The Whole Town's Talking
Tags: murder

Plot synopsis:
Arthur Ferguson Jones (Edward G. Robinson) and Wilhelmina "Bill" Clark (Jean Arthur) work at the same advertising firm. Jones turns out to look exactly like the notorious bank robber "Killer" Mannion (also Robinson) and is apprehended by the police.
After his true identity is confirmed, the district attorney gives Jones a letter identifying him, so that he can avoid the same trouble in future. Jones becomes a local celebrity and, at the behest of his boss (Paul Harvey), begins ghost-writing Mannion's "autobiography", with good-natured but street-wise Wilhelmina voluntarily acting as his "talent 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 a few others, 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, where police detectives are expecting Mannion to make another robbery attempt. Fortunately for Jones, he 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 Mannion returns unexpectedly, Jones orders the men to shoot Mannion. The police arrive in time to capture the rest of the gang. With Mannion dead, Jones collects a reward and takes a long-desired cruise to Shanghai with Wilhelmina.

Review: 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 movie boasts an assortment of caricature like characters like no other movie I know, beside Robinson I would like to mention Jean Arthur, of course, and the two funny little guys, Donald Meek and, even more memorable, Etienne Girardot as the pedantic office overseer who urges Robinson to get on with the Macintyre account.In its social comment The Whole Town's Talking reminds me of the work of Preston Sturgess.
Robinson has been stereotyped to the nth degree asTHE "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!.
He played the meek clerk and the tough gangster equally well.This is a comedy, so one expects a happy ending; still, I couldn't tell how the plot was going to turn to make this work out well.
Even ten minutes before the end I was still wondering.This comedy is very well worth seeing for the acting by Robinson, the great character actors, and Jean Arthur in the role that Katz' Film Encyclopedia says was the first to show that she had comedic range.
Robinson who would make his second and last appearance in a Ford film 34 years later in Cheyenne Autumn, plays a dual role.
He plays Killer Mannion in the tradition he established as Little Caesar and also A.L. Jones a meek, mild mannered clerk a type Robinson would play later in Mr. Winkle Goes to War. Mannion's escaped from prison and there's a manhunt on for him, similar to the kind that was on for John Dillinger a year earlier.
Bad luck for a guy that looks like Mannion and worse luck when Mannion finds out about his doppleganger and tries to make use of him.Robinson is fine in his dual performance, but the film was a milestone for Jean Arthur who plays Robinson's fellow employee and despite his being a milquetoast, she sees something in him.
Of course a year later, Harry Cohn did team her with Frank Capra and they certainly made some cinematic history.My favorite two supporting parts are Etienne Girardot as Robinson's officious little office manager and Donald Meek another milquetoast who originally mistakenly turns in the clerk as the gangster and stays on the 'case.'Though he's not in his element John Ford serves a nice piece of entertainment..
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").
It was closer to Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde, as he played good guy wimp Arthur "Jonesy" Jones and public enemy # 1 Killer Mannion.
Jones finds his job at jeopardy, his safety at jeopardy, and his girl friend "Bill" (Jean Arthur) possibly at jeopardy.There are some choice moments in the film - Ed Brophy, as the chief witness against Mannion, wandering away to his doom accompanied by "Jonesy" (or was it "Jonesy"), and the antics of two particularly dull comic cops (James Donlon and - surprisingly bright in the role - Arthur Hohl).
But will he succeed...or will "Jonesy's" ineptitude and timidity upset his plans.The director of the film was John Ford - it was his first film with either Robinson (who only showed up again in a supporting part in CHEYENNE AUTUMN)and his only one with Arthur.
She brings fun and realism to each role she plays.The film had all guns loaded going into it with the screenplay written by Robert Riskin & Jo Swerling based on a story by W.R.Burnett and directed (& co-produced) by John Ford.I thoroughly enjoyed this film!!.
Robinson plays a duel role as Arthur Ferguson, (Jonesy) and Killer Mannion.
Unfortunately, Ferguson looks just like a gangster named Killer Mannion who is a harden criminal and they both seem to have the same facial appearance.
There is a split screen between Arthur Ferguson and Killer Mannion and Edward G.
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.
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.
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.
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.
John Ford directed this 1935 comedy.Edward G.
Robinson has an absolute field-day in a double role portraying a plain, introverted office worker who is mistaken for a major gangster.The fun begins when the gangster breaks out of jail and the usually hilarious Donald Meek identifies our poor worker.
John Ford seems an unlikely choice to direct a screwball comedy starring EDWARD G.
ROBINSON in a good guy/bad guy dual role as a meek accountant who is mistaken by the public (and the police) for hardened criminal Killer Mannion.
Robinson is great in both roles, timid and ineffectual as the meek clerk (Edward Jones) and rough and tough as the crime boss.
DONALD MEEK has an enjoyable supporting role as a restaurant patron who spots innocent Robinson at a nearby table and reports the find to the police, hoping to get the award money for Killer Mannion's capture.JEAN ARTHUR is the bouncy office co-worker who becomes friends with Robinson and has a scary encounter with Killer Mannion, after which she tips off the police as to his whereabouts.
There are plot turns involving Killer Mannion switching places with clerk Jonesy in order to manage the prison killing of another thug (EDWARD BROPHY).
Cozy, eh?Nicely paced comedy/drama still works thanks to the expert direction and fun performances from JEAN ARTHUR, EDW.
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.
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..
Highly enjoyable comedy about meek clerk Arthur Jones (Edward G.
John Ford directs this comedy/crime yarn about a mild mannered office clerk(Edward G.
There is a talented supporting cast that includes: Jean Arthur, Wallace Ford and John Donlan..
It's o.k., but it's certainly nothing special, and fellow Jean Arthur fans should be warned that her credit is a bit of a tease -- she drops out mid-way through the film and is barely even seen in half of it.Edward G.
Robinson gets to have some fun playing two characters -- a criminal mastermind and the meek officer worker who just happens to look exactly like him.
In particular I remembered Edward G Robinson's meek Arthur Jones character's line, emboldened by his first experience of alcohol and a cigar, that a woman was just a woman but a good cigar was a smoke, great stuff!The inventive plot has Robinson's timid office worker sharing the face of a notorious gun- toting gangster, Killer Mannion, causing initially confusion but later consternation amongst the local police and press as Mannion forcibly takes possession of the pass-letter given to Jones by the D.A. to differentiate them, to rub out a rival gangster in prison, almost literally a licence to kill.At Jones's side, egging him onto acts of valour, is the vivacious Jean Arthur before she unwittingly falls into Mannion's hands but in a final twist, the mouse roars and all is resolved happily for ever after as Jones gets the girl, his life back and his long-desired trip to China before the end credits.Robinson is wonderful in the twin parts, firstly parodying his hard-nosed gangster roles of earlier years, most notably as Rico in "Little Caesar", with the lily-livered accounts clerk Jones before effortlessly turning into the hard-nosed murdering crime-lord of Mannion.
The film is relatively untypical of John Ford, being a fast-moving screwball comedy but he directs with verve and timing and helped by the fine playing of his cast, particularly the leads, makes it a winning movie all round..
Robinson; a great director, John Ford; and the studio, Columbia, that produced "It Happened One Night."Arthur is more gorgeous than she's ever been onscreen.
The film desperately needs more zip and here he's either unable or unwilling to supply it.Arthur's gangster moll put-on while under police interrogation is a highlight, but personally I felt the film was stolen by two delightful character actors: Etienne Girardot as a diminutive, dutiful office manager obsessed with the "McAntire Account" despite all of the wild events unfolding around him; and Donald Meek as a clueless, high-voiced gentlemen who keeps getting in the way of the police.
It turns out that Arthur is a dead ringer for escaped gangster, Killer Mannion, so after mistakenly being arrested, Arthur is issued with a special identity pass by the police, something which the real Mannion is very very interested in!John Ford is of course one of cinema's leading lights, notable films fill out his CV at regular intervals, yet I wonder just how many a film fan would associate the great man with screwball comedy?
Yet as great as these dark undertones are, I personally have come away from the film feeling deprived of a bona fide comedy classic, it feels to me like it got confused within its intentions.Edward G Robinson is sublime in the dual roles of Killer and Arthur, a very special actor that had more in his armoury than merely playing famous thugs.
Jean Arthur is delightful as Wilhelmina, husky voice and smoking a cigarette like no babe from the 30s did, while Arthur Hohl, Wallace Ford & Donald Meek all earned their money with solid performances.
Here you get two Robinsons for the price of one playing the dual role of the lovable, naive Jonsey and the notorious gangster Mannion.
Robinson has never been truly celebrated for just how versatile he is; going far beyond the gangster roles he is most famous for.Jean Arthur's Miss Clark is one of the coolest, craziest and more carefree characters ever.
Everything she does is so laid back and without a care in the world; I love this character!The only minor complaint I have with The Whole Town's Talking is the possible plot hole at the beginning of the film in which Jones rushed out of his apartment after the realisation he is late for work he leaves the bath running.
Robinson, who plays both major roles in this film.
Robinson stars in "The Whole Town's Talking" along with Jean Arthur, Wallace Ford, and Donald Meek.Edward G.
Here he has a dual role - that of an escaped criminal, Mad Dog Mannion and that of Arthur Jones, clerical worker, a shy man with a crush on a coworker (Arthur).
When Mannion escapes from prison, his face is on the front page, and he looks so much like Jones that someone who sees him in a restaurant turns him into the police.
When fingerprint ID verifies that he is not Mannion, he's given a letter by the police chief stating that he's not Mannion and should be left alone and even gets a job writing for the local newspaper about his experiences being mistaken for Mannion.Unfortunately for poor Arthur, Mannion shows up and wants to use the pass, which he does, raising complete havoc.
He also starts giving Arthur info for the news stories - and the police wonder how it is Arthur knows so much.One of the funniest parts of the film for me was the newspaper description of Mannion - a cruel mouth, a Neandrathal face, etc., and poor Jones looking at himself in the restaurant mirror trying to look evil.Robinson is fabulous - so sweet, so gentle, such a hard worker as Arthur and a ruthless killer as Mannion.
Jean Arthur, as the outspoken Miss Clark is great - when she's questioned by the police, they assume she's Mannion's accomplice, so they keep asking her questions - who did this, who robbed that, and she keeps saying, using a tough, gun moll voice, "MANNION!" Then they find out it's not Mannion they caught after all.I thought the movie went on just a tad too long, but otherwise, it was quite good, with fun performances, well directed by a man known for his westerns and bigger films, John Ford..
This movie is (correctly enough) billed as a "crime comedy" but that tone is not entirely maintained throughout the film, and to good effect.
For one thing, Robinson (as "Jonesy") emanates a very palpable feeling of repression and yearning for a more romantic existence throughout the film, and this is underscored by his poetic ambitions, and the fact he named his cat "Abelard" for just two examples.But the most powerfully emotional scene in the film - and the one which most breaks the comedy constriction - is when Mannion is finally gunned down by his own men, entirely at "Jonesy's" direction.
It is a great sequence, possibly entirely a matter of Robinson's skill and feel for the character.The comedic moments go down easy, Jean Arthur is at her tough girl best, and the film abounds with the "usual suspects" of Hollywood character actors.
Robinson gives a winning performance in this excellent comedy, in which he flawlessly plays dual roles.
I loved his portrayal of Arthur Ferguson Jones, a meek and gentle law abiding office clerk, who has a crush on his beautiful co-worker, the always delightful actress Jean Arthur.
Problem is, kind-hearted Jones is an identical dead ringer in looks to a ruthless gangster, " Killer Mannion, " and one day big trouble begins for Jonesy as he is mistaken for the callous mobster.
But all isn't funny for Arthur Jones when the gangster takes advantage of his identical twin, putting poor Jonesy in some tense situations.
It also gave him an opportunity to show he could convincingly play a sweet natured, cultured law-abider, who wins the girl, not by force but through the girl's admiration of his character.A hard working mild mannered clerk, Arthur Ferguson Jones (Edward G.
After innocently ordering lunch in a diner he is identified as Mannion and literally gets the whole town talking!!After the police end up with egg on their faces he is syndicated to write the story of Mannion from the point of view of the man who looks like Mannion of course.
Meanwhile the real Mannion shows up and it is to Robinson's great ability as an actor that there is a difference in the way he plays each of them - you definitely can tell them apart - even at the end.
****SPOILERS******A good movie with a reasonably fun "genius" (writer Burnett's term for gimmicks, of which his films are full) -- Robinson is a clerk in the city who's mistaken for the hoodlum he strongly resembles.
The mistake is straightened out and even seems to be working out to his advantage -- he's been given the chance to write a series of articles and he's impressed the girl of his dreams (Arthur, charming as always) -- but then the real hood (Robinson, relishing the opportunities of the dual role) appears to take advantage of the situation.Unconvincing plot barely holds up for the running time, but the stars shine and the pace and photography are good..
A masterful comedy/drama from Director John Ford filmed during his non-western period.
Robinsons.The violent aspects of the story take place for the most part off screen such as Mannion's revenge on fellow gangster "Slugs" Martin (Edward Brophy).
There are no comedic aspects to Robinson's Mannion character whatsoever.Jean Arthur was just coming into her own with this film and so would go on to greater fame with Director Frank Capra in "Mr. Deeds Goes to Washington" (1936).Ford as ever, injects a little Fordian humour into the story through the detectives Boyle and Howe (Arthur Hohl and James Donlan).
My local TV channel back then gave me a double dose, not only of Robinson in this movie, but Jean Arthur as well, having played this back to back with "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town".