Toute la ville en parle

Edward G. Robinson has been stereotyped to the nth degree as

THE "gangster" (even in Bugs Bunny cartoons!), so it's quite a surprise to see him in the role of a mild, meek clerk (who just happens to be a dead ringer for a gangster!).

The split-screen scenes (where he plays both parts) are excellent & "seamless", and the comedy is heightened by the utterly ridiculous lengths the police go to to catch the gangster!

In one scene, he (as the clerk) is eating lunch in a restaurant, is "spotted" as being the gangster, and within a matter of MINUTES the restaurant is surrounded by HUNDREDS of policeman, riot squads, & machine guns -- all to get the (wrong!) person!

A refreshing comedy; you've got to see this film, if only for Robinson's acting!

Whole Town's Talking, The (1935)

*** (out of 4)

A timid, shy and all around weak store clerk (Edward G. Robinson) gets mistaken for a harden gangster (Robinson) but his new fame allows him to store writing a column in a newspaper about how gangster are weak without their guns. Soon the gangster shows up wanting more than just a little help. As a comedy this movie is a real masterpiece but as a drama, the final thirty-minutes or so really bring down a lot of the great moments. While watching this Columbia movie you can't help but wonder if this was originally meant to be directed by Frank Capra as it has his screenwriters and the small town story certainly seems like something you'd get from a Capra and not someone like Ford. To his credit, Ford does a great job with the comedy and really delivers one of the funniest movies of the 1930's. The problem happens in the third act when it really turns to too much of a gangster film and the laughs are pretty much forgotten. What holds both sides together is the terrific performance by Robinson. The way he plays the timid clerk is just downright hilarious and this includes a masterfully acted interrogation sequence where Robinson is nearly brought to tears because he's so scared. Seeing a tough guy like Robinson acting scared was just hilarious and one actually starts to feel sorry for the guy because it appears he's about to die. Robinson is also great in his second role as the gangster as he's as tough as ever and does manage to come off quite demanding and threatening. Jean Arthur is wonderful as well and adds many great comic scenes including her own interrogation where she keeps admitting to crimes that she has nothing to do with or even knows about. Arthur Hohl, Arthur Byron, Wallace Ford and Donald Meek round out the supporting cast. You can even see Joe Sawyer playing one of Robinson's goons. Again, I didn't care for the final act of the film as the comedy starts to not happen but that doesn't take away from everything at the start of the movie. Robinson has never gotten the credit he deserves as an actual actor, which is a real shame but this film allows for both sides of him to be highlighted and to great effect.

This is an atypical and impersonal Ford film. Given the studio (Columbia Pictures) and the screenwriter (Robert Riskin), this is an ideal stuff for Frank Capra. But it remains without a doubt one of the most enjoyable and pleasurable comedies ever made. It features graceful dynamism and vibrancy that are rare in the Ford oeuvre. It is also one of his fastest movies. It contains what it is probably one of the finest Edward G. Robinson performances I have seen. He is outstanding in the dual role of a mild, working class office clerk Arthur Ferguson Jones who is mistaken for a ruthless mobster Mannion (the role he perfected in "Little Caesar"). And then there is the lovely Jean Arthur as Robinson's coolly self-reliant co-worker, who starts by pitying him and then encourages him, and ultimately falls in love with him. She and Robinson are superb together. It is nowhere near her splendid presence in Mitchell Leisen's "Easy Living" and Frank Borzage's "History Is Made at Night", but this was the sort of role Arthur was to make of her own.

A must-see!

John Ford directs a screwball comedy?? He does and quite well I may say. This is a story of a meek mild manner clerk named Ferguson(Robinson) who always gets stepped on and used. One day he is mistaken for "Killer Mannion". Mannion is a mean ruthless gangster who cares for no one. Ferguson is a sweet kind man who cares for beautiful Wilhelmina(played by Jean Arthur). Thanks to a police screwup, Mannion knows about Ferguson and is out to use him.

The script is cute and funny. It's also good in setting up the situation and the development of characters. It is not one of the best comedy ever made, but it is still very entertaining. The cast is first rate. Edward G does a terrific job at playing both the good AND the bad guy. Jean Arthur is funny as Eddie's wise cracking co-worker(check her out playing the "gangster moll"!) The other supporting characters are good too. The special effects showing both Robinsons on screen is quite good for it being 1935.

If you get a chance to see it, please do. It is a very cute film.

Here Robinson plays the role of a mild-mannered bookkeeper, that of a body double in the person of a murderous gangster on the run - Killer Mannion, and he also effectively plays two other roles - that of the bookkeeper pretending to be the gangster, and the gangster pretending to be the bookkeeper. This could get very confusing, especially in the case of the latter two roles, but as the viewer you will be pretty sure you know who you're looking at by the circumstances. However, you'll still be bowled over by the subtlety of Robinson's performance - I know I was.

Jean Arthur plays Jones' (Robinson's) would-be girlfriend. She works in the same place as Jones, but longs for more than a hum-drum existence. When Jones tells her his hopes and dreams of being a writer and traveling to exotic places, she encourages him, and seems to see what he could be even if Jones doesn't quite see it yet. Arthur has what amounts to one of the funniest scenes in the movie, and there are many candidates. When the police first pick up and arrest Jones, believing him to be Mannion, they pick up Arthur too, thinking that she is his "gun moll". She has some fun with this and starts using gangster slang and mannerisms and confessing that Mannion committed every crime that the police ask her about.

One of my favorite supporting players of the 30's shows up here too - Ed Brophy, who was an assistant director over at MGM until Buster Keaton put him into a small but important role in "The Cameraman" in 1928. Once sound came in Brophy was perfect for playing supporting Runyonesque parts. Here Brophy plays an associate of Killer Mannion who is picked up by the police and makes a deal, promising to put the finger on Mannion. In return the police have to keep him safe in jail until Mannion is picked up. Brophy's character is brave whenever he thinks Manion has been captured and a blubbering coward whenever he realizes Mannion is still free.

Highly recommended as a great screwball comedy that shows the versatility of not only Edward G. Robinson, but of director John Ford.