The Talk of the Town (1942) 4K UltraHD Review

George Stevens was responsible for some great films in cinema history. He was nominated and won Academy Awards for films like A Place in the Sun (1951), Giant (1956), The More the Merrier (1943), Shane (1953), and The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). In 1942 he put together an all-star cast for a comedy/drama entitled The Talk of the Town.

Now as The Talk of the Town is celebrating its 82nd anniversary of the film's release, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment have given this Golden Age Hollywood gem a deluxe 4K UltraHD release this amazing comedy so richly deserves.

Synopsis: When accused arsonist Leopold Dilg (Cary Grant, North by Northwest) escapes jail, he hides out in the home of friend Nora (Jean Arthur, Mr. Smith goes to Washington). Posing as a gardener, Dilg teams up with Nora to convince her summer tenant, Supreme Court candidate Michael Lightcap (Ronald Colman, Lost Horizon) that Dilg was framed. The zaniness never stops as the three of them dodge the cops, try to snag the real crooks and discover along the way that both men have fallen for Nora. But who has captured Nora's heart? 

When I think of Hollywood class, I think of Cary Grant. He looked like a star. And his films were always entertaining, even the ones that maybe weren't his best. Cary Grant and Jean Arthur worked together before in the film Only Angels Have Wings. Three years later they are together again with a tremendous cast around them.

George Stevens weaves a wonderful comedy/drama here and the performances of Grant, Arthur and Colman are spectacular. Then there is the supporting performance of Edgar Buchanan, TV fans will know him as Uncle Joe from Petticoat Junction. This is an entertaining little film. No wonder it was nominated for 7 Academy Award, including Best Picture.

Sony Home Entertainment have transferred The Talk of the Town to 4KUltraHD in 2160p and is presented in 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The audio options are DTS-HD Master Audio in English, French and Spanish. The subtitles options are English, English SDH, French and Spanish. 

The Talk of the Town looks really nice in 4K, but in all honesty it is not as crisp as I wished it would have been. But it is still a satisfactory 4K transfer. The black and white picture really does benefit from the 4K presentation.

Now in addition to a nice 4K transfer Sony has added some cool bonus features as well to this 4K release. take a look at what is included.

* Commentary with Author Marilyn Ann Moss
* Talking About "Talk of the Town" Featurette
* A digital copy of the film 

I really enjoyed the commentary and featurette with George Stevens Jr. And a digital copy is always a welcomed addition to these releases. These are great bonuses. But I think there was a huge mistake made here in this release. Sony should have included the Lux Theater Radio version of The Talk of the Town featuring the stars of the film Cary Grant, Jean Arthur and Ronald Colman. That would have made a tremendous bonus feature. But that is a minor complaint.

If you are a fan of Cary Grant, Jean Arthur and Ronald Colman get this new 4K UltraHD version of The Talk of the Town. You may be surprised how much you enjoy this film. Head over to Moviezyng or Amazon and order your copy today.


Out of 4 film reels (4 being the best) The 4K UltraHD of The Talk of the Town receives....

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