Come to Dinner

A great surprise to see this simply delightful comedy parody of MGM's Dinner at Eight, done by Warner Brothers Vitaphone, carefully by passing copyright of course. Once listed as missing presumed lost, but listed in Halliwell's Guides, I had long tried to see the film, but it never surfaced till now, and it is a delight to those who know the original MGM film so well. Even the sets are duplicated, along with the most famous scenes.

The Actors are superb, the Carlotta character rivalling Marie Dressler..and the actor doing John Barrymore is so accurate, along with Lionel Barrymore's impersonation, to the life. Dated in some ways, a viewer who comes on this cold, will dismiss the comedy, as they may not know the real version at all. I suspect that Billie Burke winced a bit at the interpretation of stage voice, but I hope the originals all saw the joke. The talented, but uncredited actors are a revelation, all could have held down Hollywood careers, but were in the main Broadway stage performers.

I expect the origins of the film lay in the war between Louis Meyer, and Jack Warner, with many films as efforts to be one up on each other, as with the Musical films of the late twenties and early thirties.

This is one of two special features included on the DVD release for "Dinner at Eight". Unlike the typical biography, 'making of' flick or cartoon, "Come to Dinner" is a parody of the feature film. It seems that they used lookalikes for the main characters from "Dinner at Eight" for a 20 minute condensed version of the movie. Its humor was often rather subtle and would not really be appreciated unless you first saw the feature film. Though I must admit some (such as the mass suicide) were a bit low-brow. In addition, there are some musical numbers (something NOT in the original). So why would they make such a film? Well, it was NOT made by MGM (who made "Dinner at Eight") but rival studio Warner Brothers--who were mocking the film as well as trying to cash in on the movie's success! Clever but not brilliant.

Come to Dinner (1934)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

This two-reeler from Vitaphone spoof their rivals DINNER AT EIGHT and we also get lookalike actors taking over the parts originally played by Lionel and John Barrymore, Jean Harlow and Mari Dressler. Obviously, if you've seen the classic 1933 movie then you're going to get more of the jokes. With that said, if you haven't seen the original then you'll still be mildly entertained by this short as long as you recognize who they're spoofing. I'd say my favorite moments here are the ones dealing with the Barrymore's. The spoof of John is pretty spot on and especially the stuff dealing with him not being able to find an acting part. The guy playing Lionel also does a very good job and manages to get a couple nice laughs. This film does add a musical number, which is actually pretty good and there are also a few more gags that are certainly pre-code material. With all that that being said, I'm really not sure why Warner would want to make this thing unless there was just a behind-the-scenes joke going on or perhaps the original film was just so popular that they figured this spoof would go over well.

This is a thoroughly charming, funny satire of MGM's all-star "Dinner at Eight" (1933). With tongue-in-cheek dignity, the cast impersonates the characters with precision. Anyone familiar with the original roles and actors will have no trouble appreciating the impressions. The script, by A. Dorian Otvos and Eddie Moran, deftly follows the original storyline, except for some musical interludes. The MGM star who declined "Dinner at Eight" Greta Gabo even receives an impression, as does Paramount studio's Mae West. Many will know Wallace Beery, Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore and Billie Burke. Today, the most recognizable name parodied may be John Barrymore, introduced in classic "profile" by John Bohn. At the time, the audiences' likely favorite would have been Flavia Arcaro's imitation of Marie Dressler. Primarily a stage actress, this appears to be Ms. Arcaro's only sound film credit. We and the mainly New York stage cast are lucky to have this rare short story from Warner Bros. "Come to Dinner" will admittedly lose luster if you are not aware of the performers or film being spoofed.

******* Come to Dinner (2/24/34) Roy Mack ~ Flavia Arcaro, John Bohn, Herschel Mayall, Charles Cane

This is a wildly funny satire on the classic comedy/drama DINNER AT EIGHT. This short was released by Warner Bros. and possibly was filmed in New York given the lack of film credits for the few known members of the cast at the time and the professional performances. The entire cast gives wickedly dead-on burlesques of the famous stars of the film and the film's famous scenes and lines. The satire is so sharp is hard to believe this film was made in the 1930's even with it's black-and-whiteness, it's venomously delicious wit is closer to post-1970's humor and it seems like a Saturday NIGHT LIVE skit on the classic film. Sadly, the film does not credit the gifted cast although a few of the performers are slightly known and had either later film credits or worked in silent movies. Best of all is the superb Flavia Arcaro in a devastating parody of Marie Dressler's Carlotta Vance. Miss Arcaro was apparently a stage actress of some renown in the early years of the century and also appeared in a number of 1910's silent films. It's a crime she apparently didn't go to Hollywood in the 1930's and pursue a career as a character actress because she would have been one of the era's best and that was the greatest era of all for character players. This little short has happily now surfaced as a bonus feature on the DVD to the very movie is spoofs, you may wonder which you enjoy the most after seeing it.