#720) Dinner at Eight (1933)

Why It Matters: Goddammit Class of 2023, why are your write-ups so bad? The film’s official write-up on the NFR website gives a plot recap but no reasoning behind its induction, with the only superlative going to Jean Harlow’s character – “sultry”. The NFR 2023 press release, however, singles out George Cukor’s ability to successfully adapt plays into films, and heralds the ensemble as “arguably one of the greatest assembled to that point in cinema history.” Why wouldn’t you just copy and paste the press release paragraph to the official NFR page?

But Does It Really?: “Dinner at Eight’ is one of those movies that, while not as well remembered today, has lingered on in pop culture enough that its NFR inclusion isn’t too farfetched. Overall, the movie still provides plenty of laughs over 90 years later, though a few of these subplots border on the melodramatic and prevent the film from being an all-out laugh fest. While the whole ensemble is great, in true Cukor fashion this is a “women’s picture”, with Billie Burke, Marie Dressler, and Jean Harlow giving the standout performances. At a time when less and less Classic Hollywood movies are getting inducted into the NFR, I’m glad somebody remembered to add “Dinner at Eight”.

Everybody Gets One: A lifelong veteran of the theater, Marie Dressler found film success in the first feature-length film comedy, 1914’s “Tillie’s Punctured Romance” with Mabel Normand and Charlie Chaplin. Although her acting career waned in the 1920s, Dressler found new success in the sound era at MGM, winning one of the first Best Actress Oscars for her performance in “Min and Bill” alongside her future “Dinner at Eight” co-star Wallace Beery. Sadly, “Dinner at Eight” is one of Marie Dressler’s final films, as she died of cancer the summer after the film’s release at age 65.

Wow, That’s Dated: Obviously there’s references to the Great Depression, plus obscure shoutouts to Peter Stuyvesant, Jenny Lind, and John L. Sullivan (presumably the boxer and not the local car dealership).

Seriously, Oscars?: “Dinner at Eight” received no nominations at the 6^th annual Oscars, though several of the film’s creatives were nominated that year for other films: director George Cukor for “Little Women”, screenwriter Frances Marion for “The Prizefighter and the Lady”, and actor May Robson for “Lady for a Day”.

• The brief scene of Marie Dressler, Lionel Barrymore, and Wallace Beery together made me theorize that “Dinner at Eight” may be the earliest film to feature three Oscar winning actors after their wins. There had only been five ceremonies up to this point, so it’s possible.
• Like most movies from the 1930s, “Dinner at Eight” has dialogue that contains so much era-specific jargon and obscure references that it makes modern viewings more challenging. It’s almost like watching a Shakespeare play: you have to really pay attention to the dialogue, but a good cast can still get the main points across. “Dinner at Eight” is a very entertaining film, but there’s a little bit more homework you have to do to fully appreciate it.
• MGM meta-reference #1: Millicent’s cousin Hattie mentions her husband constantly going to the movies, referring to herself as a “Garbo widow”.
• Jean Harlow has more dialogue in her first scene of this movie than she had in all of “The Public Enemy“. The character of Kitty could easily be grating or unlikeable in the wrong hands, but Harlow gives her a lot of life. Harlow had such command of her vocal register; shifting from low and natural to high and whiny so well that you sense it’s all strategic on Kitty’s part to get what she wants. 

• Billie Burke is absolutely delightful in this. Watching Millicent try to maintain a chipper disposition as her dinner plans continue to unravel is the funniest part of the movie. Glinda the Good Witch may be Burke’s legacy, but this is her best performance.

• Despite being one of the most acclaimed actors of his or any generation, John Barrymore can’t do much with his subplot as a depressed has-been actor, dragging the picture to a grinding halt. Adding insult to injury, he doesn’t even have any scenes with his brother!

• A few of the actors in smaller parts deserve mention here as well. Larry’s agent is played by Lee Tracy, who 30 years later would receive an Oscar nomination for playing a dying ex-president in “The Best Man”. The stage producer who meets with Larry is played by Jean Hersholt, of “Humanitarian Award” fame. Among the hotel staff are a waiter played by Herman Bing, who also voices the Ringmaster in “Dumbo“, and a bellboy played by Edward Woods, whose post-“Public Enemy” career clearly didn’t take off as much as Harlow’s or James Cagney’s.
• MGM meta-reference #2: Carlotta’s dog is named Tarzan, though if you listen closely you can tell that the dog’s name has been dubbed over. It was originally written to be Mussolini, but a cautious MGM had it changed to something less controversial and more synergetic.
• I was very patient with this movie’s first half, knowing that most of it was necessary set-up for the film’s second half, which I presumed would take place during the dinner. As the second half of the movie went along, I kept asking “But when do they get to the dinner?” This movie should be on a double feature with “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” as two NFR movies about people gathering for a titular dinner we never actually see!
• Despite my frustrations, “Dinner at Eight” ends with an exchange between Kitty and Carlotta that has one of the best curtain lines of any movie.

• “Dinner at Eight” is another one of those classic movies that gets referenced more than it gets parodied. Clips from “Dinner at Eight” pop up any time there’s a retrospective on one of its cast or crew, and the title is a mainstay of many sitcoms, including an early episode of “Frasier”.
• To date there have been two remakes of “Dinner at Eight”, both for TV. A one-hour version starring Mary Astor and Pat O’Brien aired in 1955 on CBS’ short-lived “Front Row Center”, and a modernized version aired on TNT in 1989 with an all-star cast including Marsha Mason, Charles Durning, John Mahoney, and Lauren Bacall.

• The original stage version of “Dinner at Eight” gets revived from time to time, with two revivals on Broadway, though neither ran as long as the original 1932 production. In 2017, “Dinner at Eight” was adapted into an opera, which…sure why not?
• And finally, you can definitely see the influence Jean Harlow’s performance had on Lesley Ann Warren’s work as James Garner’s “moll” in “Victor/Victoria”. The hair, the clothes, the voice: it’s all there.