Dinner at the Ritz

Entertaining mystery for 30s film fans with decent dialogue and a plot that moves along smartly. Although predictable, the plot elements seem logical. David Niven is his usual charming self, and handles his confused love interest with a believable flair. One `groaner' moment near the end when the bad guy doesn't do you-know-what.

"Dinner at the Ritz" is a crime, murder mystery and romance. It's a 20th Century Fox film made through its London offices and filmed at Denham Studios. Although the title simply refers to a dinner meeting where the film ends, it otherwise has nothing to do with the story. It's an interesting plot that starts in Paris, moves to the Riviera and Monaco, and then jumps up to London. The film editing seems a little choppy and the overall quality of the DVD I have is not very good

The film has a superb cast. The leads are Annabella, Paul Lukas, David Niven and Francis L. Sullivan. A slew of well-known supporting actors of the day contribute nicely to the story.

It's a very nice and interesting mystery with a couple of unusual twists. This is a film that could use restoring. Mystery fans should like it, and the romance between Niven's Paul de Brack and Annabella's Ranie Racine is developed very nicely.

Firstly can I clear up the confusion of other reviewers.This is a British film made at Denham studios. It is a dull thriller made worse by the almost incomprehensible accent of Anabella.

Stewart Rome's bank has gone bust, and Rome has been trying to track down the swindlers who conned him. Then he seems to have committed suicide, leaving his daughter, Annabella, to penniless as the auction of his effects and belongings will go to his depositors. Meanwhile, Romney Brent is trying to get the name of the six men who did the swindle. It's in a letter from Rome, but the bad guys, led by Paul Lucas and Francis L. Sullivan are trying to get their hands on it before the authorities, in the person of David Niven do. When Annabella is in Monte Carlo, deliberately losing at baccarat to enable a jeweler to get top dollar for his wares, they all meet.

It's a preposterous series of events, carried on the charms of Annabella, and she does a very good job of it, both in her native guise, and imitating a Spanish noblewoman. Brent worked with Roland Pertwee on the screenplay, and director Harold Schuster seems to have been trying for a screwball comedy. The result is erratic, but always watchable. With Frederick Leister, Bill Shine, Nora Swinburne, and an uncredited role for Patricia Medina in her first screen appearance.

Annabella is engaged to Paul Lukas, but when her fiancé's car crashes into David Niven's car, it's love at first sight! But Dinner at the Ritz isn't a love triangle; it's a mystery. . . Shortly after the arrival of the "other man", Annabella's father is murdered during a house party. The police have ruled it a suicide, but the devoted daughter knows better, and with a bit of help, she sets out to find her father's killer.

The plot of Dinner at the Ritz was very entertaining. The biggest problem was the casting. Most of the actors, save David Niven and Paul Lukas, never grew up to be very famous, and there were two or three men who looked so similar I kept getting them confused. And when one of them was very clearly a good guy, and the other just as clearly a bad guy, I would have preferred one of the pseudo-twins to have dyed his hair or grown a mustache! The two leads were very cute, though. Annabella was charming, The Niv was dashing, and they both were very convincing in their pursuit of their young love. All in all, it's a cute movie, and if you like oldies, you could do a lot worse than Dinner at the Ritz.