Dinner at Eight . Austin Chronicle . 10-26-98

Dinner at Eight

DIRECTED BY: George Cukor

REVIEWED: 10-26-98

With a core consisting of the harsh ingredients of life, and a crust as sweet as Portuguese bread, Dinner at Eight is a cinematic feast for the ages. Some 65 years since its original release, this comedy/drama still holds up like a premier soufflé. As a whimsical socialite, Mrs. Oliver Jordan (Billie Burke), and her ill husband (Lionel Barrymore) prepare for an important dinner party, an assortment of tragedies and comedies rise upon their friends and family. A virtual swarm of screen legends, including John Barrymore as a fading film star, Marie Dressler as a fading theatre star, and Jean Harlow as a social-climbing, white-trash tramp, pervade the action. And full of action it is. Dramatic tension flies high over director George Cukor's nest of relationships, all laced with love, suicide, financial ruin, divorce, and class inspection. But as deftly as Cukor helms the action, the real hero of the film is the script. Written by Herman J. Mankiewicz (along with Frances Marion and Donald Ogden Stewart) the cast belches out one zinger after the next, leading up to a final exchange between Marie Dressler and Jean Harlow that would leave a savory flavor in even the most discriminating critic's mouth.

--Marcel Meyer

Other Films by George Cukor
A Double Life

Film Vault Suggested Links
Edge of Seventeen
Outside Providence
Twice Upon A Yesterday

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