In Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Hunsecker's press agent Sidney promises Temple with publicity build for his performance:
Sidney: I'm not here to try to sell anything, and I'm not gonna peddle anything. But when I tell a client...I can get him space in Hunsecker's column... it's not talk.
What does "talk" mean?
My understanding would be that he is saying it's not just talk. It's not just a something he says, he can actually do it, and there is evidence, because he has actually done it in the past.
You might say that "Joe is just talk" to mean "Joe boasts, but doesn't actually do anything". The meaning therefore is that "this is not a boast."
