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Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Overrated and overhyped

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Sparkling wit, sprinkled with genuine humanity make this simply a GREAT motion picture! We've all been treated by doctors at one time or another in our lives. Would that we had all been treated by Doctor Noah Pretorius. His whole approach is wonderfully refreshing, namely that the needs of the patient come first. An often overlooked performance in this film is that of Walter Slezak. He ranges from charming to oblivious, but above all he demonstrates just what a good friend ought to be. Finley Currie is excellent as Mr. Shunderson, especially when you consider that he manages to sound "Canadian" even though he has a thick Scottish brogue. And Jeanne Crain is both beautiful and a delight. Invest the time to take in this film, you won't be disappointed!

This is one of the most intelligent screenplays in my opinion. The good natured banter between Cary Grant and Walter Slezak is both witty and entertaining. I enjoyed Grant's character immensely and the supporting characters were more than just mere conveniences for the good Dr.'s outlook and take on "making people well". A thoroughly enjoyable film that with numerous viewings enhances its enjoyment. Other than "All About Eve" Joseph Manckewicz'finest work as director. I do not comprehend other comments that this film is a mess. It most certainly is not. Grant does not rely on his good looks or his patented charm, but rather an intellect infused with subtle compassion as evidenced in the scene with the elderly female patient in his clinic. Good film which merits more than one viewing to justify appreciation.

This 1951 film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz has more promise than it fulfilled. The problem is the character of Noah Praetorius, too good to believable. The movie stars Cary Grant as the noble Noah, Jeanne Crain as his love interest, and it has able performances by Finlay Currie, Walter Slezak, and Hume Cronyn.The gist of the plot is that Professor Elwell (Cronyn) is investigating fellow teacher Dr. Praetorius for reasons that I am unclear about. Elwll is really digging up dirt, however. Noah ignores Elwell for as long as he can, concentrating on his personal clinic where he preaches and practices treating patients as human beings, not as their maladies. Noah also conducts the student symphony orchestra, and all his female patients fall in love with him, including Deborah Higgins (Crain).Boy meets girl, boy marries girl, they have a spat, boy has a hearing to determine his fitness as a doctor, boy wins trial, boy conducts symphony orchestra.There are several problems with the movie. Elwell is never given a motive for his investigation of Noah; we have no clue if it's professional jealousy or whether there's some reasonable basis for looking into Noah's fitness to continue as an instructor at the college where both teach. Second, Noah is just too good to be true. He's so good the character lacks credibility. I laughed out loud at several scenes not because they were funny but because the situations were laughably ridiculous. Hagiography comes to mind.The movie had promise that it failed. The movie was released in 1951 at the beginning of the McCarthy era, so my wild guess is that the investigation of Noah Praetorius is somewhat related to the witch hunt for commie spies. It may also be that Mankiewicz is skewering doctors - Noah gets off several zingers, including a comparison of the professions of butchers and doctors. But nothing really is made of the hypocrisy of the investigation. Another serious issue is that Deborah Higgins is pregnant and unmarried when Noah meets her. Noah nobly marries her and will be the father to her child because he really loves her. The issues of unwed motherhood and abortion rear their heads but are swept under the carpet of witty dialogue.The movie succeeds on its supporting cast. Cronyn is good in his role as inquisitor. Slezak is warm and fuzzy as Noah's good friend. But Finlay Currie stole the movie, in my humble opinion. His Shunderson is a mystery in much of the film, a mystery about which we learn all we need to know during the hearing on Noah's fitness to continue as a professor. Currie gives Shunderson gravitas and dignity, while playing the character with little shown emotion. I liked the way the script dealt with Shunderson and Praetorius. Although Shunderson is shown as a silent hulking man, he's actually an astute observer of the human condition, and Shunderson gives Noah good advice, which by the way is readily accepted. Although Shunderson appears to be a servant of Praetorius, the two are equals. Shunderson's story is absorbing when we finally get to it.Shunderson's analysis of Elwell is where the movie should have ended. Pithy and dead center. It fully applies to McCarthy. Maybe it applies to someone today ... who can tell?

This is going to be a strange review because I have to admit I love this film for all the wrong reasons. I love it because I enjoy looking at it. I love looking at these faces and hearing these voices. I was just watching a particularly dreadful, stupid new slasher film for no good reason other than I pretty much watch everything when it occurred to me that certain things make a person happy and other things make a person unhappy and probably destroy a few brain cells along the way. People Will Talk makes a person happy, may improve the viewer's diction and add some vocabulary and a sense of style. I guarantee a renewed crush on Cary Grant. That smile can melt the poles far more than any period of extended solar flare activity. Forget the plot and even the message (which is a very nice one about love and respect and the undeniable fact that littleness of soul is no way to advance professionally), People Will Talk is worth your time. Most of the modern slasher gore fest is not only not worth your time, it is actually harmful in that it may make you less available to the charms of Cary and company. Do yourself and everyone you know a favor, watch People Will Talk.