Dinner at the Ritz

For French movie star Annabella, Darryl F. Zanuck was like God - he gaveth and he taketh away.

While he was in a giving mood, he starred her in 1937's "Dinner at the Ritz," also starring David Niven, Paul Lucas, and Francis L. Sullivan.

The scene is Paris. A banker, Racine, is giving a party at his estate, when he is shot dead. Racine had been troubled by problems at his bank - a conspiracy, in fact, that could be its downfall.

He had sent a letter naming six men who are most likely the guilty ones. However, the letter doesn't arrive. The police rule the death a suicide.

His daughter (Annabella) is sure it was murder. She sets out to learn the truth and perhaps recoup money for her father's customers.

This quest takes her to Monte Carlo and London, and she at different times disguises herself as Spanish royalty and Indian royalty.

This is a sophisticated film, replete with beautiful gowns, real European locations, and some light comedy. A problem, however, was that at that point, Annabella's accent was not easy to understand. In spite of this, she is very good.

Then one day Annabella walked onto the set of Suez and met her costar, Tyrone Power. They fell in love. Contrary to popular belief, studio heads did not want their romantic leading men married.

When Zanuck saw the wedding bells on the wall, he offered Annabella three films that were to be made in Europe. Hmm.... Movies.... Tyrone Power...Guess what she chose. And Zanuck stopped her star build-up.

Annabella and Tyrone did radio and stage work together, and after their divorce, she returned to France. After an unhappy second marriage, Power visited her and asked to reconcile. However, it was too late.

That all happened later - see Annabella and David Niven, who in fact were to be involved in a tragedy in 1946 when Niven's wife died in the Power home, in happier times.

"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.

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.

David Niven, location shots in 30's Paris, and someone named Annabella, I just had to check it out Dinner at the Ritz. Niven is as pleasant and enjoyable as I was expecting. Annabella was as beautiful as I imagined and not completely lacking in acting skills either. There's sparkling jewels, a jewel heist, a yacht, lovely gowns, music and dancing, along with a murder hunt. Unfortunately the story and script in large part let all of those wonderful elements down. There isn't really much intrigue or suspense, nor even a thrill, it just kinds of moves along and looks nice. Despite the shortcomings it's not completely unwatchable, which I guess makes it kind of watchable, at least for the genuinely curious.

The plot reveals itself early, there isn't any suspense to speak of and most of the jokes are weak. However! There are some bright spots:

If you remain interested after the first 45 minutes, you will find more jokes to be entertained by, although some of these moments are merely incidental. Shooting on-location in Europe provides a welcome change of pace. The dialog, which is smoothly and stylishly delivered by a "classic" cast of capable actors, adds to the film's overall camp value. The cast provides some worthwhile moments, but you must be patient. I also enjoyed the costumes but if I am going to watch a movie from this era solely for costumes and dialog, this wouldn't be my first pick. If you like film from this era (I do) and already are familiar with the cast (I am), then I might recommend it. If you are not familiar with the period and the actors, I recommend finding something else to watch. The film isn't immensely popular so if you've come this far then you probably know what you're getting into.