Pssst, want to check out The Man Who Came to Dinner in our new look?
Information
- Year
- 1942
- Runtime
- 112 min.
- Director
- William Keighley
- Genres
- Romance, Comedy
- Rating *
- 7.6
- Votes *
- 5,627
- Checks
- 854
- Favs
- 51
- Dislikes
- 9
- Favs/checks
- 6.0% (1:17)
- Favs/dislikes
- 6:1
Top comments
-
Siskoid
The title character of The Man Who Came to Dinner, a celebrity critic/broadcast personality who slips and falls on a small-town doorstep and ends up staying over though the holidays, is so obnoxious and irritating that I can't possibly get behind this movie. I'm not necessarily blaming Monty Woolley, but I do wonder if a more charming actor could have salvaged it. On the page as on screen though, there's very little to redeem this selfish, shouting boor who manipulates and browbeats anyone who doesn't give in immediately to his unreasonable demands. I get that it's a caustic comedy about such a person, but the play's writer (who based it on someone real) is much too invested in attacking his target than in giving the character humanity. There was an opportunity with the zany aunt, but an egregiously absurd twist killed any hope. The movie gets worse, not better, when his entourage come calling, wasting Ann Sheridan on an actress fatale with high airs, and the already irritating Jimmy Durante shouting up a storm. It's a little hard to get into the romance subplot between Bette Davis and white-bread Richard Travis, honestly, because I don't even buy that "all is lost" when they say it is. Keep off your Christmas lists. 3 years 8 months ago -
Friends
Login to see which of your friends have seen this movie!In 2 official lists
-
This movie ranks #524 in The New York Times's Book of Movies
The New York Times's Boo…
524 -
This movie ranks #529 in Halliwell's Top 1000: The Ultimate Movie Countdown
Halliwell's Top 1000: Th…
529