Dinner at Eight

"HERE IS THE SCREEN'S CLIMAX OF GLAMOR AND THRILL THAT RAN OVER A YEAR ON BROADWAY! THE STAGE SMASH NOW A SENSATIONAL FILM TRIUMPH!"

1933 1h 51m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

🔥

91%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★6.8TMDB · 134🍅91%Rotten Tomatoes★7.5IMDB · 9,286

ComedyDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An ambitious New York socialite plans an extravagant dinner party as her businessman husband, Oliver, contends with financial woes, causing a lot of tension between the couple. Meanwhile, their high-society friends and associates, including the gruff Dan Packard and his sultry spouse, Kitty, contend with their own entanglements, leading to revelations at the much-anticipated dinner.

“HERE IS THE SCREEN'S CLIMAX OF GLAMOR AND THRILL THAT RAN OVER A YEAR ON BROADWAY! THE STAGE SMASH NOW A SENSATIONAL FILM TRIUMPH!”

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Cast

Marie Dressler
Carlotta Vance
John Barrymore
Larry Renault
Wallace Beery
Dan Packard
Jean Harlow
Kitty Packard
Lionel Barrymore
Oliver Jordan
Lee Tracy
Max Kane
Edmund Lowe
Dr. Wayne Talbot
Billie Burke
Millicent Jordan

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: George Cukor
Writers: John Meehan, Frances Marion, Herman J. Mankiewicz
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.0× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

93 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by George Cukor, shot by William H. Daniels. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by William Axt. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ben Lewis shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marie Dressler and John Barrymore and Wallace Beery carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "HERE IS THE SCREEN'S CLIMAX OF GLAMOR AND THRILL THAT RAN OVER A YEAR ON BROADWAY! THE STAGE SMASH NOW A SENSATIONAL FILM TRIUMPH!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

George Cukor directs. William H. Daniels behind the camera. William Axt scores. Ben Lewis cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 5.0× over at the box office.
393 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by George Cukor, shot by William H. Daniels. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by William Axt. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Ben Lewis shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Marie Dressler and John Barrymore and Wallace Beery carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "HERE IS THE SCREEN'S CLIMAX OF GLAMOR AND THRILL THAT RAN OVER A YEAR ON BROADWAY! THE STAGE SMASH NOW A SENSATIONAL FILM TRIUMPH!".
9IMDB entry: tt0023948 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 27 themes, including "adultery", "new york city", "businessman", "blackmail".
11Released under 28 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: William H. Daniels
Original score: William Axt
Editing: Ben Lewis
Costume design: Adrian
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Status: Released
Budget: $435,000
Box office: $2,156,000
Return: 496% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Dinner at Eight (1933)
Rotten Tomatoes: 91% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 9,286 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

1 win total

Also by

George Cukor

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-08-13
★ 10/10
Excellent. Part of my TCM Jean Harlow 4-pack, and the bonus feature-length doc on Harlow's short life and career is exemplary. Highly recommended to any Pre-Code connoisseurs--and I know you're out there...
barrymost2019-08-10
★ 9/10
One of great director George Cukor's best films, Dinner at Eight is a prime example of a Pre-Code era classic, and an excellent star vehicle for the combined multifarious talents of Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, Brothers Barrymore (Lionel and John), Jean Harlow, and Billie Burke, among others. Coupled with the great acting is the offbeat and alternately dramatic and humorous story line of the flighty hostess who plans an extravagant dinner party for a wealthy and highly-esteemed British couple who never do show up. The audience is introduced one by one to the various guests, as well as the host and hostess, and by the conclusion of the film, the viewer knows how and why each of them has chosen whether or not to accept the invitation, with each character's situation shown in an intimate, behind-the-scenes manner. Would I recommend? Yes, but please, don't go into this thinking you're in for a hyper, all-out screwball comedy. It's not. It's a comedy/drama leaning more toward the latter, and it's very...different. That's all.