Everyone at some point has had a guest who won’t leave, and there’s a reason why the phrase “wear out their welcome” exists. And let’s face it, sometimes we ourselves are very annoying to others as well. That’s the hilarious basis to William Keighley’s still-accessible 1942 adaptation of The Man Who Came to Dinner, based on the 1939 stage play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart.
Buy The Man Who Came to Dinner from MovieZyngThe abrasively charming Monty Woolley (reprising his renowned role from the play) stars as Sheridan Whiteside, a tart-tongued, New York radio host who makes a pit stop in the small, fictional town of Mesalia, Ohio during his lecture tour. He is scheduled to have dinner in the home of bourgeois couple Daisy and Ernest Stanley (Billie Burke and Grant Mitchell) as publicity. After he slips on their icy steps, he is confined in their home (his choice mind you) where he proceeds to make a living hell for not just the Stanleys, but also his put-upon nurse Miss Preen (a brilliant Mary Wickes, also reprising her role from the play) and his dutiful but levelheaded assistant Maggie (Bette Davis in an against-type but winning role), where he tries to sabotage her new relationship with a suave newspaperman (Richard Travis) by bringing in alluring actress Lorraine (a wonderful Ann Sheridan), not to mention some mischievous penguins and an octopus!
Despite being a mile-a-minute screwball comedy of manners and an almost uncomfortable character study, the laughs do not come from a place of abject cruelty, but rather the sheer ridiculousness of the situation at hand. Whiteside isn’t always a nitwit; he does have his moments of genuine humanity. There are also other characters who are willing to match his erratic behavior including Banjo (a standout Jimmy Durante), his manic but lovable best friend, and Beverly Carlton (Reginald Gardiner), practical joker and expert mimic.
The Man Who Came to Dinner is also one of the best films to watch during the holidays where the wintry setting becomes a catalyst for everything that happens. Being an 84-year-old film, the comedy still works and the characters feel authentic. The actors mesh well together and the dialogue still hits like darts despite the film being appropriately stagey. It remains a classic film that I always find joy in no matter how many times I’ve seen it.
Buy The Man Who Came to Dinner from AmazonSpecial features include archival featurette Inside a Classic Comedy; WB musical short Glen Gray and His Casa Loma Orchestra; classic WB cartoon The Wabbit Who Came to Supper; audio-only broadcasts: Hotpoint Holiday Hour with Jack Benny & Rosalind Russell and Lux Radio Theater with Clifton Webb & Lucille Ball; and a trailer.
