People Will Talk (1951)

"The dog is frightened and unhappy."
"He has that in common with most of humanity."

Dr. Noah Praetorius (Grant) is a successful and controversial doctor.  He runs a medical clinic that focuses on the patient and treating whatever is wrong with them, even if that just means talking to them or making them laugh.  He also teaches at a medical school and shares her perspective on medicine with the students, which infuriates his old school colleague Professor Rodney Elwell (Cronyn).  Elwell is repulsed by Dr. Praetorious' approach to medicine and hires a private investigator to look into his life and his mysterious friend Mr. Shunderson (Currie).

Meanwhile, Dr. Praetorius meets and befriends a young medical student Deborah Higgins (Crain).  After she faints during a lecture, she learns that she is pregnant.  She is unmarried and the father is no longer in her life.  She is overwhelmed by the information and what it will do to her beloved father Arthur (Blackmer) and takes drastic action.  When Elwell calls for a misconduct hearing, will Dr. Praetorius emerge unscathed?

As I mentioned before, I love Cary Grant movies.  He was a wonderful actor that could convincingly do drama or comedy and make it look easy; it is easy to see why he had such a successful career.  I discovered this film while browsing the instant streaming videos on Netflix and decided to give a try.

Based on the plot description and the trailers I was expecting a serious film... but I was pleasantly surprised.  It isn't a typical comedy, no slapstick, but it is very funny.  Grant is funny and charismatic as Dr. Praetorius.  He is well matched with Walter Slezak as his closest friend Professor Barker.  Their scenes are fun and feel very natural.  The funniest scene comes towards the end of the film when Praetorius, Barker, and Arthur argue about trains.  Jeanne Crain holds her own with her costars and even gets the upper-hand in a conversation with Hume Cronyn's Professor Elwell.  Cronyn is a strong presence without being completely unlikeable.  Finlay Currie is strong and mysterious as Shunderson.

The story is based on the 1934 play "Dr. Praetorius" written by Curt Goetz.  The play was adapted to film in 1950 in Germany, Frauenarzt Dr. Prätorius.  Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz also served as the screenwriter for this film.

It is a decent Grant film, not my favorite but still enjoyable.

People Will Talk (1951) 110 minutes
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Starring: Cary Grant as Dr. Noah Praetorius
Jeanne Crain as Deborah Higgins
Finlay Currie as Shunderson
Hume Cronyn as Professor Rodney Elwell
Walter Slezak as Professor Barker
Sidney Blackmer as Arthur Higgins
Basil Ruysdael as Dean Lyman Brockwell