Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases

Search cinema listings

Browse cinemas A-Z

Search 20,000 reviews

 

People Will Talk (1951)

Director: Joseph L Mankiewicz

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

A bracingly bilious and loquacious Mankiewicz film that turns a highly esteemed gynaecologist (Grant) into a mouthpiece for the director's State of the Union address. The US of A is in a terrible state, and Grant's treatment of an unmarried mother (Crain) is heavily symbolic: her apparent immorality (Mankiewicz was amazed that the Hays Office approved the script) is set against the darker crimes and hypocrisies of American society. The man who made Crain pregnant dies in Korea; a university professor (Cronyn) stands in for Senator McCarthy; and there are pungent swipes at tax evasion and the crass materialism of the postwar boom. The fact that Mankiewicz can contain all this within the context of a romantic comedy testifies to his immense sophistication, and Grant's performance is one of his very best.

Author: ATu

Time Out Film Guide


  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

The Coens' 'Burn after Reading': review

The Coens' 'Burn after Reading': review

Pitt and Clooney star in the Coen brothers' latest, 'Burn After Reading', which opened the 2008 Venice film festival

John C Reilly on ‘Step Brothers’

John C Reilly on ‘Step Brothers’

Method man turned slapstick comic John C Reilly talks to Time Out about his new film ‘Step Brothers’

Guy Ritchie on ‘RocknRolla’

Guy Ritchie on ‘RocknRolla’

Wally Hammond talks to Guy Ritchie about his latest film, ‘RocknRolla’ which sees him safely back in his old manor among the familiar carnival of villains, scams and high-octane spills and thrills

Saul Dibb on ‘The Duchess’

Saul Dibb on ‘The Duchess’

Dave Calhoun discovers from director Saul Dibb that his latest, 'The Duchess’ is far from your typical aristos-in-love movie

Opinion: Can George Lucas still make ‘small’ movies?

Opinion: Can George Lucas still make ‘small’ movies?

With the release of animated spin-off 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars', Tom Huddleston wonders whether George Lucas will ever return to his roots.