Product Description

A fugitive hides out with an unsuspecting professor & landlady and tries to convince the legal-minded professor that theres a human side to all laws. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 05/13/2008 Starring: Ronald Colman Jean Arthur Run time: 117 minutes Rating: Nr

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24199 in DVD
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 2003-02-25
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Japanese, Georgian
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 118 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
The screwball comedy was the definitive genre of the Depression, but as America edged toward war in the early '40s, it suffered some strange and wonderful mutations--none stranger than The Talk of the Town, directed by George Stevens from a script by novelist Irwin Shaw and frequent Capra collaborator (and future blacklist victim) Sidney Buchman. Cary Grant, awkwardly cast, is a small-town political agitator who is framed for the burning of a local factory; he takes refuge in the attic of a country cottage that landlady Jean Arthur is preparing to rent out to a celebrated law professor (silver-tongued Ronald Colman, perhaps the only actor in Hollywood who could make Grant look like a proletarian). Stevens, suspended between his light '30s style (Swing Time) and his heavy postwar manner (A Place in the Sun), struggles to balance a charming, surprisingly suspenseful romantic triangle with the heavy, debating-society tone of the screenplay, which pits Grant, the representative of a compassionate, emotional sense of justice, against the cool, abstract application of the law advocated by Colman. Caught between these two highly verbal characters, Jean Arthur doesn't have much to do but be adorable and provide the occasional quizzical reaction shot--two things she does with exquisite skill. Stevens and Arthur teamed up again one year later for another strange-bedfellows farce, the marvelous The More the Merrier; in 1953 Arthur made her final film appearance in Stevens's Shane. --Dave Kehr

From the Back Cover
When a charming fugitive, a beautiful teacher, and a stuffy law professor are forced to become roommates, their unconventional relationship is suddenly THE TALK OF THE TOWN in this madcap romantic comedy. When accused arsonist Leopold Dilg (Academy Award winner Cary Grant, Honorary Award, 1970) escapes jail, he hides out in the home of his friend Nora (Jean Arthur). Posing as a gardener, Dilg teams up with Nora to convince her summer tenant, Supreme Court candidate Michael Lightcap (Academy Award winner Ronald Colman, Best Actor in a Leading Role, A DOUBLE LIFE, 1940), that Dilg was framed. The zaniness never stops as the three of them dodge the cops, try to snag the real crooks, and discover along the way that both men have fallen for Nora. But who has captured Nora's heart? Find out with THE TALK OF THE TOWN, a sparkling gem from Hollywood's Golden Age of Comedy, nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture.

Customer Reviews

A disappointing transfer makes for a dismal film experience!
Columbia Pictures has regressed in their shoddy film transfers of catalogue titles with this DVD. The film, a great screwball adventure that pits a prison escapee (Cary Grant) against a stuffy law professor (Ronald Colman) is about as witty, charming and utterly engaging as one could hope for. Resident studio do-gooder, Jean Arthur is a treat as the woman whose love for the two men is brought to hilarious fruition. As a film, it's five stars all the way! But the DVD is a thoroughly miserable experience with excessive film grain, fine detail shimmering, aliasing problems and varying degrees of stock footage used in the transfer. The hi-def packaging is also deceptive. * Note: the phrasing "remastered in hi-def" means nothing unless the source elements have first been cleaned up. Let the buyer beware! Over all, a mediocre experience. Wait for Criterion to get their hands on it or Columbia to come to its senses and do a restoration.

Cary Grant AND Ronald Colman
Leopold Dilg (played by Cary Grant, but where did they get that name?), a small town malcontent and challenger to the status quo, is framed for arson. Seeking to hide out in the home of Nora Shelley (Jean Arthur), he finds that he must hide from the new renter, Michael Lightcap (Ronald Colman). Luck seems to be on his side when it turns out that Lightcap is a famous legal scholar and Supreme Court nominee. However, Lightcap likes his law cold and academic. What will it take to both melt Lightcap and free Dilg? [Black and white, created in 1942, with a running time of 1 hour, 58 minutes.]

What a great movie! The cover for the tape looks like Mount Rushmore, and that is no exaggeration. Cary Grant AND Ronald Colman, who could ask for more? The story is humorous is a subtle way, and just as subtly romantic. This movie doesn't hit you over the head, but strongly looks at the use and abuse of the law in the United States. There is nothing objectionable in this movie, so you can watch it with small children, though it will probably prove too slow moving for them.

I recommend this movie absolutely!

Pretty good mix of a serious topic and comedy...
Sometimes I am tempted to describe this movie as having split personality disorder. On one level, it seems to be a lighthearted comedy with a love triangle between Cary Grant, Ronald Coleman, and Jean Arthur. And on another level, it aims to deal with deeper issues like the role of the law in society, etc, etc. But, actually, I think a more accurate way to describe this movie would be as a late screwball comedy. During the WWII years, screwball comedy, which had been so carefree in the depression, began to take on more serious issues, leading to movies like this one - strange mixes of the screwball spirit and deeper concerns.

Regardless of its strange synthesis of screwball and serious issues, however, The Talk of the Town is a classic, and a great movie! Essentially, it is about a small town rebel (Cary Grant, in an uncharacteristic role) who escapes from prision after being wrongly accused of arson and murder. He comes across a former friend (Jean Arthur) and stays with her, posing as the gardener when a law professor (Ronald Coleman) comes to rent her house. There are many hilarious situations in the house, but the movie also discussed the role of the law in society and whether law should be interpreted coldly and to the letter or have a more personal application.

The acting is very good. Cary Grant, though in a strange role, proves his talent as a more dramatic actor (and also shows off his incredible comedic skills). Even though he was ignored by the Oscars for years, Grant really was a spectacular actor - he just wasn't given enough credit because he tended to make it all look so easy. Ronald Coleman is also good as his urbane, cold rival, and Jean Arthur is great - her reactions steal scene after scene!

Anyhow, this movie is very good. Although it is somewhat of a strange mix, it is quite enjoyable and typical of the semi-screwball comedies from the war years. Get this and enjoy!