It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

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.

I agree with those reviewers who thought it was a wonder this film was ever made. And, I can see why its release wasn't highly acclaimed or received by audiences. Others describe the plot in detail, but for those who may not want to know the story line in advance, I'll just address these first two points to whet your appetite. First, why was it not highly popular on its release? Most likely because Cary Grant was out of character. Oh, sure, he had done some serious films – dramas and mysteries, but the public had gotten used to the witty Cary Grant of fast-paced comedy romances of the 1930s and 1940s. But, in "People Will Talk," they saw a considerably different Grant – one with wit and charm but also with serious compassion in a slower, deliberate role with a nice dose of mystery about him. And that leads to the second point – a wonder that this film was made at all. "People Will Talk" is a satire and critique of medicine, doctors and nurses, and medical schools and teachers. It also takes some jabs at the Western justice system – the courts and law enforcement. And, it has strong moral overtones. It looks at envy, jealousy and hypocrisy. The subtle theme that moves throughout the story is characterized by Dr. Noah Praetorius, played by Cary Grant. That is the importance of life and people for themselves, not for what they may or may not accomplish. So, this is indeed a mixed bag of a film – morality play, satire, witty comedy, drama, and an intriguing bit of mystery. It clearly is "sophisticated and sparkling," as billed by 20th Century Fox. A sub-theme in the film is the lead role's holistic approach to medicine. That was way ahead of its time. While holistic medicine became controversial in later years, medicine began to move in that direction a decade into the 21st century. All the cast give top performances in this film. The direction is excellent, and the film shines in all technical production areas. Following are some of my favorite witty exchanges and other lines from "People Will Talk."Prof. Elwell, played by Hume Cronyn, to Dr. Praetorius (Grant): "Do you deny that at that time your patients were under the impression you were a butcher and not a doctor?" Praetorius: "Do you prefer the impression given to their patients by so many of our colleagues that they are doctors and not butchers?"Prof. Elwell, to Miss Pickett, played by Margaret Hamilton: "I have conducted my affairs behind closed doors for 20 years." Miss Pickett: "Not with me." Prof. Elwell: "You overestimate both of us."Prof. Barker, played by Walter Slezak: "Dr. Praetorius, has it ever occurred to you, aside from certain medical considerations, that most of this is none of your business?" Praetorius: "No? What is my business?" Barker: "To diagnose the physical ailments of human beings and to cure them." Praetorius: "Wrong! My business is to make sick people well. There's a vast difference between curing an ailment and making a sick person well." Praetorius, eating at his kitchen table with Barker: "Sauerkraut belongs in a barrel, not in a can. Our American mania for sterile packages has removed the flavor from most of our foods. Butter is no longer sold out of wooden tubs. And a whole generation thinks butter tastes like paper. There was never a perfume like an old-time grocery story. Now they smell like drugstores, which don't even smell like drugstores anymore."Praetorius, at a faculty hearing: "And as to the willingness of those so-called ignorant and backward people to rely upon the curative powers of faith and possibly miracles too, I consider faith properly engendered into a patient as effective in maintaining life as alternatives. And a belief in miracles has been the difference between living and dying as often as any surgeon's scalpel." Prof. Elwell: "That is not the issue under discussion." Praetorius: "It is precisely the issue. Whether the practice of medicine should become more and more intimately involved with the human beings it treats, or whether it's to go on in this present way of becoming more and more a thing of pills, serums and knives, until eventually we shall undoubtedly evolve an electronic doctor."Mr. Shunderson, played by Finlay Currie: "Prof. Elwell, you're a little man. It's not that you're short. You're little in the mind and in the heart. Tonight you tried to make a man little whose boots you couldn't touch if you stood on tiptoe on top of the highest mountain in the world. And as it turned out, you're even littler than you were before."

It's interesting to note the relatively solid rating this film gets here on IMDb (7.3 at the time of this writing), and to read the reviews and discussion. There's no doubt about it -- this is an odd film -- almost desafinado -- slightly out of tune.The opening segment of the film is interesting...and funny. Pipsqueak Professor Elwell (Hume Cronyn) is interviewing Margaret Hamilton (the witch in "The Wizard Of Oz") trying to find out information about the mysterious Dr. Praetorious (Cary Grant) and his constant companion Shunderson (Finlay Currie; the devout follower of Christ in "Ben-Hur").From there we meet young Jeanne Crain who faints in class. She goes to Dr. Praetorius and learns she is pregnant, and he learns she is unwed. She attempts suicide and stays at his clinic, but then disappears. But, Cary Grant pursues her to her uncle's farm where she and her father unhappily live...but not for long...he proposes.And then comes the climax of the film -- the hearing where Elwell brings charges against Preatorious. It's a great scene as Grant responds to all the charges, one by one. But then comes the question about the mysterious Shunderson, which he refuses to answer. Will he fall on this? No, because Shunderson enters the room and tells his own marvelous story. Hearing over. And Shunderson, in private, calls Elwell a "little man".I enjoy this film every time I watch it, and I must have watched it more than half-a-dozen times. And the main reason I enjoy it is the wonderful performance of an aging and very tan Cary Grant; it really is one of his best performances. Jeanne Crain is superb here, as well, and this is one of her best role. Finlay Currie is wonderful as the mysterious Shunderson. Although his character is not likable, Hume Cronyn's performance is exceptional. Walter Slezak plays a lovable curmudgeon who is friends with Praetorious. And this was the film where I first noticed Sidney Blackmer...a fine and underrated character actor; this is one of his best roles. Basil Ruysdael does well as the college dean.Earlier I said that this film was almost desafinado. But that is not a negative. It's gloriously different. Highly recommended!

This 1951 film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz has more promise than it fulfilled. The problem is the character of Noah Praetorius, too good to believable. The movie stars Cary Grant as the noble Noah, Jeanne Crain as his love interest, and it has able performances by Finlay Currie, Walter Slezak, and Hume Cronyn.The gist of the plot is that Professor Elwell (Cronyn) is investigating fellow teacher Dr. Praetorius for reasons that I am unclear about. Elwll is really digging up dirt, however. Noah ignores Elwell for as long as he can, concentrating on his personal clinic where he preaches and practices treating patients as human beings, not as their maladies. Noah also conducts the student symphony orchestra, and all his female patients fall in love with him, including Deborah Higgins (Crain).Boy meets girl, boy marries girl, they have a spat, boy has a hearing to determine his fitness as a doctor, boy wins trial, boy conducts symphony orchestra.There are several problems with the movie. Elwell is never given a motive for his investigation of Noah; we have no clue if it's professional jealousy or whether there's some reasonable basis for looking into Noah's fitness to continue as an instructor at the college where both teach. Second, Noah is just too good to be true. He's so good the character lacks credibility. I laughed out loud at several scenes not because they were funny but because the situations were laughably ridiculous. Hagiography comes to mind.The movie had promise that it failed. The movie was released in 1951 at the beginning of the McCarthy era, so my wild guess is that the investigation of Noah Praetorius is somewhat related to the witch hunt for commie spies. It may also be that Mankiewicz is skewering doctors - Noah gets off several zingers, including a comparison of the professions of butchers and doctors. But nothing really is made of the hypocrisy of the investigation. Another serious issue is that Deborah Higgins is pregnant and unmarried when Noah meets her. Noah nobly marries her and will be the father to her child because he really loves her. The issues of unwed motherhood and abortion rear their heads but are swept under the carpet of witty dialogue.The movie succeeds on its supporting cast. Cronyn is good in his role as inquisitor. Slezak is warm and fuzzy as Noah's good friend. But Finlay Currie stole the movie, in my humble opinion. His Shunderson is a mystery in much of the film, a mystery about which we learn all we need to know during the hearing on Noah's fitness to continue as a professor. Currie gives Shunderson gravitas and dignity, while playing the character with little shown emotion. I liked the way the script dealt with Shunderson and Praetorius. Although Shunderson is shown as a silent hulking man, he's actually an astute observer of the human condition, and Shunderson gives Noah good advice, which by the way is readily accepted. Although Shunderson appears to be a servant of Praetorius, the two are equals. Shunderson's story is absorbing when we finally get to it.Shunderson's analysis of Elwell is where the movie should have ended. Pithy and dead center. It fully applies to McCarthy. Maybe it applies to someone today ... who can tell?