Wow! Such a good movie.

Must See Movie...

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

. . . 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!

Despite receiving third billing, this film clearly stars Monty Woolley. After all, HE is the man who came to dinner--not Bette Davis or Ann Sheridan! But, since he was not a familiar name and never made that many films, these two big stars fro Warner Brothers get top billing. Now for me, a film that stars Woolley is a great thing--as he was able to make any film tremendously watchable and was a great character actor in films like "The Bishop's Wife" and "Since You Went Away". Without him, these films would have lacked his wonderful presence. Interestingly, Woolley had another outside career--he was a professor at Yale!! Sheridan Whiteside (Woolley) plays an obnoxious but very famous author (no one is a greater fan of the man than Whiteside). And, he holds the world in disdain in a way no other actor but Clifton Webb could have done! But Webb was still an unknown actor and the filmmakers' other choice (John Barrymore) was too sick from the final stages of alcoholism--so the choice of Woolley to play the role was a natural."The Man Who Came to Dinner" begins with Whiteside and his personal secretary (Bette Davis) arriving in yet another town during his public speaking/book tour. A family invites him over for dinner--not realizing that this simple dinner party would result in him staying for weeks! Whiteside slips outside the home and milks the family's generosity to the hilt by staying there--and creating a lot of upheaval in the process. What exactly? See this clever film to find out for yourself.The plot of this film is not the main reason to watch it--after all, the story is pretty simple and not all that remarkable. However, the dialog and acting are just lovely--making for a nice viewing experience throughout. Overall, a nice comedy that shows off Woolley's star power. Well worth seeing.

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.

The Christmas season would be nothing if it weren't for its movies. Indeed, gearing up for the big day with movies celebrating the cheer, zaniness, or headache that it brings are as time-honored as picking out the proper tree, baking cookies, or wrapping presents; it's one of our favorite Yuletide pastimes. The 1940s gave us a cinematic stocking stuffed with goodies that have endured as some of our most cherished annual classics: THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER, HOLIDAY INN, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, and MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET, among others. Another great seasonal helping from this time period is the often overlooked but scathingly brilliant THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER. Famed theater critic, radio personality, and all-around celebrity Alexander Woollcott certainly ensured that his far-reaching influence would be imprinted in the movies. Before serving as the impetus for the coveted character of Addison De Witt that won George Sanders an Oscar, he served as the focus for a play penned by theater luminaries George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (Pulitzer Prize winners for "You Can't Take it With You".)As the story goes, Woollcott demanded of Kaufman and Hart (who were close friends) that they write a play with him as its subject. The task proved unlikely until Woollcott one day showed up unannounced at Hart's estate, where he proceeded to commander the house by taking up station in the master's bedroom and terrorizing the staff. It didn't take H or K long to realize they had a hit.After declining their offer to play himself, H and K cast Monty Woolley in the role of Woollcott, renamed Sheridan Whiteside. Woolley was a former teacher at Yale who dabbled in acting and later radio. One in attendance for the play's enormously successful run was Bette Davis, who immediately returned to Hollywood with idea to have the play adapted to the screen. She was ecstatic about playing the atypical (for her) role of Whiteside's demure (yet quick-witted) secretary, as long as it meant acting alongside John Barrymore in the role of Whiteside. Barrymore showed interest and auditioned, but his ailing health and poor memory led to his displacement, allowing Woolley to reprise his Broadway triumph. Cranky author and radio personality Whiteside is giving a Christmas lecture tour. In a small Ohio town, he reluctantly accepts the invitation to dine at the affluent home of the Stanleys. A slip on their icy stairs, however, leaves him with an injury that he decides to milk for all it's worth. Taking command of their living quarters, he barks instructions and makes lofty demands. Along the way, he meddles in the affairs and love lives of everybody, including his loyal but droll secretary. As Christmas rapidly approaches, it appears that the Stanleys will have one more guest for the festivities...or they'll be the unwitting guests attending!THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER, adapted by the brothers Epstein (Julius and Philip), is characterized by its rapid, knife-edged wit. I mean lethal wit. The kind of wit that would whither J.J. Hunsucker. Whiteside is acid-tongued and relentless, flinging off zingers for every situation and at the expense of everybody who gets in his cantankerous path. The witticisms are sharp and outrageously clever, with a mordancy that borders on contempt. Whiteside is determined to not only be an unpleasant pin in the sides of his overwhelmed "hosts", but an unbearable pain in their behinds. Aside from his verbal executions, Whiteside turns the house upside down in a series of nonstop gags...he invites convicts to lunch, has a crate of penguins delivered so they can run amok, and converts the library into his private news sanctum from which he can issue his annual radio Christmas broadcast. Aside from Woollcott, other famed personalities appear as friends and acquaintances of Whiteside in thinly-veiled characterizations who drop in at their convenience and add to the mayhem. Jimmy Durante is Harpo Marx, Reginald Gardner is Noel Coward, and Ann Sheridan is Gertrude Lawrence (the latter bares her claws as she tries to steal the object of Davis' affections.)The major complaint I've encountered about THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER is that "it's too dated", and the humor is too period-trapped that it ceases to be relevant. The jokes are largely topical, true, referencing persons that would leave most people nowadays scratching their heads. However, I can't imagine anybody who appreciates well-constructed screen writing and intelligent humor to be put off by this. If anything, THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER serves as a reminder that humor was once approached with sophistication and worldliness. Some even accuse it of being too "mean-spirited" for a Christmas film, epitomized by the selfish and acerbic Whiteside. I think that's a ripe exaggeration, and besides, its sharp nature is what appeals to me. It's a fresh alternative to the typical Christmas film.. My only caveat is the "kooky step-sister" angle, which is not only crude, but it's only purpose is to function as a deus-ex-machina (it does provide the film with one of its best punchlines, however.) If you're as big a fan of dialogue-driven films as I am, and can appreciate a movie that dispels with the typical holiday fare in favor of smart albeit wicked humor, then THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER oughta be a dish digested with the rest of your Christmas banquet.So grab some thick eggnog and extra-hoppy beer, and enjoy a riotous double-bill with another "dark" perennial favorite of mine, THE REF. Cheers!