Talk of the Town – 1942
Here is another example of a film that I watched without knowing anything about the plot. All I knew was that it starred Carrey Grant, and that was good, because I generally like him as an actor. He has a very carefree charm and a disarming smile. I knew that it also had Ronald Coleman who has done a fair bit of acting in previous Best Picture nominees like A Tale of Two Cities and Lost Horizon.
But I’m sorry to say that this, without putting too fine a point on it, was a very dumb movie. The plot was ridiculous, the character development was non-existent, the characters themselves were all morons and completely un-believable, the acting was iffy, at best, and the directing was horrible. How this ever got nominated for the coveted Best Picture award is beyond me. I know, those are some pretty strong words, but I can site example after example to illustrate why everything I said is true. But where to start?
OK, I understand that the film was trying to be a screwball comedy, but it took itself far too seriously for that. I couldn’t say it was a drama because it was too farcical and silly. It had small moments of being preachy and even smaller moments of being suspenseful. I don’t think the director, George Stevens, really had a clear idea of what kind of film he was trying to make. And the only clear message that I got out of the film was that it was a philosophical study of the age old argument between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. But even that point was muddled. Add to that the fact that there was an obvious line flub or two that were not edited out or re-shot. It just looked to me like poor directing.
Carrey Grant played escaped convict Leopold Dilg. Dilg was supposed to have been a smart man who made a habit of using his head to think with his heart, if that makes sense. In other words, he was an intellectual who had passionate views about how there are times that strict adherence to the letter of the law is cold and unfeeling to the human beings it is supposed to protect. Laws are detrimental to society when they are not tempered with compassion.
Coleman played Professor Michael Lightcap, a scholar of the law that believed in strict adherence to the letter of the law, even if doing so might convict an innocent man to death. Without such a staunch attitude, society would crumble into utter chaos. When Dilg hides in the attic of a house which the Professor has rented, the two opposing sides clash.
But I’ll need to back-up for a moment, lest I forget Jean Arthur. She played the woman from whom the house is being rented, Nora Shelly. She knows of her childhood friend, Dilg, who is hiding-out in the attic.
OK, here is where the plot and the characters really started to stand out as preposterous. Dilg is supposed to be an escaped convict and there is an active man-hunt under way. He behaves as if he is on a summer holiday. He wakes up and stands at his window slapping his chest, smelling the air of a free man. Wrong! He is on the run from the law! A smart man would avoid windows! Then, he reveals himself to Professor Lightcap, posing as the gardner. Of course, there is no way Lightcap might see his picture on the front page of the local newspaper, right?
Miss shelly was just a dumb woman with a penchant for lying from the very beginning, though both men inexplicably wanted to marry the bimbo by the end of the film. The only explanation I can think of for that is that the studio wanted their romance, and they got it, whether it made sense or not.
And the character of Lightcap was the most farcical one of all. During the film, he is informed that he is going to be asked by the President of the United States to become the next Supreme Court Judge. He has a spotless record behind him, and all he has to do is avoid scandal until he gets his appointment. So what does he do? Because he grows to like both Dilg and the lovely Miss Shelly, he lies to the police, investigates Dilg’s bogus case, finds him innocent, and helps him avoid being caught by the police again.
But that’s not all. He also becomes an armed vigilante, captures the real criminal at gunpoint, and forces him into the courtroom during Dilg’s mock trial. To get the attention of the angry mob that is out for Dilg’s blood, he FIRES THE GUN IN THE COURTROOM! HE IS STANDING A FEW FEET AWAY FROM THE JUDGE! WRONG! WRONG! He would be probably be tackled by armed security guards, arrested and his career as a Supreme Court Judge would be at an end before it even started. But you know that would never happen in Hollywood-land! He is appointed anyway.
A good screwball comedy should still have its roots firmly based in reality while strange and funny things happen. It allows the characters to react to zany situations believably. This wasn’t even close. Oh well. They can’t all be winners.