Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Dinner at Eight

Dinner at Eight is a 1933 film I bought for The Husband several years ago when I got him several comedies on DVD. I found it recommended on some list of comedies somewhere, who knows where. We're just now getting around to it. Although it does have some amusing points, I honestly thought it was more sad and bittersweet than funny. It stars Marie Dressler (in one of her last films before her death in 1934), John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore and Billie Burke (Glinda the Good Witch of the North The Wizard of Oz).

trailer:



FilmSite.org describes it this way:
A masterfully-directed, poignant melodramatic comedy by director George Cukor and producer David O. Selznick, Dinner at Eight (1933) was filled with a tremendous cast of stars ... who are all invited to a Manhattan formal dinner party during the height of the Depression.
Slant Magazine gives it 3 out of 4 stars, points out a couple of weak links and says, "when it's great, all is forgiven." DVD Verdict concludes, "Fans of Hollywood's golden age have no excuse not to add this disc to their collections. ... for sheer pounds per inch of star quality—not to mention the behind-the-scenes talent—it's one of the greatest achievements of the early 1930s." DVD Bearer has some good still shots. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a score of 100%.

4 comments:

  1. Reading the reviews and descriptions of movies is an adventure in story telling sometimes. Some movies defy categorization and so dramas become comedies because it is hard to sell something as just a story.

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    1. yes, this one is hard to categorize. it's a picture of real life as much as any movie i've seen, with each character going through their own joys and sorrows adapting to life changes. filmsite's description "poignant melodramatic comedy" is good. i've never seen a film quite like this one with such a good balance of drama, comedy, tragedy, and character.

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  2. Anonymous7:31 AM

    I cared what happened to the characters, and that is the mark of a good story, I think.
    -- A Pal

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    1. yes, i agree. i was actively concerned about some of them.

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