Basil Ruysdael, Cary Grant, Finlay Currie

After winning consecutive best director Oscars (for A Letter to Three Wives and All About Eve), Joseph Mankiewicz turned his attention to this extremely curious social comedy. Cary Grant...( read more  read more... ) plays a famous, idealistic gynecologist whose mysterious past is questioned by a vindictive colleague (Hume Cronyn). Meanwhile, the doctor falls for a pregnant patient (Jeanne Crain), whose unmarried status is daring for a movie of 1951 vintage. The title is an all-too-apt description of Mankiewicz's chatty style, but it also carries sinister echoes of the McCarthy era--specifically, an attempted right-wing purge of the Director's Guild, I which Mankiewicz was the main target. This subtext lends interest beyond the movie's rather tame romance. The Grant character, named Doctor Praetorius (no relation to the Bride of Frankenstein wacko, one hopes), conducts a college orchestra and is prone to "twilight sadness"--it's an offbeat role for the actor, and one he clearly relishes. --Robert Horton

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77% liked it

2,217 ratings

Unrated, 103 min.

Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Release Date: August 29, 1951

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DVD Release Date: January 6, 2004

Stats: 106 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (106)


  • May 31, 2009
    Delightfully off-beat Cary Grant comedy that's a little risque and completely unpredictable. Anyone who tells you that they saw this ending coming is either psychic or lying through their teeth.
  • May 17, 2009
    Don't be fooled by the title,this is not a romantic comedy. I was surprised at how serious and enjoyable this film was. I love Cary Grant and was really surprised how original and against type his performance was. He is flawless in this and it's probably one of his best roles. Th...( read more)e screenplay is one of Mankiewicz best and I was shocked that the subject matter was produced in 1951. It is about a genius doctor who meets,falls in love and marries a suicidal woman who is pregnant from another man. At the same time Grant in being investigated by the university for a secret past and mystery man who doesn't leave his side(played by perfection by Finley Currie). The performances are A+ and the script is something I have never seen before.Grant and Crain fall in love a little too easily, but it is still believable and they are great together. Hume Cronyn is great as a jealous weaselly bad guy, and after watching Brute Force you really see what a great actor he was. This film should be shown in every screen writing class, it is filled with unorthodoxed scenes, original characters, and some of the best dialogue in a film from that era. A must see and possibly a 5 star film if the love didn't happen too quickly,followed by conventional courtroom scenes at the end.
  • June 2, 2009
    surprising especially considering the time period
  • May 1, 2009
    This film pairs Grant with Jeanne Crain. Yet another 'adult theme' of the time that Grant's trustworthy style or personality he always seems to project makes him perfect for the role. It is probably what he was often chosen for such roles. Anyone elase would have been too innoce...( read more)nt or too corrupt to make the story 'acceptable'.
  • December 10, 2008
    no thanks not my kinda thing
  • September 28, 2008
    a very intelligently written dramatic comedy. Cary Grant brings all his usual charm into a role that could be compared to a subtler, suaver Patch Adams. daring but not all-together cohesive scriptwriting, solid acting, and an endearing ending. a little off-the-mark and under-t...( read more)he-radar, but a pretty decent film nonetheless.
  • June 2, 2008
    ~~~CARY GRANT~~~

    ~~THAT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW!!~~~
  • December 27, 2007
    Considering the material, this is a very daring movie for the times. But it is very well played out by the cast. Well done.
  • November 13, 2007
    A can't miss movie... romance, comedy, intrigue... SO worth the time!
  • November 1, 2007
    My favorite Cary Grant movie.

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People Will Talk Trivia


  • No I will not make out with you! You got Chlorophyll Man up there talking about God knows what and all she can talk about is making out with me. I'm here to learn, people, not to make out with you! Go on with the chlorophyll!   Answer »
  • What is the Rights called at pirates of caribbean: curse of black pearl that can make the people who mentions that Rights could talk or negotiate with the Captain and will be stay out of harm until the negotiation finish  Answer »
  • Which actor has appeared in all of the following movies? People Will Talk Charade Father Goose To Catch a Thief The Philadelphia Story  Answer »
  • Which of the following actors appeared with Hume Cronyn in the 1951 film PEOPLE WILL TALK?  Answer »

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