{"id":36352,"date":"2016-03-21T18:08:03","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T01:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=36352"},"modified":"2021-01-31T16:16:55","modified_gmt":"2021-01-31T23:16:55","slug":"whole-towns-talking-the-1935","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=36352","title":{"rendered":"Whole Town&#8217;s Talking, The (1935)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I&#8217;ll show you! A false alarm, am I?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Poster-298x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"298\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-67498\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Poster-298x300.png 298w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Poster-128x128.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Poster-768x774.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Poster-268x270.png 268w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Poster.png 864w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 298px) 100vw, 298px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA mild-mannered clerk (Edward G. Robinson) named Arthur Jones &#8212; who happens to look exactly like the murderous bank robber &#8220;Killer&#8221; Mannion (also Robinson) &#8212; is apprehended by police, released with an identity certificate, and commissioned to ghost-write Mannion&#8217;s memoirs for the local newspaper. Meanwhile, Mannion takes advantage of Jones by blackmailing him into sharing the identity certificate, and secretly plotting to have Jones take the fall for his crimes.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Edward G. Robinson Films<\/li>\n<li>Gangsters<\/li>\n<li>Jean Arthur Films<\/li>\n<li>John Ford Films<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;No One Believes Me!&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nDirected by John Ford and based on a story by W.R. Burnett (author of the novels which <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43162\"><em>Little Caesar<\/em><\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=36118\"><em>High Sierra<\/em><\/a>, and <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=35175\"><em>The Asphalt Jungle<\/em><\/a> are based on), this clever gangster spoof makes perfect use of both Robinson&#8217;s menacing screen persona and his (mostly) untapped comedic talents. As noted in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/95733\/the-whole-towns-talking\/#articles-reviews?articleId=91115\">TCM&#8217;s article<\/a>, Ford managed to slip this one past Production Code censors given its status as a satire, but some fairly dark elements emerge by the end (I won&#8217;t say more at risk of spoiling the fun narrative). Robinson and Arthur are both at the top of their acting games, and Ford&#8217;s direction is spot-on. Check this one out if you can! It would make a great double-bill with <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=9631\"><em>A Slight Case of Murder<\/em> (1938)<\/a>, another enjoyable gangster spoof starring Robinson. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Edward G. Robinson as Arthur Jones and &#8220;Mannion&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Robinson1.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Robinson1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-36355\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Robinson1.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Robinson1-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Robinson1-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Robinson2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Robinson2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-36356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Robinson2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Robinson2-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Robinson2-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Jean Arthur as Miss Clark<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Arthur.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Arthur.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-36357\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Arthur.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Arthur-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Arthur-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Effective cinematography and &#8220;special effects&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-36359\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Cinematography2.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Cinematography2-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Cinematography2-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"480\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-36358\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Cinematography.png 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Cinematography-128x85.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Whole-Towns-Talking-Cinematography-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for Robinson&#8217;s virtuoso double-performance. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0027214\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1935\/03\/01\/archives\/a-whirl-of-laughter-at-the-music-hall-in-the-whole-towns-talking.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/95733\/the-whole-towns-talking\/#articles-reviews?articleId=91115\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/the-whole-towns-talking\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll show you! A false alarm, am I?&#8221; Synopsis: A mild-mannered clerk (Edward G. Robinson) named Arthur Jones &#8212; who happens to look exactly like the murderous bank robber &#8220;Killer&#8221; Mannion (also Robinson) &#8212; is apprehended by police, released with an identity certificate, and commissioned to ghost-write Mannion&#8217;s memoirs for the local newspaper. Meanwhile, Mannion takes advantage of Jones by blackmailing him into sharing the identity certificate, and secretly plotting to have Jones take the fall for his crimes. Genres,&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=36352\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36352"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67501,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36352\/revisions\/67501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}