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Dinner at Eight

Dinner at Eight

Comedy · Drama · 1933

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.

Movie details

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 Comedy · Drama 1h 51m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Dinner at Eight?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

George Cukor

Written by

John Meehan · Frances Marion · Herman J. Mankiewicz

Marie Dressler

Marie Dressler

Carlotta Vance

John Barrymore

John Barrymore

Larry Renault

Wallace Beery

Wallace Beery

Dan Packard

Jean Harlow

Jean Harlow

Kitty Packard

Lionel Barrymore

Lionel Barrymore

Oliver Jordan

Lee Tracy

Lee Tracy

Max Kane

Edmund Lowe

Edmund Lowe

Dr. Wayne Talbot

Court is in session

Put Dinner at Eight on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.