The Talk of the Town

An attractive serio-comic tale of civic corruption, with Grant as a factory worker on the run from a trumped-up charge of arson and murder, Arthur as the childhood friend with whom he seeks shelter, and Colman as the stuffy professor already ensconced as her lodger (and whose presence requires that Grant be passed off as the gardener when he tires of seclusion in the attic). The comedy of social proprieties as the inevitable triangle raises its head is nicely played against discussions in which the two men bring each other to a new understanding of the law and its application. Beautifully written by Irwin Shaw and Sidney Buchman, it's equally well directed and acted, even if the situations (including a lynch mob that comes complete with laughs) are not a little contrived.