk that hadn't been opened since 1918. The romance is incredible. I think Grant meets the pregnant heroine, Jeanne Crain, about three times before deciding to marry her. She's confessed her love for him during meeting number two. Crain's family, such as it is, looks prosperous enough. Her father is a failed poet. Both the father and Crain herself are dependent on Crain's uncle, an old skinflint whose English isn't up to Goetz and Mankiewicz standards. Grant dislikes him at once, and the withered old skinflint would dislike Grant if he bothered to give him any thought. But Grant gets to make an interesting point. The old fraud is cheating on his income tax, claiming all kinds of "depletions and depreciations." Grant makes some comment about it and adds that people like country doctors and teachers can't claim depreciation because when they get run down all they own is talent and they can't claim depreciation of value on their income tax. The scofflaw at least has a maid. Her name is Bella. Or maybe it's a cook named Bela. They're a great convenience. I have a charwoman come in once a month myself because of my lumbago, an old war wound received in a small scrap with some Amish terrorists. Her name is Martha and she doesn't speak English. My command of Spanish has deteriorated into a kind of influence over it, so I have to search for every request in a Spanish-English dictionary. My mattress has a habit of migrating to the foot of the bed and I wanted her to straighten it up, so I looked up each word separately, disregarding such niceties as gender and number, and jammed all the pieces together into a sentence. I gave her my request which, in English, looked like, "I am profoundly concerned about the disposition of today's mattresses; please arrest the motion." It certainly showed her who was boss around here because she began to tremble and turn pale. I had to help her to a chair.Where was I? Yes. Thank you. The climax -- you won't believe this -- is about a shady character who Grant always claims is a "friend." Everywhere Grant goes, Shunderson goes with him. I began to wonder if this was only a daring treatment of pre-marital pregnancy. Was there more to it than meets the eye? Were Praetorius and Shunderson a couple? (No.) The climax is a hearing presided over by the evil Dr. Malware (Cronyn) or whatever his name is. It's such a poignant tale of mistreatment that it's almost funny. "People Will Talk" isn't very often thought of or mentioned when buffs consider Cary Grant's career and in truth it doesn't deserve too much attention. But given the right role, nobody could do it like Cary Grant, except maybe Tony Curtis.
The_I_G
Another reviewer has already used the word "superb" for Cronyn's performance so I will abandon my original intent to use it.I saw this movie fifty to sixty or so years ago but Cronyn's characterization was so impressive that it is still a vivid memory.And to do that in a supporting role . . .I must go watch it again.That was all I wanted to say but I am faced with the 10 line rule; so ...Walter Slezak once again demonstrated his versatility to good effect. I had a big crush on Jeanne Crain in the fifties so seeing her in a sympathetic romantic role was a treat. Grant had reached his peak by this point and maintained it well for years.
