Talk of the Town (1935)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Talk of the town |
| Original title | The Whole Town's Talking |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1935 |
| length | 95 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Ford |
| script |
Jo Swerling Robert Riskin |
| production | John Ford Lester Cowan |
| music |
Mischa Bakaleinikoff Louis Silvers |
| camera | Joseph H. August |
| cut | Viola Lawrence |
| occupation | |
| |
Talk of the Town is an American comedy thriller from the year 1935 . Director John Ford directed the film for Columbia Pictures based on the story Jail Breaker by WR Burnett , which in August 1932 in the magazine Collier's published.
action
Arthur Ferguson Jones, an employee of the Seaver and Carpenter advertising agency, just got a raise when he was late for the first time in his working life. Since Jones shows remorse, he can keep his post while his colleague Wilhelmina Clark, with whom he is secretly in love, is fired for being late. Clark becomes aware of a newspaper picture showing the escaped murder suspect Manion. Manion and Jones look strikingly alike, which is also clear to the submissive Hoyt. Hoyt, awaiting a reward, turns Jones over to the police. However, Seaver can save his employee from jail. In order to rule out further errors, he procures a special ID card for the police for Jones.
Carpenter encourages Jones, who is also a writer, to write his story. The reporter Healy should help him and bring the story out as a series. Seaver, Carpenter and Jones celebrate their deal with several drinks. The drunk Jones asks Seaver to reinstate Clark. When Jones comes home, Manion is waiting for him. The criminal wants to get the special ID card so that he is protected from the police during his criminal activities.
For the first time, Jones is respectful of people. Only Clark has now started to control his life. He also lives in constant fear of Manion. Manion demands that the series wash him of any suspicion, which alarms the authorities. Jones is to be taken into protective custody. Manion pretends to be Jones and murders his competitor Martin. Seaver, Clark and also Jones Aunt Agatha fall into the hands of the criminal who holds them hostage. Manion now wants to kill Jones in order to be able to assume his identity.
While Manion is still out with a friend, Jones comes to the hiding place of Manion's gang, who now think he is their boss. So Jones learns of Manion's plan. Jones, failing to take an earlier opportunity to kill the criminal, leads the men to shoot the returning Manion, who they mistakenly believe is Jones. Then Jones can lock up the gang and free the hostages. Hoyt, who is constantly following Jones because he still thinks he has Manion in front of him, has alerted the police, who are now arresting the gang. Jones and Clark get married and spend their honeymoon in Shanghai.
criticism
The lexicon of international films described the film as "apart from the conventional happy ending, an amusing social satire that pokes fun at the bourgeoisie and the police and whose subversive humor still knows how to entertain today."
Andre Sennwald of the New York Times wrote that the film was sharply written, funny and had a splendid double role by Edward G. Robinson.
Dave Kehr from "Chicago Reader" emphasized the wit and the lightness of the film.
background
The film premiered in the United States on February 22, 1935. In Germany it was shown for the first time on November 10, 1972 as part of a television premiere. In Austria it was performed under the title The whole city speaks of it .
Lucille Ball can be seen in a small role as a bank clerk . Francis Ford , brother of the director John Ford, plays a reporter, Bess Flowers plays the secretary Miss Gower. Walter Long , known from feature films with Laurel and Hardy , plays a convict, Joe Sawyer can be seen as Nick and John Wray as Harry, both members of Manion's gang.
Edward G. Robinson was on loan from Warner Bros. For him, previously employed as a gangster in crime films, acting in a comedy was uncharted territory. For him it was the second film after The Little Caesar (1930) based on a model by WR Burnett.
In 1998 a remake was made with Duplicate . The Bollywood film of Mahesh Bhatt served as a vehicle for the Indian film star Shah Rukh Khan .
Web links
- Talk of the Town in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Talk of the town. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Andre Sennwald in the New York Times (engl.)
- ↑ Dave Kehr in Chicago Reader