Film review: The Whole Town's Talking (1935)

Another Jean Arthur production, this one the rare comedy directed by John Ford and featuring a double performance by Edward G. Robinson, playing both milquetoast accountant Arthur Ferguson "Jonesy" Jones and the aptly nicknamed violent criminal "Killer" Manion.  It's really Robinson's film, as he gets to do his Scarlet Street wimp and his Key Largo psychopath in one film, but Jean Arthur is the object of Jonesy's affection, a sassy co-worker who is young enough not to care if she gets fired (even in the midst of the great depression) and probably wouldn't have noticed Jonesy if he hadn't been thrust into the limelight.  He, on the other hand, secretly refers to her as "Cymbeline" and has stolen her framed picture and has it on the wall of the apartment he shares with a cat and a bird (who are similarly classically-named).  The film opens with Jonesy's direct supervisor (Seaver) on the phone with the big boss discussing how many people are typically late.  They agree that the one person who's never been late (Jones) should get a pay raise, while the next person to come in late should be fired.  Of course, this is the one day when Jones's alarm fails and he is threatened with firing.  But actually fired is Arthur's Miss Clark, who strolls in even later, nonchalantly blowing out cigarette smoke.  She gets to finish out the week, but, as she says when she plops down at Jonesy's table as he is lunching at a local restaurant, she doesn't care. 

The reason she seeks him out is because earlier a newspaper showing a photograph of the newly jail-broken Manion is circulated and everyone notes his exact resemblance to Jones.  And in fact, a man in the diner sees the same picture and rushes to the phone to call the cops.  They flood the diner in absurd numbers and drag Jones and Clark down to the station.  Clark loves every moment and strings along her questioners (and Arthur gets to show how funny she can be),

but Jones is terrified and helpless, especially when the police bring in Manion's ex-associate "Slugs" Martin (played by the voice of the mouse in Dumbo - it's unmistakable, if, like me, you have seen that film a hundred times) to identify him.  The only reason Jones isn't imprisoned is because Manion robs a bank while Jones is in custody.  The cops realize that if they just release Jones, though, they'll always be arresting him again, so the chief hits on the idea of giving him a signed letter testifying to his non-Manion-ness.  Unfortunately, the papers get wind of this and publish this information, which leads to Jones coming home (drunk, after a raucous meeting between him, his boss and a newspaper man, who has the idea of publishing a column attributed to Jones on Manion's life as told by his lookalike) to find Manion sitting in the shadows in his apartment. 

Instead of just bumping Jones off and stealing the letter, Mannion just "borrows" the letter for each night and sleeps in his apartment by day.  Jones is also tasked with bringing Manion the papers after he comes home from work each day.  Alas, the first day includes a column attributed to him that describes Manion as a coward who hides behind his gun.  This enrages Manion so much, he decides to dictate his REAL life story to Jones.  Things get even more complicated one day when Miss Clark, after acting as Jones's agent with the newspaper to secure him $250 per week, comes up to his apartment to let him know.  She initially confuses Manion for him, until she sees his gun.  She makes her excuses and tries to alert the cops, but Manion's thugs take her hostage, along with Manion's elderly aunt, who has come to visit.  Then the chief of police, who is suspicious about the details in Jones's columns, decides to put Jones in prison, but Manion substitutes himself so he can get to "Slugs", who is also being kept there "for his own safety".  Then Manion makes another break for it (picking up Jones's supervisor Seaver to add to his collection of hostages).  He then decides to set Jones up to be shot by the police as him to get himself off the hook.  He gets Jones to deposit money in the bank for his (Manion's) dear old ma, then calls ahead to the bank claiming to be a friend of "Slugs" who wants revenge, and another cohort of heavily-armed cops hole up in the bank with orders to shoot to kill...  Overall, not as charming as Devil and Miss Jones, but an interesting curio with some great characters (especially the man who initially calls the cops in the restaurant and who keeps cropping up throughout the film).