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The Whole Town's Talking

Play trailer Poster for The Whole Town's Talking 1935 1h 35m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 13 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Clerk Arthur Jones (Edward G. Robinson) lives a dull life until someone realizes that he looks like gangster "Killer" Mannion (also Robinson). After Jones is brought in by the police and his identity is verified, he is given a note to assuage any other suspicious policeman. Jones is hired by a newspaper to write about Mannion and starts dating Wilhelmina Clark (Jean Arthur). However, when Jones returns home one night, Mannion is waiting and demands the note so that he can roam freely.
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The Whole Town's Talking

Critics Reviews

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Richard Brody The New Yorker 12/03/2012
Satirically yet trenchantly embraces a wide range of modern experience, from the political to the intimate. Go to Full Review Bernice Patton Pittsburgh Courier 12/02/2020
Sensational. Go to Full Review Nathanael Hood Unseen Films 04/18/2020
7/10
...the closest thing director John Ford ever came to making a screwball comedy. Go to Full Review Tim Brayton Alternate Ending 04/09/2020
3.5/5
A great showpiece for Robinson and one of the most offbeat curios in Ford's jam-packed filmography. Go to Full Review Michael E. Grost Classic Film and Television 08/22/2014
Odd bur rich mix of the visionary, comedy and the darkest side of gangsters. Go to Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews 01/27/2007
2.5/4
...generally an amiable little comedy that benefits greatly from the charisma of its two leads. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jack P @RT09552425 Dec 2 It’s fun to watch Edward G Robinson do an excellent job playing two characters with opposite personalities; a humble writer and an evil thug. I also like it because of the good directing (John Ford), good acting, and a happy ending. See more 01/29/2021 It was an ok movie Mr Robinson acting was superb but movie seems childish in the 21st century. See more 09/10/2018 Edward G. Robinson was a great actor. I saw this movie last night. The movie is absorbing and entertaining; and Mr. Robinson demonstrated his skills with such dexterity that his acting is a breath of fresh air. See more 03/12/2018 Arthur nearly steals every scene she's in, but fortunately she's absent in enough that star Robinson still shines in his duel role. See more 03/09/2018 AMIABLE comedy. mostly of interest to those who want to see Robinson trade on his appeal as a gangster by playing a meek office worker who is a dead ringer for a gangster. Also, according to TCM the film that established Jean Arthur. They are both good but the film is slight. See more s r @ScottR 09/03/2016 A fun comedy of mistaken identities. See more Read all reviews
The Whole Town's Talking

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Cast & Crew

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John Ford

Director

Edward G. Robinson

Arthur Ferguson Jones

Jean Arthur

Miss Clark

Arthur Hohl

Detective Sergeant Boyle

Wallace Ford

Healy

Arthur Byron

Spencer

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The Whole Town's Talking

The Whole Town's Talking (1935) The Whole Town's Talking (1935) The Whole Town's Talking (1935) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Clerk Arthur Jones (Edward G. Robinson) lives a dull life until someone realizes that he looks like gangster "Killer" Mannion (also Robinson). After Jones is brought in by the police and his identity is verified, he is given a note to assuage any other suspicious policeman. Jones is hired by a newspaper to write about Mannion and starts dating Wilhelmina Clark (Jean Arthur). However, when Jones returns home one night, Mannion is waiting and demands the note so that he can roam freely.
Director
John Ford
Producer
Lester Cowan
Production Co
Columbia Pictures
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 21, 1935, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 23, 2014
Runtime
1h 35m
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