Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I have to give People Will Talk a mixed review, even though I've seen it many times and I like it. On the plus side, Cary Grant was never bad, except perhaps in his earliest films, and he's very good here, though (and I'm not sure who's to blame) he gets overly smug in his perfect-doctor guise. Many in the cast are good, including Sidney Blackmer, Walter Slezak, and the wonderful Finlay Currie as the mysterious Mr Shunderson. Others are pretty good, too, like Jeanne Crain and Hume Cronyn. Hard not to like Crain, but she has a complicated role here. Not over her head, but...well, I don't know. Cronyn is a bit too overdone as the baddie of the piece, Professor Elwell. I think if the part of the small-minded prof had been played with less bluster or fussiness, if it were not very nearly a caricature of pettiness, it may have been more effective. The story carries one along, and entertains, and in this way, it's well done, and I recommend the film for that feature alone. Personally, I couldn't buy some of its premises. I found things like not letting a pregnant girl know she's pregnant untenable. Mankiewicz asks us to accept that a doctor (albeit a "very special" one) should have these kinds of rights, because he knows best. And then Mankiewicz demonstrates that, over and over again, this superior human being does know best. And he should therefore have the right to be a kind of puppet master over the lives of the less brilliant and wise. In a way, this view is not surprising coming from a film director. Besides, Mankiewicz in particular was a producer-director whose affairs with younger actresses like Judy Garland and Linda Darnell often saw him assume the role of confessor, savior, and father figure.Cary Grant, a great actor, plays this Mankiewicz surrogate (and that's what he is) a bit smug. It's hard not to, given the lines and situations. Perhaps Mankiewicz should have given the character a few Cary Grant-ish personality flaws like vanity or peevishness, so effective in making us like Cary in other roles. Cary as a saintly figure (see also Crisis, and The Bishop's Wife) seems always a bit too willing to assume the mantle. The pluses of the film are in the better performances, in Mankiewicz's ability to tell a story with intelligence and wit, in the fact that the film covers subjects rarely if ever covered in any film before or since (which makes it seem fresh). You will likely never forget Mr Shunderson's monologue once you have heard it, and if you like classical music there's a lot of it to enjoy on the soundtrack.

Cary Grant plays a gynecologist named Dr. Praetorius (no relation to the famous character from Bride of Frankenstein, I presume) who finds himself the subject of a witch hunt at the hands of a jealous colleague (Hume Cronyn). One of Cary Grant's lesser known and under-appreciated films. It's an intelligent, thought-provoking drama from writer & director Joseph Mankiewicz, with some comedy sprinkled throughout. Obviously one wouldn't have to stretch to see some political overtones to it, given the time in which it was made. Fine work by a strong cast. In addition to Grant, who's terrific, there's the great Finlay Currie, Walter Slezak, Jeanne Crain, Sidney Blackmer, and Margaret Hamilton. Hume Cronyn makes a particularly slimy villain. One of the few flaws with the film is that Grant's character is a little too perfect. I mean there's saintly and then there's this guy. Still, it's a very good film that gives you a lot to chew on. I'm not sure why it isn't more well-known, except that a lot of the classic movie stars fit certain molds and, even today, I think fans prefer to see them in those types of films.

This is going to be a strange review because I have to admit I love this film for all the wrong reasons. I love it because I enjoy looking at it. I love looking at these faces and hearing these voices. I was just watching a particularly dreadful, stupid new slasher film for no good reason other than I pretty much watch everything when it occurred to me that certain things make a person happy and other things make a person unhappy and probably destroy a few brain cells along the way. People Will Talk makes a person happy, may improve the viewer's diction and add some vocabulary and a sense of style. I guarantee a renewed crush on Cary Grant. That smile can melt the poles far more than any period of extended solar flare activity. Forget the plot and even the message (which is a very nice one about love and respect and the undeniable fact that littleness of soul is no way to advance professionally), People Will Talk is worth your time. Most of the modern slasher gore fest is not only not worth your time, it is actually harmful in that it may make you less available to the charms of Cary and company. Do yourself and everyone you know a favor, watch People Will Talk.

While the title suggests a Doris Day-Rock Hudson comedy, TALK is actually a drama interlaced with bits of humor about a doctor (Grant) whose unusual bedside manner stirs the ire of a fellow doctor (Cronyn at his weasely best). This leads to some problems for the good doctor, who goes by the moniker of Praeorius (now, where have we heard that name before?). The good doctor, who it turns out has quite a colorful past, runs a clinic, treating mostly female patients. In time, he falls for one of them, a troubled young woman played by Jeanne Crain. They eventually marry and the rest of the plot then quickly unfolds. Oh, the good doctor also conducts symphony orchestras in his spare time. The movie is deeply rooted in the conservative, uptight 1950s, although the emotions and motivations of various characters are just as relevant today. The debonair Grant keeps things moving swiftly along, and is aided and abetted by the wonderful Walter Slezak as his best buddy and most ardent supporter. The film is a historic curiosity at best, based on an old German play. Recommended for hardcore film buffs only