Dinner at Eight

When I think of comedy films from the 1930's,I tend to think of mile-a-minute Marx Brothers or Laurel and Hardy like romps.That's not what you get with Dinner at Eight.This was surprising,due to the fact that film placed 85th on the AFI's 100 Years,100 Laughs list some years ago.I'm not saying it is a poor film.Anything but.It's extremely well acted,well presented,and it does have it's humorous moments,but there are some depressing elements to the film as well that make me question why anyone would call it a comedy,let alone why it would make such a list.In the end,I would recommend it,but don't go in expecting a rip roaring slapstick film.You'll only be disappointed in that regard.

An early film from George Cukor from the 30's. More a filmed stage play than a piece of celluloid. The character appearances are more like stage entries than camera set-ups but what can you do when the early days of cinema were the beginnings of a learning curve of what could be done rather than what could not. Anyway, a dinner date is coming up & the various ho-polloi of the New York upper-crust are meeting for a meal. Various story lines are told w/o anything resembling depth & the cast is more than up to snuff for the cause. Wallace Beery & Jean Harlow are fantastic as the bickering couple, we get 2 Barrymore's (John & Lionel, Drew's grandfather & great uncle) & the priceless Marie Dressler who steals the show as a once grand dame of the stage now having to deal w/actual life.

MGM made several star studded films in the 1930s featuring all their most important stars--such as this movie and DINNER AT 8. They shared a common soap opera-like approach and bounced back and forth between the characters as they prepared for the big dinner party or, as with Grand Hotel, explored their lives in their rooms and in the hotel lobby. The acting in both was superb as were the writing and direction. Of the two films, this is the better (though both are well worth seeing). What I particularly liked was combining Marie Dressler with Jean Harlow--their banter together late in the film made seeing the first 90% of the film well worth it. Apart from that, all the other actors are in top form and this movie is a great example of the "full MGM treatment"--top stars, top writers, crisp direction and opulent surroundings. A great film.

What a cast - MGM's finest in a series of vignettes leading up to Mrs Jordan's dinner party (which we never actually see). Jean Harlow is at her wisecracking best and her most stunning; Marie Dressler and John Barrymore are terrific as washed-up actors; everyone is just excellent. Everything that can possibly go wrong does - you can't help but sympathise as Billie Burke's Mrs Jordan gradually gets more and more ruffled by the day's events. Some great one liners and yet another excellent entry on Cukor's CV.

Dinner at Eight is one of the consummate movie buff's movies... It has romance, glamour, wit, charm, intrigue, interesting characters and a great story. The agonies that Mrs. Oliver Jordan (the incomparable Billie Burke [Are you a good witch or a bad witch?]) must go through to stage what is supposed to be a simple dinner party will leave you laughing, sympathizing and grateful you are not her. Jean Harlow is at her most beautiful. She radiates an overt yet somehow innocent sexuality that shows why she became a major star so quickly. Marie Dressler proves why she was so heralded. Her acting cannot be called subtle -- but it is always effective. After watching this film you will wonder if people ever really did live this way. Strangely enough, I believe they probably did.