The Whole Town's Talking

"The most exciting picture in a decade..Inspired by the biggest front page sensation in recent years"

1935 1h 33m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 65

ComedyCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Ordinary man-in-the-street Arthur Ferguson Jones leads a very straightforward life. He's never late for work and nothing interesting ever happens to him. One day everything changes: he oversleeps and is fired as an example, he's then mistaken for evil criminal killer Mannion and is arrested. The resemblance is so striking that the police give him a special pass to avoid a similar mistake. The real Mannion sees the opportunity to steal the pass and move around freely and chaos results.

“The most exciting picture in a decade..Inspired by the biggest front page sensation in recent years”

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Cast

Edward G. Robinson
Arthur Ferguson 'Jonesy' Jones / 'Killer' Mannion
Jean Arthur
Wilhelmina 'Bill' Clark
Arthur Hohl
Det. Sgt. Michael F. Boyle
James Donlan
Detective Sergeant Patrick J. Howe
Arthur Byron
Spencer
Wallace Ford
Healy
Donald Meek
Hoyt
Etienne Girardot
Seaver

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Ford
Writers: Jo Swerling, Robert Riskin, W.R. Burnett
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

91 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CRAFT

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Ford, shot by Joseph H. August. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Viola Lawrence shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Edward G. Robinson and Jean Arthur and Arthur Hohl carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The most exciting picture in a decade..Inspired by the biggest front page sensation in recent years".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0027214 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 65 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Ford directs. Joseph H. August behind the camera. Viola Lawrence cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

191 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
3Directed by John Ford, shot by Joseph H. August. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Viola Lawrence shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Edward G. Robinson and Jean Arthur and Arthur Hohl carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The most exciting picture in a decade..Inspired by the biggest front page sensation in recent years".
7IMDB entry: tt0027214 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 65 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 10 themes, including "gangster", "mistaken identity", "look-alike", "body double".