I will admit that I was disappointed with "The Man Who Came to Dinner". I was expecting the humour to be a little dated, with lots of the hammy delivery, 'double-takes', and 'slow burns' that were a staple of comedies of that era, but I was also expecting the witty and sparkling dialogue that characterises the best of the genre (1934's "The Thin Man" being a good example). While Sheridan Whiteside (Monty Woolley) had lots of acerbic one-liners, most of the other characters simply served as targets, so there was not much of the 'give and take' repartee that can really liven up this kind of stagy story. Not surprisingly, Jimmy Durante 'over-the-topped' his manic 'Banjo' role while, on the other hand, Bette Davis was moderately restrained, playing a role than any Hollywood ingénue could have handled. The rest of the ensemble cast was fine, especially Anne Sheridan as a sultry parvenu from Kansas, character actress Mary Wickes as Nurse Preen, and Reginald Gardiner as Beverly Carlton (whose 'upper class twit of the year' impression was a highlight (IMO)). The broad-comedy bits (e.g. the arrival of penguins, octopi, etc. at the Stanley's besieged home) just seemed contrived and ridiculous and did a lot to lower my overall opinion of the film. All in all, I was underwhelmed but comedy is a very personal taste, so take my comments as opinion, not recommendation. Note: the script name-drops a 1940's 'who's who', so some viewers may want access to Google while watching (Zazu Pitts or Walt Winchell jokes being bit obscure these days), but I doubt that I'd want to watch an updated remake (on stage or film) – a phone call from Eleanor Roosevelt seems inherently funnier than a phone call from Melania Trump.
Review of The Man Who Came to Dinner
