Why was I surprised that this was such a fine film? I should have done some research before viewing. It was written by Robert Riskin and Jo Swerling. Riskin had It Happened One Night to his credit and collaborated with Frank Capra on Mr. Deeds Comes to Town. Swerling wrote It's a Wonderful Life and Lifeboat. The Whole Town's Talking was directed by John Ford, venturing, for once, out of Monument Valley and into comedy.
It's an amusing doppelganger movie, with Edward G. Robinson playing both Jekyll and Hyde. His Hyde is a monster gangster of the Little Caesar variety; his Jekyll is a meek apologetic clerk. Both of his manifestations are interested in Jean Arthur, the wise-cracking babe, but Jekyll doesn't get her until he assimilates some hydeishness and gets Hyde killed. That's America for you; until you're willing to resort to violence, you're not going to land the lady.
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