Dinner at Eight (1933)

“Listen to me old-timer. I'm drunk, and I know I'm drunk but I know what I'm talking about.”

            One of my favorite ways stories are told in either films or TV shows is where there are a bunch of different characters with different stories in different places and either during or at the end of the film or TV show all those different people with their different stories come together. For some reason that way of telling a story never gets old to me. I just really enjoy it. Plenty of films in Old Hollywood used that way of storytelling including Dinner at Eight from 1933.

            The story begins with the Jordan family. The family is wealthy due to Oliver’s (Lionel Barrymore) shipping business. Millicent (Billie Burke), like many high society women during the early 20^th century and before then, is concerned about mingling with all the well known upper class sets from America and Europe. She has finally gotten a British lord and his wife to come to dinner while they are in America. She sets the dinner date for the following Friday at eight o’clock. Oliver and their daughter Paula (Madge Evans) could care less about a dinner date for the following week. Olivier is only looking forward to it because Millicent has invited an old friend of his an old actress named Carlotta Vance (Marie Dressler). Oliver is worried about his shipping business and Paula is a bunch of nerves over her fiancé coming back but not in a good way.

            At the office Oliver announces that one of their ships is not going to be able to leave on time because there is not enough cargo. It would be the first time in sixty years since his grandfather started the business that one of the company’s ships is not leaving on time. There is nothing Oliver can do someone else is taking away their business. Carlotta comes to see Oliver at the office. She tells him she is broke but she does not want to give anything up she is from the old set with traveling and knowing people and a certain lifestyle and she does not want to give that up and live permanently in America. The two reminisce about when they were younger. Oliver had proposed to her when he was twenty-one and she broke his heart. She explains that she was so much older than him but it broke her own heart as well. As Carlotta is leaving a man named Dan Packard (Wallace Beery) comes in for a meeting. Dan is wealthy business man that Oliver is looking to sell some stocks to. Dan does not want to take the stocks because Oliver’s company is old and on its way out. Secretly Dan wants to buy out the business. Oliver calls Millicent to say to invite Dan and his wife to their dinner party the following week. Millicent does not really like Dan but she obliges and gives the wife a call.

            Dan has a young wife named Kitty (Jean Harlow). It is obvious right from her first scene that Kitty only married Dan for his money. She claims to be sick and needs to stay in bed all day while waiting for the doctor to come. As she waits she eats a lot of boxes of chocolate, puts on makeup, and tries on a new hat. When Dr. Wayne Talbot comes to the house Kitty puts an act of sickness on but as soon as her maid walks out of her room she gets mad at him for not having come by to see her in days. She says she loves him and that he is the only one who loves her and that she is bored when he does not come around.

            When Dan comes home Kitty tells him that they have been invited to the dinner party. Dan refuses to go especially because he wants to buy Oliver out. They have a huge blow up which comes to an end when Kitty tells him that the British lord will be there. Dan has been trying to get in touch with the lord for two years about some business ventures.

            The following week comes along. Millicent’s perfect party begins to fall apart. The British lord and his wife have decided to head down to Florida to fish. The dinner the cook had made after she dropped it on the floor when she had to break up a vicious fight between the butler and the driver. One of her fill in guests calls her telling her he is very sick and cannot make the party. Millicent’s sister suggests inviting another old actor named Larry Renault (John Barrymore) so he can keep Carlotta company. When Millicent calls Larry he is entertaining, of the people in the world, Paula. Larry is the one that has been causing Paula some confusion and nerves. She loves him more than she loves her fiancé and would rather be with him. He tries telling her that he is all washed up, he is a drunk who cannot get any work, and all three of his wives had severe issues. Paula does not care about any of that no matter how much he tries to make her. She leave when Larry’s manager comes to the room. He is trying to get Larry a part in a new play but no one really wants him since his reputation is not what it used to be. Later on Larry completely ruins his career by yelling at a theater manager who was willing to give him a second rate part. Larry’s manager has it out with him and says that he was never a good actor and no one will want him now that he is a total drunk. Unable to handle the truths and where his life has come to Larry kills himself.

            Oliver meanwhile is not feeling well. He goes to Wayne’s office. He tells Wayne he had had a weak moment at his office after Dan had left. The prognosis is not good Oliver is dying from a thrombosis. Before the party starts that night Oliver stays in his room leaving Millicent to welcome the guests. Wayne and Millicent go up to Oliver to check on him. He lest Millicent know the truth about her husband and how he does not have much time left. Millicent is obviously upset but she makes the best of it. When Oliver tells her they are broke she immediately starts downsizing and being supportive. They walk down to the dinner party together arm in arm.

            There was so much going on in this film that I cannot possibly write because it would confuse you reading it since I am not good with getting points across in a coherent way and also not to give too much away. Now you have to go and watch Dinner at Eight!

            Dinner at Eight was a very good film. I enjoyed how all the characters were connected and what brought them to the party. I think I can officially say that I now see what so many film historians and film critics really like Jean Harlow. I am not a fan of Harlow’s but I really liked her character in this. Kitty was very funny and very tough and Harlow did a great job with being both. The story was written by Frances Marion along with a few others. I like Marion as a storyteller she wrote some of my favorite Mary Pickford films. George Cukor directed and his direction is always flawless he always knew how to get the best out his actors.

            I am very happy I finally watched Dinner at Eight. I usually see it on lists for Pre-Codes or best films of the 1930s. Dinner at Eight is absolutely worth taking the time to watch. 

Death on the Diamond (1934)

There are two things America seems to be obsessed with sports wise and books wise: baseball and murder mysteries. Baseball is like a drama every year. I can personally say that for me and my family we get our hopes up for the Mets and then they always let us down and we stop watching them play before the middle of the season. Most of the TV shows we watch in my house are all three CSIs, NCIS, Castle, and The Mentalist. I work in a library in a town where there is a large senior citizen population (seriously if you guys think that Florida as a whole is God’s Waiting Room, come to the Manchester/Lakewood/Toms River area of NJ) and all they seem to read are mysteries.

            Apparently MGM even in the 1930s knew the two things America was obsessed with and tried to combine the two into a film. I guess the 1934 film Death on the Diamond seemed like a good idea on paper but in reality it did not work out as well as the studio would have hoped.

            Pop Clark is the coach for the Cardinals. Newspapers do not think Pop’s Cardinals are any good. Larry Kelly (Robert Young) is a new player for the team. He meets Frances (Madge Evans) at the office when he first comes to the team. Frances’s father is Pop Clark. Larry finds out that if the team does not win the year Pop will be forced to sell the team. That night Larry goes out with a millionaire named Joe McAvoy. A reporter tells Larry that Joe is a gambler.

            A boy in the clubhouse finds someone sneaking around. The players find the gloves have been tampered with an alcohol that would burn their hands when they got hot.

            With Larry’s help the Cardinals move to second place. McAvoy is not happy he is losing money with every win the Cards make. He tries to bribe Larry to lose with ten thousand dollars. The team runs the bribe story in the newspaper to let McAvoy know they are not going to be bribed to lose. After the story is printed Larry has a perfect game. In anger McAvoy tries to have Larry killed. All Larry gets is a hurt ankle.

            In an important game a player is shot and killed on the field. The police think Larry did it because he was away from the field and he and the player had an argument over wanting to take Frances out if they won the game.

            A reporter asks the head detective to let him run a story before the other papers. He suspects McAvoy and goes to talk to him.

            The next game Hogan, the catcher, tells the pitcher Higgins he has a phone call. Higgins goes to the phone in the locker room. When the game starts no one can find Higgins. Pop, Frances, Larry, and the reporter go looking for him. They find Higgins dead stuffed in his locker.

            Hogan and the Cardinals win the game. Hogan and the umpire are always fighting over calls. The umpire decides to buy Hogan a hot dog after the game. Someone poisons the mustard Hogan spreads on his hot dog. He becomes another victim shortly afterwards. The umpire is upset about Hogan even though they always argued over the calls and drove each other, they were just having fun.

            Despite everything that is happening to the team Pop decides to play the next game. Frances does not want Larry to pitch in case he is the next target. Pop knows Frances still loves Larry. The reporter tells the three of them that Larry needs to pitch to get the murderer and Larry agrees. The game does not start off too well. They are all nervous. While he is pitching Larry sees someone in the dugout put something in his coat pocket. He throws the ball and hits a guy out. Turns out he hit the murderer who happened to be the groundskeeper. A long time ago he had been kicked out of baseball and he wanted Pop’s team to do badly. The reporter realized the groundskeeper was the murderer after Hogan keeled over and the keeper looked relived when Hogan could not point him out.

            The cast was good. Robert Young is adorable. I have seen him in quite a few films now and I like him more and more with each film. Madge Evans was a good actress and in the few films I have seen her in I wish she had done more or was a little more popular. The girl had talent but it seemed like MGM did not know what to do with her or they did not see her potential and just casted her in remedial roles. I feel that is the same thing with Young although he was in some good movies and played the lead in bigger films. Nat Pendleton played Hogan. I love seeing him in films he will always be Detective Guild from The Thin Man to me.  He was very funny as Hogan.

            Death on the Diamond seemed like it had good intentions mixing two popular American pastimes but it fell short and the story comes off a bit silly. I was not bored with the film it was interesting to see baseball and murder mystery working together and the cast kept my interest. It really was a whodunit and it left me guess until the end. Despite the not so great story I still recommend seeing Death on the Diamond if TCM ever airs it again.

 

Hell Below (1933)

            Hell Below is about a submarine crew during World War I. A United States submarine pulls into port in Italy. Thomas Knowlton (Robert Montgomery) was supposed to have Liberty leave but it was taken away from him and his fellow sailor Brick Walters (Robert Young). Both sailors are forced to go to an officer’s ball. They have to dance with the high ranking officers’ wives. They were going to duck out of the party early until Thomas sees a nice looking young woman named Joan (Madge Evans).

            Thomas and Joan go out for the night to a local carnival. All the sudden there is an air raid. Thomas takes Joan back to his place. Brick comes looking for Thomas at his place with orders to report back to the sub it is under attack by the enemy planes.

            The next day Thomas goes to see Joan who is a nurse. He finds out she is married and is shocked. He is upset because he really loves her. He also finds out that Joan is the daughter of Captain Toler, the captain of his submarine. Out on the submarine Thomas defies orders and shoots at a destroyer. He is thrown in his room in his room as punishment. Soon after the submarine is hit and water begins to come in. Thomas finds a hole in floor that is leaking chlorine. He manages to plug the hole but eight men still die from breathing in the chemical. After all Thomas did with plugging the hole and saving the submarine he is still placed under arrest for torpedoing the destroyer. He is dismissed from the Navy.

            Thomas goes to see Standish, Joan’s husband. He was wounded in action. Despite his possible permanent paralysis Standish is very optimistic he will walk again. Thomas goes to see Joan and Toler at their house. He is mean and violent which upsets Joan. She does not want to see him again. Toler can see Thomas did what he did in front of Joan to send her back to her husband.

            Thomas sneaks onto the submarine for its last mission. The mission will be sending the crew to their deaths. When the submarine surfaces Thomas throws Toler overboard so he will not have to die when the submarine goes to blow up the enemy.

            Hell Below was boring and not too interesting. It was a waste of the actors’ talents. The cast was very good despite the boring story. They all fit their parts very well you could believe Robert Montgomery, Robert Young, and Walter Houston (as Toler) were officers in the Navy. I will only recommend watching Hell Below if you either like watching films about submarines or the actor otherwise skip this film.