The Talk of the Town (1942)

George Stevens' film, nominated for seven Oscars, stars Cary Grant as Leopold Dilg, a factory worker and political activist wrongly accused of burning a factory down. Escaping from prison, he goes on the run and ends up at the cottage of Nora Shelley, a teacher and his old schoolmate, who he had a crush on. She's renting the cottage to Michael Lightcap, a law professor awaiting appointment to the Supreme Court. While Nora spends her time making sure the lawyer doesn't discover her other lodger's true identity, the two men begin arguing about the role and rule of law in society. Lightcap eventually finds out Dilg's identity and agrees to defend him, uncovering the frame-up that got Dilg into trouble and clearing his name with a soul-stirring speech. Columbia Pictures shot two endings: one with Dilg getting the girl, the other with Lightcap, now a judge, and Nora settling down.