The Whole Town's Talking
The Whole Town's Talking | |
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Mischa Bakaleinikoff Louis Silvers | |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Whole Town's Talking (released in the UK as Passport to Fame) is a 1935 American
Plot
Meek and mild Arthur Ferguson Jones and brash Wilhelmina Clark work at the same advertising firm. He harbors a secret crush on her while she barely knows he exists.
Jones turns out to look exactly like the notorious bank robber "Killer" Mannion and is apprehended by the police. After his true identity is confirmed, the district attorney gives Jones a "passport," a letter identifying him as not Mannion, so that he can avoid the same trouble in the future. Jones becomes a local celebrity and, at the behest of his boss, begins ghost-writing Mannion's "autobiography" in the newspaper, with good-natured but street-wise "Miss Clark" (as he refers to her) voluntarily acting as his agent to see that he gets paid.
Mannion decides to take advantage of his mild-mannered doppelgänger and, ultimately, leave Jones "holding the bag" for Mannion's crimes. He kidnaps Wilhelmina, Jones' visiting aunt, and his manager from work, and takes them back to his hideout. He instructs Jones to make a large deposit for Mannion's mother's benefit at the First National Bank, and then has a henchman phone the police and tell them that he (Mannion) is about to rob the bank. But Mannion's plan fails when Jones forgets to bring the check and unwittingly leads the police back to Mannion's hideout.
Upon his arrival, Jones is mistaken for Mannion by the waiting henchmen and quickly realizes that he is meant to be the fall guy. When the real Mannion returns unexpectedly, his gang thinks he is Jones and machine-guns him to death. The police arrive in time to capture the rest of the gang and release the captives. With Mannion dead, Jones collects a reward and takes a long-desired cruise to Shanghai with Wilhelmina.
Cast
- Edward G. Robinson as Arthur Ferguson Jones and "Killer" Mannion
- Jean Arthur as Wilhelmina Clark
- Arthur Hohl as Detective Sergeant Boyle
- James Donlan as Detective Sergeant Howe
- Arthur Byron as Spencer, District Attorney
- Wallace Ford as Healy, Record reporter
- Etienne Girardot as Seaver, office manager
- Donald Meek as Hoyt
- Edward Brophy as "Slugs" Martin (as Ed Brophy)
- Paul Harvey as "J.G." Carpenter
Cast notes
- In his autobiography, All My Yesterdays, Edward G. Robinson wrote of Jean Arthur, "She was whimsical without being silly, unique without being nutty, a theatrical personality who was an untheatrical person. She was a delight to work with and to know."[2]
- Lucille Ball has a small uncredited part as a bank employee, and Francis Ford, director John Ford's older brother, appears as a newspaper reporter at the dock.
Production
The Whole Town's Talking – which had the working titles of "Jail Breaker" and "Passport to Fame"[3] – was in production from October 24 to December 11, 1934.[4] The film incorporated some footage originally shot for Columbia's 1931 film The Criminal Code.[5]
Columbia Pictures borrowed Edward G. Robinson for this film from Warner Bros. – Robinson heard about the transactions through gossip columnist Louella Parsons.[2] At the time Robinson's career was somewhat moribund and the star was tired of playing only gangsters. He was initially opposed to the project but changed his mind after reading the script.[2] In retrospect The Whole Town's Talking has been seen as a turning point for Robinson, reviving his cinematic fortunes.[2][5] Along with 1933's The Little Giant and 1938's A Slight Case of Murder, it was one of the few comedies Robinson made.[6]
Response
Film critic and historian