As an aspiring New York socialite prepares for a lavish dinner party, her guests find themselves consumed by a tangle of business, romantic, and personal crises - all of which come to a head... Read allAs an aspiring New York socialite prepares for a lavish dinner party, her guests find themselves consumed by a tangle of business, romantic, and personal crises - all of which come to a head on the big night.As an aspiring New York socialite prepares for a lavish dinner party, her guests find themselves consumed by a tangle of business, romantic, and personal crises - all of which come to a head on the big night.
- Awards
- 6 wins total
Featured reviews
Following the great success of GRAND HOTEL in 1932, MGM & producer David O. Selznick embarked on producing an even greater all-star triumph. They succeeded. DINNER AT EIGHT takes a first class list of performers at the top of their form (Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Billie Burke) and seamlessly, if a bit implausibly, weaves a plot full of comedy & tragedy which allows each star to strut their stuff.
Dressler was Hollywood's top star at this time and she is wonderful, fingering her jewelry - each piece a remembrance of an ancient romance. She has only one scene with gorgeous Harlow and that comes at the very end of the film, but it's a classic.
The rest of the cast is a wonderful grab bag of talent: peppery Lee Tracy, elderly Louise Closser Hale, gentle Jean Hersholt, as well as Phillips Holmes, Edmund Lowe, Karen Morley, Madge Evans, Grant Mitchell, Elizabeth Patterson, May Robson, Herman Bing.
Take a moment to consider Edward Woods, playing Eddie the bell boy. The year before at Warner Brothers he had traded roles with James Cagney in a little picture called PUBLIC ENEMY. Cagney became an instant, huge celebrity. Woods continued to play bell boy roles...
Of course, there are plenty of comic moments. Billie Burke's performance as Mrs. Jordon is hilarious as her prime concern is that her carefully planned dinner party is coming apart before her very eyes. She comes across as a kinder, gentler Marie Antoinette when she acts like the accidental destruction of her centerpiece dish, a lion-shaped aspic, is the end of the world. Although many have said that Jean Harlow steals this picture, and her talents do shine through, I think Marie Dressler's comic touches really help make the film. For example, when a forty-something secretary mentions that she saw Dressler's character perform "when she was a little girl." Dressler replies that the two must get together some evening and discuss the Civil War. Dressler also makes the very last scene of the movie. As everyone is going into dinner, she finds herself in conversation with Harlow's character. First off, she does a hilarious double-take when Harlow mentions she's been reading a book. Next,Harlow tells Marie Dressler how this book she has been reading says that machinery will soon take over every profession. Marie Dressler looks Jean Harlow up and down as only she could do and says "My dear I don't think you need to worry about that."
"Dinner at Eight" is a comedy, at heart, but there are elements of drama in it, as well. On the one hand, it offers easy laughter for the viewer, but it also has a dark aspect in its dealing with alcoholism and adultery. The film, like its predecessor, offers several story lines that keeps us interested in the different relationships the film presents for us.
"Dinner at Eight" boasts one of the best casts ever assembled for a movie. Marie Dressler, who is seen as Carlota Vance, was one of the best actresses working in the movies at the time. Lionel and John Barrymore had been seen together in "Grand Hotel" and both play pivotal parts in this film as well. The effervescent Billie Burke is one of the best things in the movie. Ms. Burke was one bright star whose contribution to the success of the films she appeared in was a guarantee for the people behind any project.
Wallace Beery plays the boorish and influential industrialist Dan Packard, a man to be reckoned with. Jean Harlow portrays his wife, the low life Kitty, who was two-timing Dan. In a way, Dan and Kitty seem to have been the prototypes for Garson Kanin's "Born Yesterday" because both characters bear a certain similarity in both films.
The supporting members of the cast are impressive. Edmund Lowe, Lee Tracy, Madge Evans, Louise Closser Hale, May Robson, Jean Hersholt, Karen Morley, and the rest, aside from giving good performances, leave their own mark in the film.
A great cinematographer was behind the camera for this movie: William Daniels. His amazing work is one of the best in any of the pictures he photographed. Mr. Daniels knew how to direct his camera to get the most out of these talented actors one sees in "Dinner at Eight" Of course, this is a film that bears the David O. Selznick signature, for it was he who decided to transform the play into a motion picture and he succeeded in doing it. Most of the creditor must go to director George Cukor, who was truly inspired in making "Dinner at Eight" a movie that has endured the passage of time.
What was remarkable to me about the film was its timelessness. So many of the problems and situations embedded in the plot can be found in the headlines of today's newspapers and tabloids. Of course economic downturns, adultery, and social-climbing are common fodder for movies, but it is unusual for classic films to go into some of the nasty details without becoming melodramatic; they describe sexual addiction, for heaven's sake! I've never seen humanity so realistically portrayed in a classic film before (despite the moments that some would call "over-acting") and so this movie made me feel more connected to the past than I have ever before.
Did you know
- TriviaBravely, it seems, John Barrymore -- who struggled with chronic alcoholism that would lead to his death at age 60 in 1942 -- plays the has-been actor Larry Renault, who is also addicted to the bottle. And like his character Renault, he was in the midst of ending a third marriage, which would happen within a year.
- GoofsWhen Carlotta gives Ed her dog, introducing him as "Tarzan", her lips don't match the word. She is saying "Mussolini", but the line was changed.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Kitty: I was reading a book the other day.
Carlotta: [Taken aback and nearly trips] Reading a book?
Kitty: Yes, it's all about civilization or something. A nutty kind of a book. Do you know that the guy says that machinery is going to take the place of every profession?
Carlotta: [Looking her over] Oh, my dear, that's something you need never worry about.
[Proceeds walking to the dining room.]
Carlotta: Say, I want to sit next to Oliver! Oliver, where are you?
- Alternate versionsAlso available in a computer colorized version.
- ConnectionsEdited into Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972)
- SoundtracksI Loved You Then As I Love You Now
(1927) (uncredited)
(From Our Dancing Daughters (1928))
Music by William Axt and David Mendoza
Played during the opening credits
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Dinner at 8
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $435,000 (estimated)
- Runtime
- 1h 51m(111 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1