The town's still talking...
Friday, September 7, 2012
Last Wednesday, CineVerse shone the light on "Talk of the Town" starring Cary Grant, Jean Arthur and Ronald Coleman. For even more illuminating angles on this classic Hollywood flick, read on:
TALK OF THE TOWN IS OFTEN
PLACED IN THE SCREWBALL COMEDY SUBGENRE. HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM MANY OTHER
SCREWBALL COMEDIES, HOWEVER?
· It can be very serious at times, such as the opening
scenes depicting Dilg’s arrest, imprisonment and escape; tonally, it shifts
between being a dark drama to a lighthearted romantic comedy to a social issues
type of film
· This melding of the heavy and the light, the serious
and the comedic, is endemic of social themed pictures and “message movies” that
were gaining prominence at this time, including:
o The Grapes of Wrath, How Green Was My Valley, Mrs.
Miniver, The Lost Weekend, and Gentlemen’s Agreement
· It plays as more of a classic comedic romantic
triangle film than a traditional screwball comedy that showcases a battle of
the sexes or a comeuppance of the rich
· Yet, interestingly, the romantic angle of the film is
underplayed; do you really feel any chemistry between Jean Arthur and Coleman
or Grant? Are the romantic triangle elements really given ample screen time to
gel?
WHAT IS THE SOCIAL ISSUE
THIS MOVIE TACKLES?
· The conflict between doing what’s right within the
boundaries of the law and doing what’s morally right and just, as exemplified
in Lightcap’s dilemma of whether or not and how to protect Dilg
· What does Lightcap represent, and who are his
antagonists?
o He symbolizes the noble in their fight against the
corrupt and unjust
o These antagonists are embodied in people like the
foreman, the small-town big shot, and the manicurist—fairly small fry figures
compared to evil incarnate villains in other social themed movies and message
pictures
THE TALK OF THE TOWN BEARS
SOME SIMILARITIES TO THE POPULIST FILMS OF FRANK CAPRA. WHAT ARE THE LIKENESSES
AND DIFFERENCES THAT YOU CAN SEE?
o
Capra fomented
public dissent in his movies by pitting an everyman underdog against powerful
forces of corruption and greed
o
Capra also
championed “the little man” and his ability to come to the rescue of the
embattled hero in the form of an altruistic mob populated by goodhearted but not-too-intelligent
people who portray adorable character qualities
o
Like other Capra
movies, this film contains a smart, resourceful female lead who has to come to
the aid of a more dependent male character—just as characters played by Jean
Arthur and Barbara Stanwyck did in Capra features.
SOME HAVE THEORIZED THAT
THERE IS A GAY SUBTEXT TO THE TALK OF THE TOWN, AS DEMONSTRATED BY THE DIALOGUE
AND BEHAVIORS OF SOME OF THE MALE CHARACTERS. CAN YOU CITE ANY EXAMPLES?
o
Lightcap is shown
as an asexual single male who is trying to appear more youthful and masculine
by wearing a beard; the word “beard” carried gay connotations by the 1960s,
meaning a gay man’s female companion or cover.
o
Lightcap has a
strangely tight relationship with Tilney, his hired man, who weeps openly when
Lightcap shaves off his beard to attract a woman
o
Consider the
double entendres and suggestive dialogue, such as when Dilg tries to get
Lightcap to stop the car; Lightcap declines, saying, “I’ll have to be firm,” to
which Dilg says “I’ll just have to pull your brake.”
o
Consider Grant’s
body language: the sideways glances and curious facial expressions.
OTHER FILMS BY GEORGE
STEVENS
· Swing Time
· Gunga Din
· Woman of the Year
· A Place in the Sun
· Shane
· Giant
· The Diary of Anne Frank
· The Greatest Story Ever Told