Customer Reviews

Dinner at Eight

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one of my favorite films - not just of the 1930s, but of all time. Rarely have I seen elements of both comedy and tragedy blended together so smoothly and seemingly effortlessly. The movie is nearly 70 years old now. Naturally, some parts of it are dated. Still, I suspect it was rather advanced in its views at the time. One character, Carlotta Vance [Marie Dressler], for example, is a faded beauty in her 60s who was once a great star. Instead of voicing regret that she has had many lovers and has always used men to advance herself financially, she exudes the confidence of one who has lived life to the fullest. And watch as she counsels the young Paula Jordon, who has taken and older lover and has decided to dump her dashing young fiancé. No moral platitudes from Carlotta, just some sage advice. In fact, all of the female characters are strikingly independent, despite the fact that men are, by necessity, their main source of income. I like these women!

MGM intentionally assembled the greatest cast it had on hand at the time. These were stars the public loved to see. This is from the days where there really were parts for older actresses. Ms. Dressler, who leads the cast in the credits, was sixty-five. The divine Billie Burke [Millicent Jordon], who I think was one of the funniest actresses who ever lived, was forty-eight. Jean Harlow, who plays the social climbing Kitty Packard, was just twenty-two, and Madge Evans [Paula] was twenty-four. Unlike today, the two older stars were not forced into subordinate roles. All of the actresses' parts have equal weight.

We have both Lionel and John Barrymore. John gives a heart-wrenching performance as Larry Renault, the alcoholic, washed up matinee idol Paula has fallen for. The role is eerily similar to his own life. Wallace Beery is hysterical as the oafish self-made millionaire, Dan Packard.

The plot is fairly simple. Millicent is planning a dinner party for the much sought after Lord and Lady Ferncliff, but trials and tribulations await her at every turn. Meanwhile, Oliver is about to lose the family shipping business. Carlotta thinks she is broke. Kitty is having an affair with a society doctor. And so forth. But the movie is about more than just a storyline. It's about great actors playing great characters. Times have changed, and so has society. Emotions haven't, and this is one emotionally charged movie. It remains fascinating and, in many ways, relevant. Best of all, it is great entertainment. And I almost forgot to mention the director was the inimitable George Cukor, one of the best who ever lived.

MGM, the studio with "more stars than there are in heaven" had only recently proved their point by putting six of their top talents in one film; "Grand Hotel" (1932). A clean sweep at the Oscars, the success prompted David O. Selznick - then a rival producer on the backlot - to devise his own all star melodrama of merit with "Dinner At Eight" (1933). The plot is threadbare but serviceable. Affluent hostess, Millicent Jordon (Billie Burke) is so enraptured at the prospect of throwing the society party of the decade that she eschews all other concerns in favor of the frivolities associated with such a swank soiree. Her roster of guests include the boorish social climber, Dan Packard (Wallace Beery) and his much younger wife of hot body but low class, Kitty (Jean Harlow), aging grand dame of the theater, Carlotta Vance (Marie Dressler), family physician, Dr. Wayne Talbot (Edmund Lowe) and desperate has-been movie actor, Larry Renault (John Barrymore). Millicent's husband, the kind-hearted, good natured Oliver (Lionel Barrymore) has just discovered that he is fatally ill. However, acknowledging his wife's lack of feeling for anyone but herself, Oliver decides to forego divulging his diagnosis, presumably until after the party.

What is most engaging and impressive about Selznick's take on the all star spectacle is that, unlike "Grand Hotel", he does not afford any one actor particular preference or even attempt to evenly space their on screen time. Rather, there is a strange sense - particularly from a star system as galvanic as MGM's - that the people being observed are just common folk on route to a flashy night on the town. The film also gives DVD audiences their only chance to admire the comedic stylings of one of Vaudeville's most gifted former actresses - Marie Dressler. In girth, stature and poignancy, Dressler is at her personal zenith - delving high comedy and low melodrama with equal panache. At one point in the evening, after having been told by Harlow's character that a book has explained that machinery is going to take the place of every profession, Dressler casually eyes the sultry Harlow from head to toe before commenting, "Oh my dear, that's one thing you need never worry about."

Warner Bros. DVD treatment of this classic star vehicle is about on par with their lack luster previous treatment of "Grand Hotel". Although the gray scale can exhibit some nicely balanced contrasts, solid blacks and clean whites, more often there is a sense that contrast levels are a tad too low and blacks are more deep gray than black. There is, at times, an excessive amount of age related artifacts for an image that is rarely smooth or easy on the eyes. Film grain is also obtrusive. The audio has been cleaned up but exhibits a fairly noticeable background hiss throughout. The Sharon Stone hosted bio on Harlow - which is all too brief, and a short subject: "Come to Dinner" are all the extras you get. A shame.

DINNER AT EIGHT is one of those rare films that blur the distinction between comedy and drama. It is really a ticking time bomb in which a huge star-studded cast plan to converge for a formal dinner given by a secretly broke but still regarded as wealthy Oliver Jordan (Lionel Barrymore)and his wife the social butterfly Millicent (Billie Burke). These two plan the dinner but share the dramatic focus with a large supporting cast and a number of improbable subplots, all of which are neatly tied together by the closing reel.

When DINNER AT EIGHT was released in 1934, the Depression had been ripping apart America's social fabric for nearly four years. The film contains several pointed barbs that suggest that even in the celluloid world of Hollywood make believe, the crushing reality of broken financial dreams lurks uncomfortably close. Simultaneously, the advent of talking pictures pushed the silent film industry into the recesses of America's recent memory. The brothers Barrymore were two of the very few silent stars to make this successful transition. Here, Lionel, as Oliver, is a sick elderly financier who is given a short time to live by Doctor Wayne Talbot (Edmund Lowe), who keeps himself busy by having an affair with upwardly mobile bimbette Kitty Packard (Jean Harlow), who is married to the crude Dan Packard (Wallace Beery). Oliver's daughter is Paula (Madge Evans), who has fallen in love with a much older Larry Renault (John Barrymore), a washed up sot of a silent film star who still thinks that huge paydays are in his future. Millicent plans a sumptuous party whose purpose it was to keep at bay the reality of the Depression that was then staring in through her fancy bay windows. The comedy drama blending of DINNER AT EIGHT is the natural result of an attempt to fuse the seemingly disparate elements of light drawing room comedy with the collapse of a morality symbolized by the hucksterism of Dan Packard and sleazy social climbing of his wife Kitty.

Director George Cukor succeeds in this fusion by channeling most of the comedy into a subplot of a disastrous marriage between Kitty and Dan. Their several scenes of marital discord are quite funny as she claims that this upcoming party will make a lady out of her--if it does not kill her first. The real star, however, is grande dame Marie Dressler, who, as Carlotta Vance, functions as a comedic chorus passing off witty barbs, including the famous closing line double take when Kitty bewails that modern technology will soon render all human interaction, including her own sensual nature, as obsolete.

DINNER AT EIGHT is a genuine pleasure to watch. None of the more than twenty-five stars is allowed to dominate although each makes maximum use of their screen time. Part of the joy of watching how laughter could blend into tears was in never being quite sure whether any one scene was meant to elicits gasps of laughter or howls of pain.

I bought this because of the cast. I was dismayed at the very poor acting and directing in this "so-called classic". Just goes to show how much both have improved in the last 70-80 years. I won't make the mistake of buying overpriced nonsense such as this again.

The Broadway play Dinner at Eight came just a few years after Kaufman had written the stage versions of Cocoanuts and Animal Crackers for the Marx Brothers. Maybe it was the fact that he was collaborating with Edna "whistles at the typewriter" Ferber, but there's not much witty dialogue here, and too much melodrama. At least the performances in this version are good, particularly Harlow, Beery and the Berrymore brothers.

This great MGM classic "Dinner at Eight", would surely have to be one of the best drama/comedy compilations to come out of Hollywood in the 1930's. Always labelled one of the "all star" specials produced by the studio at this time, that is to do this wonderful film an injustice as it contains excellent writing and well crafted performances as well as an excellent cast that performs this witty and at times also tragic story to perfection. And what a cast! It exemplifies MGM at its finest with Lionel and John Barrymore, Marie Dressler, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery and Billie Burke among many others helping to make "Dinner at Eight" a viewing experience to cherish.

Using the scenerio of an upcoming dinner party the writing team of Herman J. Mankiewicz and Edna Ferber fashioned a unique screenplay from the popular Moss Hart/Edna ferber stage play that tells of the 24 hours in the lives of a small group of individuals who have received an invitation to the dinner in question. Hosted by the fluttery Millicent Jordan (Billie Burke in another of her dippy society matron roles), who has managed to bag English gentry for the swank evening, she experiences all sorts of unforseen complications as the evening approaches. The dinner also sets off all sorts of dilemmas for the invited guests too as we see the final decline of once famous actor Larry Renault (John Barrymore in a brilliant performance) into alcoholic destruction that finds him demoted from the lead in a new play which was to be his great come back, to a walk on part which propels him to suicide. Shipping Magnate Oliver Jordan, Millicent's husband (Lionel Barrymore) comes to terms with his terminal heart troubles with the realisation that his business is also going under. Carlotta Vance (Marie Dressler)experiencing money troubles reluctantly excepts the dinner invitation and finds herself caught between Millicent's daughter Paula (Madge Evans) and her secret love for Larry. Dan and Kitty Packard, the feuding, foul mouthed upstart couple have their own reasons for excepting the invitation, Kitty because she wants to rub shoulders with high society uttering the immortal line ,"I want to become a real lady if it kills me!" and Dan wants to go to be able to conclude his business deals and buy up some valuable stock in Oliver's company.

The actual dinner of the title begins as the film concludes but leading up to it we as viewers are treated to some top class acting from this superb ensemble of gifted actors. MGM quoted as having "more stars than there are in heaven" definately proves that here with its top rate cast at their peak. However it is the sure direction of George Cukor and the strong writing that make this a memorable viewing experience and an accurate and at times scathing documenting of depression era values of all classes in society. John Barrymore has rarely been better than as the tragic washed up actor which sadly resembles himself in later life and Jean Harlow really broke through into the upper levels of the MGM hierachy with her playing of the loud, brassy strumpet climbing the society ladder. As with the earlier all star effort "Grand Hotel", no expense was spared here from Cedric Gibbons beautiful interiors ranging from over the top for Jean Harlow's garish bedroom to sedately tasteful for the Jordan residence. Adrian's sublime designs for the women were some of his most famous ever with Jean Harlow's clothes in particular going down into 1930's film costume folklore.

I find "Dinner at Eight", to be by far the best of the multi plot all star stories produced during the 1930's and it constantly amazes me at the sheer star power the major studios and MGM in particular had at their disposal in the golden era. To see such stars of the 1930's as Jean Harlow and Marie Dressler, who were both to pass away before too many years had gone by is a rare treat for film buffs nowadays. This film really is what classic Hollywood is all about and even with the passing of time it is still as witty and relevant in it's character studies as it was in 1934. Dont miss this dinner party under any circumstances!

This movie engaged me from the beginning, casting its line right to my easy chair and reeling me into its all too believable world of human triumph and tragedy. It is an example of what can happen when strong acting, strong writing and strong direction are brought together by people who DO NOT aim for the lowest common denominator, but rather, for the sophisticated audience who reacts warmly only to quality performance and credible story line. I also appreciated the structure and pacing, where subplots are introduced and then intertwined, and just the right time is taken to develop characters and story before changing the focus, so I could follow it.

See this for an evening of real entertainment. The only problem is, it will spoil you for any of the dumbed-down crapola that Hollywood has released in recent years.

Dinner at Eight offers a chance to see some of the greatest stars of the early Thirties all together in one film. Lionel Barrymore stars as a failing businessman whose wife, Billie Burke, is putting on a dinner party for an English nobleman. Their engaged daughter Madge Evans is in love with an alcoholic has-been actor John Barrymore, while Lionel's doctor Edmund Lowe is having an affair with Jean Harlow, the wife of Lionel's business opponent Wallace Beery. Added into this mix is Marie Dressler as an aging former actress and friend of Lionel's who is in need of money. It's quite a collection of characters coming together for one evening, especially when they are played by the actors in these roles. Jean Harlow gives one of her best performances as the tough social climber, and her fight scenes with Beery are well played by both. The Barrymore brothers have the serious roles in the film and play them with great skill, with special credit going to John who comes so close to playing himself it's almost uncomfortable to watch. Burke is very funny as the hostess trying to impress everyone as her party falls apart. However, it's Dressler who has some of the best lines, and she plays them with relish. Her acting in the closing scene alone makes the video worthwhile. Yes, it is very talky and episodic as it moves from one subplot to another, but it all comes together at the end very well. I do wish music had been included on the soundtrack, but this was early in the era of sound. But it's a funny, honest, and sophisticated comedy, and movie fans will want to seize the opportunity to see so many great stars in peak form!

One of the best all-star films the "Dream Factory" has ever turned out. By watching this film, one really feels like they know the characters intimately as if they were friends. Besides being extremely entertaining it is also a great character study. John Barrymore, Marie Dressler and Lionel Barrymore are in great dramatic form. Wallace Beery and Jean Harlow are hilarious as the bickering Dan and Kitty Packard. If you enjoy all-star films from Hollywood's golden age, buy this one!

This is a superb classic comedy. A series of events taking place in a single day culminating in "Dinner at Eight". Several characters are explored, mainly a rich industrialist who is about to lose his fortune in a hostile take-over by a "shady" business man who doesn't mind trampling people on his way up the ladder. Jean Harlow is pure eye-candy as a witty yet street-wise "gangster moll". Veteran character actress Marie Dressler is equally delicious as a once prosperous society lady, now dependent on charity from her "connections". -- This film is pure Hollywood magic from beginning to end. The story lost none of it's powerful bite in the nearly 7 decades that have passed since it was put on film. "Dinner at Eight" is in my all-time top 10!