The Man Who Came to Dinner - Warner Archive Collection

Though Bette Davis and Ann Sheridan receive top billing in The Man Who Came to Dinner, the real star of director William Keighley's sprightly adaptation of the hit comedy by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman is Monty Woolley. After all, the acerbic bearded actor plays the title role and even created the lovably cantankerous crank on the Broadway stage. Woolley devours the part of Sheridan Whiteside once again in the film version, bringing plenty of caustic bite to the pompous, prima donna commentator who becomes the eternal houseguest of Ernest and Daisy Stanley (Grant Mitchell and Billie Burke) when he slips on the icy steps of their Mesalia, Ohio home while on a lecture tour. The fall renders Whiteside a virtual invalid, but he doesn't take the accident lying down. With more efficiency than Mussolini, he quickly commandeers the Stanley residence, turning the living room into his executive suite and banishing a stunned Ernest and Daisy to their bedroom upstairs.

During his convalescence, Whiteside subsists on chewing up and spitting out an endless parade of intimidated underlings (including his terrified nurse, charmingly played by a young Mary Wickes in her feature film debut), and occasionally meddles in their personal affairs. No one and nothing escapes his ire, but he really hits the ceiling when his indispensable secretary, Maggie Cutler (Davis), announces she's fallen for local newspaperman (and aspiring playwright) Bert Jefferson (Richard Travis) and intends to quit her job and marry him. Panicked by the thought of losing the equivalent of his right arm, Whiteside sets in motion a devious plot to keep her at his beck and call by sabotaging the relationship…a scheme that Maggie, who knows her boss all too well, tries her best to foil.

The Man Who Came to Dinner brilliantly combines screwball and drawing room comedy, yet its superb writing hides the nuts and bolts of its complicated construction. A literal army of characters breeze in and out of the Stanley living room, and Keighley gracefully choreographs all the chaos. Screenwriters Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein (who would pen Casablanca later the same year) open up the play just enough to let it breathe and wisely retain most of the original dialogue.

How many other films feature an octopus, roaming penguins, a saintly boys choir, and a bona fide Lizzie Borden all vying for attention? Yet despite such zany distractions, The Man Who Came to Dinner still presents a focused narrative and tempers its lunacy with several scenes of heartrending warmth and meaning. The film mirrors You Can’t Take It With You (another Kaufman and Hart gem) in style and structure, as it introduces a host of seemingly disjointed subplots that somehow intertwine by the final fadeout.

Topical references abound, so if you're not well versed in the pop culture of the 1930s and 40s, they're likely to zoom over your head. Old movie buffs, however, will get a kick out of hearing Whiteside and his cronies - many of whom are based on famous personalities of the period - namedrop and diss the era's legends. Few emerge unscathed, yet even viewers without the faintest knowledge of Elsa Maxwell or Zasu Pitts can still appreciate the film's humor. The nutty storyline alone wrings plenty of laughs and advances with breathless alacrity.

Whiteside's sourpuss demeanor makes him at once irritating and endearing, but just as he's about to go beyond the pale his heart of bronze (gold would be a gross exaggeration) ever so slightly redeems him. Woolley, of course, savors every alliterative insult, withering glare, and perfunctory put-down, and his spot-on performance never fails to shock and delight. Rarely has an actor so snugly filled a character's shoes - so much so that Woolley's Hollywood employers (and the moviegoing public) had trouble divorcing him from the role. Though Woolley would be trapped playing Whiteside knock-offs for the remainder of his career, such a fate seems a small price to pay for such a juicy, exquisitely written part.

Davis doesn't try to compete, and in fact purposely underplays to provide a welcome and distinct contrast to Woolley's blustering. As a result, she's quite believable as the mousy secretary, and her subtle portrayal supplies the human balance the film craves. Former "Oomph Girl" Sheridan (whose sexy moniker is cleverly inserted into the screenplay) also shines as a self-absorbed, gold-digging actress (supposedly based on Gertrude Lawrence) and seems to relish her change-of-pace comedic role, while Reginald Gardiner (as a Noel Coward-like wit), Jimmy Durante (who skewers his own image), and Billie Burke (who reprises the daffy housewife she patented in Dinner at Eight) supply additional laughs.

The Man Who Came to Dinner may not be as well remembered as The Philadelphia Story or His Girl Friday, but it remains one of the premier comedies of Hollywood's Golden Age - a tight, funny, and well-oiled ensemble piece that never loses its edge.

Vital Disc Stats: The Blu-ray
The Man Who Came ot Dinner arrives on Blu-ray packaged In a standard case. Video codec is 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 and audio is DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono. Once the disc is inserted into the player, the static menu with music immediately pops up; no previews or promos precede it.

A brand new HD master struck from a 4K scan of the original nitrate camera negative yields a terrific 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer that's a nice step up from the 2006 DVD. The print damage that dotted the DVD transfer has been scrubbed away, leaving a pristine image that exudes a lovely film-like appearance and showcases the always stellar cinematography of five-time Oscar-nominee Tony Gaudio, who took home the award for 1936's Anthony Adverse. The natural grain structure remains intact, but the texture isn't intrusive. Excellent clarity and contrast highlight fine details in costumes and décor, shadow delineation is quite good, and sharp close-ups show off Woolley's unkempt beard, Sheridan's glamor, and those striking Bette Davis eyes. Rich blacks, bright whites, and a healthy grayscale contribute to the vibrant picture, which will thrill fans of this raucous romp.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track improves upon the lossy DVD track, providing clear, well-modulated sound. The minor instances of surface noise that plagued the DVD have been erased, resulting in a clean track that prioritizes the all-important dialogue. All the rapid-fire exchanges are easy to comprehend, sonic accents like barking penguins and ringing phones are crisp, and a wide dynamic scale handles all the highs and lows of the music score by four-time Oscar-nominee Friedrich Hollaender.

Warner Archive imports the retrospective featurette and trailer from the 2006 DVD, but trades the vintage cartoon and short for different ones and adds a couple of radio broadcasts for this Blu-ray release.

• Featurette: "The Man Who Came to Dinner: Inside a Classic Comedy" (SD, 12 minutes) - This slick, informative 2006 featurette dissects the story, history, and topical references of the play/movie.
• Vintage Short: Glen Gray and His Casa Loma Orchestra (SD, 9 minute) - Jean Negulesco directs this one-reel musical short that showcases the popular band, which plays four songs. The use of shadows and mirrors is striking, and some fancy footwork by a couple of energetic and limber dancers enliven this tuneful trifle.
• Vintage Cartoon: The Wabbit Who Came to Supper (SD, 8 minutes) - Early incarnations of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd (who's especially tubby here) headline this amusing cartoon that chronicles Elmer's efforts to placate Bugs so he can inherit three million dollars from his uncle. 
• Vintage Radio Adaptations (120 minutes) - Two 60-minute radio adaptations are included. The first was broadcast on Christmas Day 1949 as part of The Hotpoint Holiday Hour series and stars Jack Benny, Charles Boyer, Gene Kelly, Dorothy McGuire, Gregory Peck, and Rosalind Russell, with Henry Fonda as the narrator. Mel Ferrer directs the reading. The second was broadcast on March 27, 1950 as part of the long-running Lux Radio Theater series and stars Clifton Webb and Lucille Ball.
• Theatrical Trailer (SD, 3 minutes) - "The screen's biggest howl" is how the original preview describes the film.

Bright, sassy, and endlessly appealing, The Man Who Came to Dinner never overstays its welcome on Blu-ray. Woolley dominates this madcap farce, but Davis fans won't be disappointed by the star's understated supporting turn. Warner's sparkling transfer struck from a 4K scan of the original nitrate camera negative, remastered audio, and an array of vintage extras seal the deal, and help fuel our desire to invite Sheridan Whiteside back into our homes again and again. Highly Recommended. 

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