People Will Talk [HD]

Dr. Praetorius I Presume!
Another one of Joseph L. Mankiewicz's films to be lost in the wake of All About Eve, People Will Talk is a terrific comedy/drama featuring a wonderful cast. Cary Grant is Dr. Praetorius whose treatment of patients is somewhat controversial and unconventional. When he befriends a young, unmarried pregnant woman (Jeanne Crain), Grant finds himself the focus of an investigation lead by a jealous collegue (Hume Cronyn) at the university where they both teach. Grant's interest and concern for Crain goes so far as his proposing marriage. And then there's the matter of Mr. Shunderson (Finlay Currie), Grant's seemingly simple-minded, yet constant companion. No one seems to know the details of Mr. Shunderson's life, except Grant, and he's not telling. Not a huge hit when first released, People Will Talk has developed an almost cult following today, and like many past film "failures," it's now considerd a pretty good film. Perhaps it was ahead of its time, but it has some...

Good Doctor Praetorius and the Mysterious Mr. Shunderson
"People Will Talk" is a movie that I first stumbled upon while flipping channels one day. Cary Grant plays Dr. Noah Praetorius, who both practices and teaches medicine with an apporach that is refreshingly modern, even by today's standards. When young Deborah Higgins (Jeanne Crain) collapses, the good Doctor learns she is pregnant, unmarried, and suicidal. After telling her a story about a frog to make her think she is not really pregnant, some things happen and he ends up marrying Deborah. Meanwhile, Professor Rodney Elwell (Hume Cronyn) find Praetorius's novel methods abominable and is trying to find out the truth about not only the good Doctor but his strange companion, Mr. Shunderson (Finlay Currie). The film's climax is an inquisition into Praetorius's past (which keeps him from conduction his orchestra made up of all the school's med students), where it seems that he cured people in a backwater town as their butcher. However, the more Elwell goes after...

Neglected Mankiewicz Classic
In the late forties, Mankiewicz was on a role with The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, A Letter to Three Wives, rolling right into the fifties with All About Eve and People Will Talk. Unfortunately Eve seems to get all the glory these days. People Will Talk is remarkably up to date. Cary Grant's character, Dr. Praetorius, believes "that knowledge of the human emotions and spirit is as necessary for a medical person as anatomy." Jeanne Crain plays an unwed pregnant student that Grant saves from suicide and despair. The supporting cast includes some of the greatest character actors of all time including Hume Cronyn, Sidney Blackmer, Walter Slezak, Finley Currie, and in a delightfully funny bit Margaret Hamilton. Currie's performance as Grant's faithful assistant/friend is wonderfully under played. One of my favorite moments is the porch scene with Grant, Crain, and Blackmer, with Crain shouting "Bella" at the top of her lungs. You'll have to see the film to...

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