Watched it for the umpteenth time last night–really, I can recite it word for word by now. Still one of my favorite movies ever, I get sucked in every time it is on TV. So many brilliant moments:
The battling Jean Harlow and Wallace Beery (who actually did hate each other).
Jean’s wonderfully menacing maid Tina.
John Barrymore: his every moment was brilliant, esp. as they basically cast him as himself, which was both cruel and genius.
Lee Tracy’s final kiss-off to John Barrymore: was there ever a more vicious goodbye?
Marie Dressler, over-the-top and wonderful (“We must have a nice chat about the Civil War sometime . . . just you and I.”)
Billie Burke’s “The Ferncliffes aren’t coming to dinner!” aria of despair.
And the sets! The costumes! The script! One of the few instances I know where they *improved *the Broadway show it was based on. Any other *Dinner *fans here?
Yes, I watched it too. And I kept the remote when my husband came home, so he couldn’t switch the channel. He came around a little bit: “Is she the daughter? Is that where they’re having the dinner? Look! Aspic shaped like a dog! No, it’s a lion!”
John “The Great Profile” – that couldn’t have been more obvious.
Wish I could have been home all day to watch Marie. But I have Pandora’s Box set to DVR next Monday.
Even May Robson, in her tiny role as the cook, was amazing–did you hear her voice get all weepy and squeaky while she was explaining to Billie Burke why she had to drop the aspic on the floor?
Eeeee!!! :D:D:D My people!!! I’ve recommended this movie every time the subject comes up! It is really brilliant, it has comedy, tragedy, satire, and razor sharp wit!!!
“Someday in the future, machines are going to take over every profession!”
“Oh my dear, that’s something YOU’LL never have to worry about!” LOL!
And Jean Harlow’s clothes! So over the top! Loved when she chewed out Wallace Beery, winding up with “ya big windbag!”
Love. Love. LOVE this movie, it never gets old for me.
And the poor dowdy old cousin: “I always wanted to be a penthouse girl”
Trivia: the dog was originally named Mussolini, but the Italian government complained and Marie had to dub in “Tarzan.” You can hear the difference in the soundtrack, all the background noise disappears when she says the line.
There are so many lines from this movie I quote in conversation: “Gee, I *like *it in New York in the summer–I’ve had some *swell *times at penthouse parties . . .” “I was a sweet young girl this morning–*now *look at me . . .” “You’re a extrovert and I’m a introvert. That means I gotta be quiet a good deal an’ have time to reflect in . . .” And when aging ex-stars are mentioned: “*And *Jenny Lind? Will she be coming, too?”
Years ago when I was on my “Watch every movie in IMDB’s top 250 plus several of the AFI Top 100 lists” kick - I really need to find a shorter way to explain that - Dinner at Eight was one of the trickier ones to come by. (The winners of the ‘hard to find’ competition were Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last and the Freshman, both of which I was able to check off due to a TCM Harold Lloyd tribute one April.) I think I grabbed it on VHS originally, but now I have it on DVD.
One of my all-time favorite films. My film instructor in college touted it as one of the best ever made.
What’s not to love about that top-notch cast? Harlow was and is nearly the best thing in it. And that’s saying something, considering who she was on set with.
Nope. Eight is just when proper dinner parties used to commence.
This movie is so much better than the all-star Grand Hotel, which is such a downer, and contains a lot of *unintentional *over-acting. (And why was Wallace Beery the only actor attempting a German accent in Grand Hotel? Didn’t anyone tips him off, “Umm, Wally, none of the rest of us are doing that . . .”).
Darn. I grew up with a supper-time later than most and used The Lady is a Tramp for proof 8p.m. wasn’t evil. It would have backed up my defense to have Disney on my side
