Dinner At Eight
Eine Gruppe unterschiedlicher Personen wird von der Ehefrau eines pleitebedrohten Reeders zu einem Dinner geladen. Bevor das Abendessen beginnt, skizziert der Film die einzelnen Gäste und entfaltet ein bitterböses Bild der Eitelkeiten und Verlogenheit unter Reichen und Neureichen, ihrer Krankheiten, Pleiten und Beziehungen...
Min And Bill
One of the most unlikely romantic duos ever to stroll across a screen was the pairing of 62-year-old Marie Dressler and big-bellied, 55-year-old Wallace Beery. Yet they made such a lovable couple in MIN AND BILL that they were teamed again in TUGBOAT ANNIE, in 1933, and acted together in DINNER AT EIGHT that same year. Although MIN AND BILL is a heartfelt drama, most viewers recall its hilarious c...mehromedy sequences and the noisy relationship between Dressler and Beery. Dressler is the rough-and-tumble owner of a cheap waterfront hotel on the California coast_ Beery is the local fisherman who is the object of her affections when Dressler isn't doting on Dorothy Jordan, a sweet young girl whose mother deserted her several years previously. Dressler minces no words with the girl, but Jordan realizes that the older woman is the only person who has ever cared deeply about her. Nevertheless truant officers want Jordan living in a better environment and attending school regularly. Furthermore, local prohibition officers have been observing the cafe and appear ready to close it up. In a tearful scene, Jordan reluctantly leaves Dressler to live with the school's principal (Frank McGlynn) and his wife (Gretta Gould). To make matters worse, Jordan's drunken, slatternly mother (Marjorie Rambeau) appears on the scene, but Dressler persuades her to leave town so as not to complicate Jordan's life further. In the meantime, Dressler scrapes up enough money to take Jordan out of the principal's home and sends her to an exclusive boarding school, where the girl falls in love with the wealthy Donald Dillaway (in his film debut). In no time, the two are talking about marriage_ however, when Rambeau learns that her daughter is marrying into money, the unscrupulous woman tells Dressler that she wants a share of the booty or she'll resort to blackmail, revealing her daughter's sordid lineage. During an argument, Rambeau burns Dressler's face with a hot iron, forcing Dressler to pull a gun and shoot Rambeau. A sailor who dislikes Dressler (Hank Bell) goes to the cops, and as Jordan and Dillaway sail off on their honeymoon, Dressler is taken away by the police. Dressler won an Oscar for her role in MIN AND BILL over such sexpots as Marlene Dietrich for MOROCCO, Irene Dunne for CIMARRON, Ann Harding for HOLIDAY, and Norma Shearer for A FREE SOUL (the last of whom had won the year before for THE DIVORCEE and presented Dressler with the statuette). A huge star in the silent era, Dressler watched her career wane until she made a triumphant return in ANNA CHRISTIE earlier in 1930. As a result of her success in MIN AND BILL, she was to spend her last years as the biggest star at MGM.