Party Wire

Curiously enough Party Wire came out after the big hit that Jean Arthur co-starred in The Whole Town's Talking with John Ford directing. This film is about a whole town spreading gossip created with bits and pieces.

Party lines are thank God a thing of the past. I remember my grandparents in the 50s still having one. We'd have to wait until someone was finished to use the phone.

The local rich kid Victor Jory comes back to his home town and takeover the creamery which is the main employer. That's news in and of itself. But when a nasty story involving Jory, Jean Arthur, and Bob Allen with a 'theft" of some church funds and a mysterious trip taken the gossips invent some dirt. And dirt travels best by phone.

It all results in a near tragedy for an innocent other party.

Jean Arthur did well and Victor Jory made a nice couple. Occasionally Victor Jory was a nice guy in movies.

Arthur's part might have given Frank Capra some idea that she could be good casting in some upcoming projects of his. After all in Mr. Deeds she's a gossip spreader of sorts. She scores well in this film.

Arthur fans should love this

This is an interesting case where a film's rating doesn't really reflect how watchable a film is. I think PARTY WIRE earned a 7--mostly because although it had a very good story, it also wasn't exactly subtle or believable. However, it was extremely fun to watch despite its limitations as "art".

The film is about a horrid little town where they use a party line. For those whippersnappers out there who don't know what one is, it's a system where the people in a community share a phone line. It's cheaper and easier than installing separate lines but its major drawback is that ANYONE in the system can eavesdrop on others' conversations. In this nasty town, practically all the old ladies spend much of their time listening in--as they take perverse pleasure in spreading gossip. While they don't show the men listening in, they are just as bad because once their wives learn "the truth" about others, they, too, spread these tales.

Victor Jory plays a rich business man who returns to this town after many years' absence. Practically the entire town learns he's coming well in advance due to the party line and many of them are hopeful they can ride his coattails to wealth. However, Jory just wants to relax on his vacation and catch up with a girl (Jean Arthur) and her father (Charley Grapewin). However, during this visit, the town gossips THINK that Arthur is pregnant by another man and the town treats her abominably--so it's up to her new fiancé to set the record straight and teach the town a well-earned lesson.

Stand out actors in the film were Victor Jory and Jean Arthur. As for Jory, though he made a ton of films, often he played villains and wasn't exactly the handsome leading man, but I liked him a lot in the film. He was a very solid actor and it was refreshing to see a normal looking leading man. As for Arthur, she was, as always, terrific.

Grapwin played a sort of crusty but lovable old coot. While his shtick was his love of applejack (home made apple alcohol), this was a bit hard to laugh at because I kept thinking he needed a 12-Step Program! It's funny how we laughed at this sort of stuff in the 1930s and today it would make some a bit uncomfortable.

Overall, the film excels at getting the audience to care about the characters and really wanting to see the town get their comeuppance. While subtlety isn't exactly emphasized (such as comparing the gossips to closeups of croaking frogs), it is enjoyable and worth seeing. For a similar film, though one that is handled much better, try seeing Henri-Georges Clouzot's LE CORBEAU. It's better written and makes the same point about gossip.

This 1935 classic has got to be the most pleasant entertainment surprise of my experience in quite sometime. The two lead characters are people you could like. Jean Arthur portrays a small town bank clerk. Victor Jory is the hometown success story who returns to his little 'burg' and falls in love with the 'girl he left behind. Thing is that when he left neither he nor her knew he left her behind till he returned home. This is actually the side story. The main story is about nosy, gossiping Americans back in the day when phone communication had a party line. More than one person could use them at the same time to listen in on conversations of others. The other point of the story is how small minds can function in small towns ( it even takes place in big towns too )and ruin people that the small minds take their aim at. A great story line written well / acted well. Definitely worth your time.

Many alleged Christians ignore or don't know the existence of the biblical injunction that to bear false witness is the same as committing murder.

"Party Wire" is a prime example of what can happen to an innocent person when gossipy people gleefully latch on to and help spread an inaccurate story.

"Party Wire" begins with a communications staple that is long out of date, the "party line" telephone. For younger people, this no-longer-extant situation consisted of several parties -- usually homes but possibly businesses -- being on the same line, usually connected through a patch-cord switchboard, and in the earliest days manually connected by a live operator.

When a father slightly in his cups makes a demand on a man who has been courting his daughter, the gossips overhearing are more than happy to spread a distorted report of what the conversation was about.

The misunderstanding sounds as if it could be funny, and in today's very different moral climate wouldn't even matter.

However, several lives are impacted, and the ripple effect almost devastates the entire town.

As someone else here commented, this story is dated, both by technology and by moral standards, but there actually is a good lesson here.

The acting is great, absolutely first class. Walter Brennan, for example, about ten years into his career, has an uncredited role, as do Lafe McKee and Si Jenks.

Victor Jory had a chance to play a hero, and his strength was put to good use.

The effervescent Jean Arthur, of whom Frank Capra said her voice was like a thousand tinkling bells, had an unusual role, not a bubbly, happy one, but she carried it beautifully.

Suspend your disbelief; ignore the script flaws. It's a good story despite some narrative glitches. "Party Wire" is definitely worth watching.

Party Wire concerns a small town. They are linked together by the same telephone line, a party wire. If one does not understand the way older telephones worked, with the total dependence on an operator and a switchboard, this concept is difficult to understand, which dates the film. However, suffice to say that everyone is able to listen in on everyone's phone calls, and others miss their calls often due to gossips tying up the line. In this small town, a visitor arrives, a man who used to live there by the name of Matthew Putname (Victor Jory). He is very wealthy so all of the young ladies of the town try to grab him, but the least interested one (Jean Arthur) happens to catch his eye. Gossips spreads through the town, not all of it true, and several dramatic things happen.

The film is based on a clever idea and contains several amusing sequences, but the main characters have no chemistry with each other and they themselves are lukewarm. It is difficult to care about their struggles if there is no sympathy. The best character plays Arthur's father, Charley Grapewin. He is lovable, funny, and a joy to watch.