Dinner at Eight

Details

Release year: 1933

Storyline

As an aspiring New York socialite prepares for a lavish dinner party, her guests find themselves consumed by a tangle of business, romantic, and personal crises - all of which come to a head on the big night.

Top credits

Did you know

• Bravely, it seems, John Barrymore -- who struggled with chronic alcoholism that would lead to his death at age 60 in 1942 -- plays the has-been actor Larry Renault, who is also addicted to the bottle. And like his character Renault, he was in the midst of ending a third marriage, which would happen within a year.

• Jean Harlow got along with all of her co-stars, except Wallace Beery. She had worked with him before in The Secret 6 (1931) and the two had developed a dislike for each other that carried over. Beery thought that Harlow wasn't experienced enough as an actress and treated her rudely. Harlow found Beery gruff and boorish. Since the two were playing a husband and wife that can't stand each other, the real-life feelings worked to the comic benefit of the characters.

• Marie Dressler was impressed with Jean Harlow. She recalled in her autobiography, "It was whispered behind more than one hand that Jean Harlow, Metro's much-advertised platinum menace, was picked for parts that called for more allure than art. And in Dinner at Eight, she had to throw a bomb in the works by proving that she is a first-rate actress! Her performance as the wife of the hard-boiled, self-made politician played by Wallace Beery belongs in that limited category of things which may with reason be called rare. The plain truth is, she all but ran off with the show!"

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Technical specs

Sound mix

Mono

Aspect ratio

1.37 : 1

Color

Black and White