Dinner at Eight is a 1933 pre-code film directed by George Cukor and features an all-star cast that includes several screen legends in Lionel Barrymore, John Barrymore, Jean Harlow, Wallace Berry, Billie Burke, and Marie Dressler. It’s the story of a dinner party with both the hosts and the guests all having issues!
Millicent Jordan (Bille Burke, The Wizard of Oz) is thrilled to learn that Lord and Lady Ferncliffe, the richest couple in England, have accepted her invitation to her upcoming dinner party. Millicent and her husband Oliver (Lionel Barrymore, Mark of the Vampire, It’s a Wonderful Life) run into problems looking for wealthy or high-society guests for the occasion. Not only that, but the Jordan’s have their own problems as the shipping company they run which is on the decline due to The Great Depression, and everyone is selling their stock.
They invite Dan (Wallace Berry, Grand Hotel, The Champ) and his spoiled rotten, lazy, gold-digging wife Kitty (Jean Harlow, Red Dust, Red-Headed Woman) Packard who are having problems. Kitty is having an affair with her doctor Wayne Talbot (Edmund Lowe, Chandu, the Magician, Dillinger) and there isn’t anything Dan can do about it without causing a scandal that would ruin his political career.
Millicent also invites matinée idol Larry Renault (John Barrymore, A Bill of Divorcement, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), a family friend who is in town staying at the Versailles Hotel. Unknown to Millicent, her engaged daughter Paula (Madge Evans, Espionage, The Thirteenth Chair) is having an affair with him. Laura wants and plans to tell her parents of her love for Larry which would be scandalous. Larry’s agent, Max Kane (Lee Tracy, Doctor X, Power of the Press) also is forced to tell him that his star has fallen and is nothing more than a has-been actor. It still gets worse for Larry, who gets drunk over how his life has reached a low point. This leads to Carlotta Vance (Marie Dressler, The Girl Said No) to have a long conversation with Paula about her affair when they are at the dinner party that Renault is not part of. Carlotta is aware of the affair as she lives next door to Renault.
George Cukor’s Dinner at Eight is a terrific pre-code melodrama with the director showing why he was one of the greatest directors ever, to go with a cast of superstars all handing in fantastic performances. There’s a lot of plot and storytelling going on with this film, with an abundance of rich dialogue with smooth direction that makes the nearly two-hour film move quickly. The dialogue exchange between Carlotta and Paula is priceless as Carlotta is basically told that she’s too old to understand the hearts of the young and is out of touch with today’s youth. Carlotta however understands secret relationships which she can explain to Paula. Dan and Kitty Packard also have a super-electrifying, heated, hold nothing back type of argument which, at the time, had to be a real shocker as to what was said.
Dinner at Eight arrives on Blu-ray thanks to the Warner Archive Collection. The black and white image is crisp and clean without any damages. Sharp whites, deep inky blacks and a balanced grey scale with excellent shadow detail sum it up. There are plenty of details that shine in this new Blu-ray. Interior shots look outstanding with plenty of indoor scenery looking the best it ever had. It is a nice, polished look to it and is a substantial upgrade over the DVD.
Warner’s English DTS Master Audio 2.0 soundtrack for this release also sounds healthy with rich dialogue all throughout. There isn’t much in the way of music or action sounds and is basically a dialogue only film. No age-related issues such as popping, hissing or drop-offs were detected. English subtitles are available
The extras from the DVD have been ported over. This release has the 45-minute documentary entitled “Harlow the Blonde Bombshell”, a musical comedy short called “Come to Dinner” and a theatrical trailer.
The release by Warner Archive to me is as majestic as the film itself. The film’s audio and video are top-notch and was given the attention that this film deserves. Classic film fans should have no qualms about picking this gem up!
Dinner at Eight
Director- George Cukor
Cast- Lionel Barrymore, Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow
Country of Origin- US
Distributor – Warner Archive / Warner Home Video
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date – 12/5/2021