Charm is underrated. It’s something that’s missing in the world today. How can masked men accosting children be charming? They are not. The Insult Comedian thinks he is charming, but he is not. This week’s film, George Stevens’ The Talk Of The Town is one of the most charming movies ever made. How could it not be with a cast led by Cary Grant, Jean Arthur, and Ronald Colman?

The Talk Of The Town has been underrated by many because it’s hard to categorize. Dramedy is an awkward word, but it works for a film that combines brainy banter with knockabout humor.

The action takes place in a small town in Massachusetts. Jean Arthur as Nora Shelley is preparing to rent her house to Ronald Colman who plays Michael Lightcap. He’s a stuffed shirt Harvard law professor. Cary Grant plays Leopold Dilg who is unjustly accused of murder and arson. He’s just the man to unstuff Colman’s shirt.

Arthur hides Grant in her attic as suggested by his lawyer Sam Yates played by Edgar Buchanan. He was a law school classmate of Colman’s and thinks the professor can help his client after Grant’s charm offensive unstuffs his shirt.

Note the presence of a young Lloyd Bridges in the background. He played a local reporter who declined to answer questions about Jeff, Beau, or Sea Hunt.

Grant pretends to be Joseph the Gardener. He engages in a series of philosophical discussions about the law with the lawyer. That sounds boring but it’s not. It’s as charming as the players themselves. And that’s saying a lot.

The stakes are high for Colman: He’s about to be nominated to SCOTUS. But eventually the Arthur-Buchanan scheme to involve Colman in Grant’s case pays off. Grant is exposed as Leopold Dilg because of his fondness for borscht with an egg in it. He’s the only customer to buy it that way from a local Polish deli. The jarred borscht with an egg in it comes wrapped in the local rag:

Repeat after me: Borscht with an egg in it.  Oddly enough, that’s my favorite line in the movie. Go figure.

The final act of the movie involves action as well as talk leading to Grant’s freedom. Suffice it to say, there’s a happy ending and the romantic triangle resolves itself in Cary Grant’s favor. Colman was a contender, but Cary always got the girl. Sorry, Ronnie.

The movie ends with Grant and Arthur seeing Colman take his seat on the Supreme Court then leaving together.

The acting is as good as the banter in The Talk Of The Town. Arthur and Grant supposedly disliked one another, so poor Ronnie Colman had to play referee. Everybody loved Ronnie so it worked out. The three stars are superb. In fact, Leopold Dilg is one of Grant’s best and most interesting characters.

Repeat after me: Borscht with an egg in it.

The screenplay was written by Irwin Shaw and Sidney Buchman. It’s lively, entertaining, and, well, charming. There’s that word again. One of the writers was blacklisted, the other became a best-selling novelist. Buchman was one of the few bona fide card carrying member of CPUSA to be ensnared by the blacklist.

The Talk Of The Town was producer director George Stevens’ baby. The man knew where to place the camera and how to keep the action moving. It’s one of his finest films. It landed at #4 on my Cary Grant Dozen.

Grading Time: I give The Talk Of The Town  4 stars and an Adrastos Grade of A. It’s a stone cold classic. It’s charming even on a sixth viewing.

It’s a stretch to call a big budget film with major stars helmed by a bigtime director pulp fiction but I’m equal to the task. Now that we’ve stretched, let’s take a peek at the posters.

We begin with side-by-side American and French long sheets:

Ooh la la. Looks warm and cozy by the fire. Mais oui.

Here’s a rather beat up quad:

Heart-stirring? That’s even worse than heart-warming in my book.

I need something to counteract that rotten image. Let’s see what we can find in the lobby:

No luck. All I could find were the lobby cards. There’s even a black and white one of our three stars.

The next two lobby cards sell the movie as a rom-com, which is partially true.

A pistol packing Ronald Colman visits a small town beauty parlor. Details at 10.

Finally, a man and his lawyer:

The first time I saw The Talk Of The Town, I was startled to see Edgar Buchanan playing a lawyer. I knew him as Uncle Joe who was “moving kind of slow” from the bucolic CBS sitcom Petticoat Junction.

I couldn’t find the OG trailer or any good TCM host intros for this week’s film, so the last word goes to Pretenders: