Culturally, it feels like Edward G. Robinson's legacy has been flattened into his Little Caesar persona, a tough gangster whose mean mug fits just right behind the handle of a Tommy gun. It's not entirely inaccurate as he was typecast for much of his career in such roles but a film like The Whole Town's Talking provides a neat showcase for Robinson's range in performance. In this dual role, Robinson both delivers the criminal persona audiences had most closely associated him with and complements it with the complete opposite role: a meek, nervous wreck of an accountant so unremarkable that his own boss couldn't pick him out of a lineup. Throw that little mouse of a man into a dizzying doppelganger drama and watch the sparks fly. This definitely does not feel like a John Ford production, more like a Capra film in its screwball energy and Jean Arthur wisecracking (a scene-stealing performance if ever there was one). Still, it's remarkable what Ford is able to achieve even on autopilot. The special effect work in having Robinson's two personas share a room can at points be as obvious as having a rear projection but at other points there's this eerie smoothness to the visual, especially when smoke seems to travel in an uninterrupted flow across the frame. It's a very neat visual trick that helps sell the whole charade. The Whole Town's Talking doesn't aspire above being an entertaining and lean 90 minute comedy but it gets the job done and left me satisfied with a wonderful performance and some genuinely hilarious gags here and there.
Culturally, it feels like Edward G. Robinson's legacy has been flattened into his Little Caesar persona, a tough gangster whose mean mug fits just right behind the handle of a Tommy gun. It's not entirely inaccurate as he was typecast for much of his career in such roles but a film like The Whole Town's Talking provides a neat showcase for Robinson's range in performance. In this dual role, Robinson both delivers the criminal persona audiences had most closely associated him with and complements it with the complete opposite role: a meek, nervous wreck of an accountant so unremarkable that his own boss couldn't pick him out of a lineup. Throw that little mouse of a man into a dizzying doppelganger drama and watch the sparks fly. This definitely does not feel like a John Ford production, more like a Capra film in its screwball energy and Jean Arthur wisecracking (a scene-stealing performance if ever there was one). Still, it's remarkable what Ford is able to achieve even on autopilot. The special effect work in having Robinson's two personas share a room can at points be as obvious as having a rear projection but at other points there's this eerie smoothness to the visual, especially when smoke seems to travel in an uninterrupted flow across the frame. It's a very neat visual trick that helps sell the whole charade. The Whole Town's Talking doesn't aspire above being an entertaining and lean 90 minute comedy but it gets the job done and left me satisfied with a wonderful performance and some genuinely hilarious gags here and there.
