Meanwhile, realizing that they're not going to be able to keep Leopold hidden in the attic for long, Nora passes him off as her gardener. He and Lightcap take a liking to each other, having a few spirited debates over the justice system; Michael tends to see things in black and white- the letter of the law, if you will- while Leopold has a rather looser interpretation of it- more the spirit of the law. Further complicating things is the fact that the two are becoming rivals for Nora's affections: Leopold has had a thing for her since they were youngsters, before he became a radical. And, as Michael gradually thaws out a little and becomes less of a cold fish, he begins to appreciate Nora's many charms.
Soon after this, Lightcap is appointed to the Supreme Court. Nora comes to see the ceremony and visits him in his chambers. He tells her that this has always been his dream and that it has now been realized. He also tells her that he's realized that she's in love with Leopold and advises her to marry him. Leopold has also come to see Michael's appointment; he sees Nora and the judge looking fondly at each other and mistakenly thinks that the two have come to an understanding. Deciding to nobly give her up to Michael, Leopold starts to leave but Nora sees him and chases after him. It becomes obvious that she has chosen him, and the two leave together, hand in hand.
So, those are basically my thoughts on The Talk of the Town... there's a good movie buried in there, but it's obscured by a lot of extraneous bits and pieces which could have been jettisoned. I could see this being a really effective drama, or an amusing comedy, but it doesn't work as both. The tone changes are so abrupt that they almost give you whiplash, and pinballing back and forth between serious and funny just makes the film seem frenetic and unfocussed: here's the law being manipulated by a wealthy man with friends in high places... here's cute Jean Arthur sneaking about the house in oversized striped pyjamas... here's a violent mob trying to lynch an innocent man... here's Cary Grant almost dropping a boot on someone's head from the attic window. Awkwardly welding together comedic scenes with ones that attempt to deal with weighty topics results in neither one being particularly well done, and leaves little time for anything else- like character development.