Watch The Man Who Came to Dinner For Free

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Just perfect...

Best movie ever!

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This film is worth watching for the very sharp and witty dialogue. It is still very funny and entertaining. Some of the best lines are towards the end, like Jimmy Durante hoisting up shocked nurse Mary Wickes in his arms and saying, "Meet me in my room in a half an hour with a loaf of rye bread!" Bette Davis does a decent job with a role that doesn't suit her very well, and she seems a bit melancholy, perhaps because the script requires her to play a cruel trick on an unsuspecting person. It doesn't seem like something her character would do, and the playwrights should have found another way to make the plot device happen. But don't let that spoil the fun, this is a light-hearted romp and should be enjoyed as such. Monty Woolley is perfect as Sheridan Whiteside, roaring like a lion and enjoying himself immensely in the role.

. . . this flick calls for ME to throw MY hat into the ring for 2020, and then pull a rabbit out of it. According to the String Theory from the Quantum Physics Laws, Warner Bros. has tapped Yours Truly to interpret the Cosmic Warning Signs Warner embeds into the fabric of its 1900s film offerings, just as Doonesbury was called upon in the 1900s to Project a Trump Presidency. BOTH of my namesakes--Edgar Allan Poe (at 29:30) and Winnie the Pooh (at 34:03)--are written into the script here, as well as a paraphrase of my Lizzie Borden comment provided to this site earlier in the week (at 1:47:19), and even a reference to the beleaguered rabbit I found in my front yard yesterday is thrown in (at 1:38:05). With Doonesbury having the power to install a self-proclaimed Russian spy most notable otherwise for being a Draft Dodger, Tax Cheat, Serial Finger Rapist, Casino Swindler, Wage Short-Changer, Compulsive Liar, Fraudulent "University" Founder, Court-Documented Spouse Assaulter, Malignant Narcissist, Emmy-Losing Game Show Host, KGB Money Launderer, and Terrorist Invader of Nude Teenage Girls' Beauty Pageant Changing Rooms as the U.S. Commander-in-Chief, surely ANY normal Citizen turning age 25 by 2020 has an even more likely chance to poke Dr. Heisenberg in the eye from Our Oval Office!

I'm really surprised at how many negative reviews there are for this film, considered by many (myself included) to be a comedy classic. In today's era when insult humor, sarcasm, cynicism, and downright nastiness are the status quo, one would expect a comedy with bite like this to be more beloved than most from the Golden Age. The story, adapted from George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's play, is about an acid-tongued radio personality (based on the real-life Alexander Woollcott) who is injured and forced to stay in the home of a Midwestern family over the Christmas season. He takes over their home, sticks his nose into their affairs, berates everyone, and proves himself to be the worst, most obnoxious houseguest ever.Despite being third-billed, Monty Woolley is the true star here in his signature role. He manages to make a jerk character likable long enough for us to eventually find out he does have a heart after all. He has almost all of the film's many quotable lines. Bette Davis is solid in a lesser part for her at this point in her career. She's very 'ordinary' here, which makes this a different kind of role for her but still fascinating for her fans. She also has one of my favorite lines from the film not spoken by Woolley - "Here I am a hard-bitten old cynic, behaving like Winnie the Pooh and liking it." Lovely Ann Sheridan, as a seductive diva, comes closest to stealing any of the scenes from Woolley. It's one of my favorite roles of hers and, no, not just because in one scene she goes braless under a blouse that leaves little to the imagination. I'm shocked that made it past the censors. The rest of the excellent cast includes Billie Burke, Jimmy Durante, Grant Mitchell, Reginald Gardiner, and Mary Wickes. The lone complaint I have about the cast is Richard Travis as the local journalist and would-be playwright who becomes Bette's love interest. He's insufferably corny, with a wooden line delivery that grates on the nerves. Someone like Dennis Morgan could have pulled off the "aww shucks" routine with far more charisma (and he probably would have thrown in a song, too). There is a staginess to the film at times, as there almost always was back in the day when they adapted plays to the screen. But the script is so good and the cast so nice that it didn't bother me. It's a great movie that most classic film fans will enjoy, particularly fans of Sheridan and Woolley.

Robert Osborne of TCM said that Warners intended John Barrymore but the Great Profile was too ill by 1942) for the role of Sheridan Whiteside (whose real life model was columnist & broadcaster Alexander Woolcott. Monty Woolley, who originated the role on Broadway (if one can originate what is a copy of the original) brought his smart performance from stage to screen. Others including Clifton Webb, Orson Welles, Simon Callow, Vincent Price and Nathan Lane have attempted the role with various degrees of success, and no doubt Barrynmore would have been great in the juicy, flamboyant role. Indeed, The Man Who Came to Dinner (MWCD), like all scripts written by George S. Kaufman and his various collaborator (Edna Ferber, Mac Connolly and Moss Hart) offers a great roles for all its actors. The screen cast was excellent, especially Reginald Gardiner who, in the role of Mr Beverly Carlton) captured Noel Coward perfectly. Gardiner and Monty Woolley recreated their roles for TV in 1954 (CBS' Best of Broadway 1954). Surprising to me was that Bette Davis actually underplayed and fit very nicely into the ensemble as the sane counterweight to a bunch of madcap egoists. Ann Sheridan sparkled in the slightly unpleasant role based on Gertrude Lawrence. And when did Billie Burke ever disappoint? Jimmy Durante played Banjo (based on Harpo Marx who, as a bachelor, palled around with the same sophisticated set in real life). Davey Burns created Banjo on Broadway, but Durante worked as a more famous casting choice, though in the 1954 Best of Broadway TV revival of this play, Banjo was played by Bert Lahr, and I preferred Lahr's performance. Although Mary Wickes was perfect as the nurse (she played the role in the Broadway production as well as in the film), Zasu Pitts was even more suited to the nurse ("Miss Bedpan!") role in the telecast, and casting Buster Keaton as the doctor in the TV version was brilliant. Most Kaufman plays, including MWCD, written with various partners (who probably supplied structure), remain playable and funny today. He was a master.