Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
No reason to assume that the book is Brave New World. In Brave New World, machinery doesn't take the place of every profession; manual labor is deliberately kept so people would have something to do.
Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
--> '''Kitty''': Yes. It's all about civilization or something. [[Literature/BraveNewWorld A nutty kind of a book.]] Do you know that the guy says that machinery is going to take the place of every profession?
to:
--> '''Kitty''': Yes. It's all about civilization or something. [[Literature/BraveNewWorld A nutty kind of a book.]] book. Do you know that the guy says that machinery is going to take the place of every profession?
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
* Larry Renault (John Barrymore), an actor who was a huge star in the [[SilentFilms silent film]] era but whose career is now in the dumper. Larry is trying to keep up appearances, but he is both completely broke and severely alcoholic. Larry is living in a hotel suite (that he can't pay for anymore) across the hall from...
* Carlotta Vance (Marie Dressler), a "battleship" of a woman who in her youth was a famous stage actress that attracted all the men in the New York uppercrust. Oliver was one of her suitors. She too is in poor financial straits and is looking to sell off her stock in Jordan's shipping company. One of the people interested in buying is...
* Carlotta Vance (Marie Dressler), a "battleship" of a woman who in her youth was a famous stage actress that attracted all the men in the New York uppercrust. Oliver was one of her suitors. She too is in poor financial straits and is looking to sell off her stock in Jordan's shipping company. One of the people interested in buying is...
to:
* Larry Renault (John Barrymore), (Creator/JohnBarrymore), an actor who was a huge star in the [[SilentFilms silent film]] era but whose career is now in the dumper. Larry is trying to keep up appearances, but he is both completely broke and severely alcoholic. Larry is living in a hotel suite (that he can't pay for anymore) across the hall from...
* Carlotta Vance(Marie Dressler), (Creator/MarieDressler), a "battleship" of a woman who in her youth was a famous stage actress that attracted all the men in the New York uppercrust. Oliver was one of her suitors. She too is in poor financial straits and is looking to sell off her stock in Jordan's shipping company. One of the people interested in buying is...
* Carlotta Vance
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 9 (click to see context) from:
* Dan Packard (Wallace Beery), an unethical businessman who is plotting a hostile takeover of Jordan Lines. He is married to Kitty Packard (Creator/JeanHarlow), a selfish gold digger who is carrying out, right under Dan's nose, an affair with...
to:
* Dan Packard (Wallace Beery), (Creator/WallaceBeery), an unethical businessman who is plotting a hostile takeover of Jordan Lines. He is married to Kitty Packard (Creator/JeanHarlow), a selfish gold digger who is carrying out, right under Dan's nose, an affair with...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
--> '''Kitty''': Yes. It's all about civilization or something. A nutty kind of a book. Do you know that the guy says that machinery is going to take the place of every profession?
to:
--> '''Kitty''': Yes. It's all about civilization or something. [[Literature/BraveNewWorld A nutty kind of a book. book.]] Do you know that the guy says that machinery is going to take the place of every profession?
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
There was a made-for-TV movie remake in the 1980s that updated some of the cultural references (Larry Renault was addicted to cocaine rather than an alcoholic, for example, and Oliver Jordan had cancer. Kitty refers to 'computers' doing all the work. Etc.)
to:
There was a made-for-TV movie remake in the 1980s that updated some of the cultural references (Larry Renault was addicted to cocaine rather than an alcoholic, for example, and Oliver Jordan had cancer. Kitty refers to 'computers' doing all the work. Etc.)), and was adapted into an opera in 2017.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* CelebrityParadox: One of the guests invited to the Jordan dinner grouses about how he'd rather go see the new Creator/GretaGarbo movie. One wonders whether the film ''Grand Hotel'' exists in this universe and how Oliver Jordan, Larry Renault and Dan Packard feel about having Hollywood actors who look exactly like them.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 16 (click to see context) :
Added DiffLines:
* PrettyInMink: Kitty's dress is mostly SimpleYetOpulent save for the white fox wrap attached at the shoulders.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* HighClassGloves: Kitty Packard the social climber wears them as part of her outfit.
Deleted line(s) 39 (click to see context) :
* OperaGloves: Kitty Packard the social climber wears them as part of her outfit.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Deleted line(s) 20 (click to see context) :
* ActorAllusion: Lots of comments about Renault being "The Great Profile" and having been a huge star in the silent movie days. John Barrymore was a silent-movie heartthrob who was in fact called "The Great Profile". This became HarsherInHindsight within a few years, when Barrymore's career tanked (just like Larry Renault) due to his out-of-control alcoholism (just like Larry Renault).
Changed line(s) 39 (click to see context) from:
* MsFanservice: Kitty Packard, she is played by the sensual and satin clad JeanHarlow.
to:
* MsFanservice: Kitty Packard, she is played by the sensual and satin clad JeanHarlow.Jean Harlow.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* MsFanservice: Kitty Packard, she is played by the sensual and satin clad JeanHarlow.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 45 (click to see context) from:
* SexyBacklessOutfit: See Hypocritical Humor above.
to:
* SexyBacklessOutfit: See Hypocritical Humor above.Kitty wears one for the party. In the instructions for the original play, it's described like this: "When later she has the occasion to turn her back one modifies one's first impression of the front décolletage, which now seems almost prudish."
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Properly alligned the image.
Changed line(s) 1,3 (click to see context) from:
[[quoteright:451:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/60a45a8225c182df71cb162b7a208b85.jpg]]
to:
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:451:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/60a45a8225c182df71cb162b7a208b85.jpg]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Why would the book be Brave New World? In Brave New World, manual labor is deliberately kept so humans would have something to do.
Changed line(s) 25 (click to see context) from:
--> '''Kitty''': Yes. It's all about civilization or something. A nutty kind of a book. [[Literature/BraveNewWorld Do you know that the guy says that machinery is going to take the place of every profession?]]
to:
--> '''Kitty''': Yes. It's all about civilization or something. A nutty kind of a book. [[Literature/BraveNewWorld Do you know that the guy says that machinery is going to take the place of every profession?]]profession?
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 6 (click to see context) from:
* Dan Packard (Wallace Beery), an unethical businessman who is plotting a hostile takeover of Jordan Lines. He is married to Kitty Packard (JeanHarlow), a selfish gold digger who is carrying out, right under Dan's nose, an affair with...
to:
* Dan Packard (Wallace Beery), an unethical businessman who is plotting a hostile takeover of Jordan Lines. He is married to Kitty Packard (JeanHarlow), (Creator/JeanHarlow), a selfish gold digger who is carrying out, right under Dan's nose, an affair with...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 3 (click to see context) from:
* Oliver and Millicent Jordan (Lionel Barrymore and [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Billie Burke]]). Millicent is the one engaged in the SeriousBusiness of planning and hosting the dinner at her house. She hasn't had time to notice that her husband Oliver is both seriously ill and in severe financial trouble; his shipping business (the Jordan Lines) is on the verge of collapse. Their daughter Paula has a fiance who is just back from Europe, but in the meantime she has been having an affair with...
to:
* Oliver and Millicent Jordan (Lionel Barrymore (Creator/LionelBarrymore and [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Billie Burke]]).Burke). Millicent is the one engaged in the SeriousBusiness of planning and hosting the dinner at her house. She hasn't had time to notice that her husband Oliver is both seriously ill and in severe financial trouble; his shipping business (the Jordan Lines) is on the verge of collapse. Their daughter Paula has a fiance who is just back from Europe, but in the meantime she has been having an affair with...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
There was a made-for-TV movie remake in the 1980s that updated some of the cultural references (Larry Renault was addicted to cocaine rather than an alcoholic, for example, and Oliver Jordan had cancer. Kitty refers to 'computers' doing all the work. Etc.)
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* PlayingSick: Kitty does it so she could meet her lover, the doctor.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* UglyGuyHotWife: Dan Packard is overweight, unattractive and much older than his wife, Kitty (who only married him for his money and is cheating on him).
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 47 (click to see context) from:
* YourCheatingHeart: Kitty is having an affair with her doctor, who is himself married. The doctor wants to break it off and go back to his wife, while Kitty is trying to maintain her hold on him.
to:
* YourCheatingHeart: Kitty is having an affair with her doctor, who is himself married. The doctor wants to break it off and go back to his wife, while Kitty is trying to maintain her hold on him. The doctor also cheated on his wife with many other women before.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 29 (click to see context) from:
* HyperlinkStory: The people getting invited to the Jordan dinner are related to each other in ways some of them aren't aware up. See the introduction.
to:
* HyperlinkStory: The people getting invited to the Jordan dinner are related to each other in ways some of them aren't aware up.of. See the introduction.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 22 (click to see context) from:
--> '''Carlotta''': (''DoubleTake, visibly reels in shock'') Reading a book?
to:
--> '''Carlotta''': (''DoubleTake, visibly reels in shock'') Reading a book?
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 7 (click to see context) from:
* Dr. Wayne Talbot, whose clientele includes a lot of New York society. Another one of his patients is...
to:
* Dr. Wayne Talbot, Talbot (Edmund Lowe), whose clientele includes a lot of New York society. Another one of his patients is...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
--> '''Max''': Oh, no. l'm just telling you the truth... You know, you never were an actor. You did have looks, but they're gone now. You don't have to take my word for it. Just look in any mirror. They don't lie. (''forces Renault to look at himself in a nearby mirror'') Take a good look. Look at those pouches under your eyes. Look at those creases. You sag like an old woman! Get a load of yourself! Wait till you start tramping around the offices, looking for a job, because no agent's going to handle you. Sitting in those anterooms hour after hour, giving your name to office boys that never even heard of you. You're through, Renault! You're through in pictures and plays and vaudeville and radio and everything. You're a corpse, and you don't know it. Go get yourself buried!
to:
--> '''Max''': Oh, no. l'm just telling you the truth... You know, you never were an actor. You did have looks, but they're gone now. You don't have to take my word for it. Just look in any mirror. They don't lie. (''forces Renault to look at himself in a nearby mirror'') Take a good look. Look at those pouches under your eyes. Look at those creases. You sag like an old woman! Get a load of yourself! Wait till you start tramping around the offices, looking for a job, because no agent's going to handle you. Sitting in those anterooms hour after hour, giving your name to office boys that never even heard of you. You're through, Renault! You're through in pictures and plays and vaudeville and radio and everything. [[{{Foreshadowing}} You're a corpse, and you don't know it. Go get yourself buried!buried!]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* GoldDigger / TrophyWife: Kitty, who is only in it for Dan's money.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 25 (click to see context) from:
* DeuxExMachina: Packard is all set to take control of the Jordan Lines, when Kitty demands that he stop and give control back to Jordan--because she doesn't want to ruin her first society party.
to:
* DeuxExMachina: DeusExMachina: Packard is all set to take control of the Jordan Lines, when Kitty demands that he stop and give control back to Jordan--because she doesn't want to ruin her first society party.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* MayDecemberRomance: Paula is 19, Larry is 47. To his credit, Larry feels bad about this. Paula doesn't.
* SeriousBusiness: Almost everyone else invited to the dinner is having a major life crisis, but to Millicent, arranging a nice party is ''serious business''. She does snap out of this towards the end when the doctor tells her how serious Oliver's illness is.
* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''Film/GrandHotel'', the previous year's Best Picture winner, which not only employed a similar narrative structure but had some of the same actors playing similar parts (Lionel Barrymore as a sympathetic, terminally ill man, John Barrymore as a tragic figure who meets a sad end, Wallace Beery as an obnoxious CorruptCorporateExecutive).
Changed line(s) 43 (click to see context) from:
* YourCheatingHeart: Kitty is having an affair with her doctor, who is himself married. The doctor wants to break it off and go back to his wife, while Kitty is trying to maintain her hold on him.
to:
* YourCheatingHeart: Kitty is having an affair with her doctor, who is himself married. The doctor wants to break it off and go back to his wife, while Kitty is trying to maintain her hold on him.him.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Dr. Talbot doesn't tell Oliver this, but Oliver figures it out anyway.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Dr. Talbot doesn't tell Oliver this, but Oliver figures it out anyway.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 4 (click to see context) from:
* Larry Renault (John Barrymore), an actor who was a huge star in the SilentFilm era but whose career is now in the dumper. Larry is trying to keep up appearances, but he is both completely broke and severely alcoholic. Larry is living in a hotel suite (that he can't pay for anymore) across the hall from...
to:
* Larry Renault (John Barrymore), an actor who was a huge star in the SilentFilm [[SilentFilms silent film]] era but whose career is now in the dumper. Larry is trying to keep up appearances, but he is both completely broke and severely alcoholic. Larry is living in a hotel suite (that he can't pay for anymore) across the hall from...
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 6 (click to see context) from:
* Dan Packard (Wallace Beery), an unethical businessman who is plotting a hostile takeover of Jordan Lines. He is married to Kitty Packard (Creator/JeanHarlow), a selfish gold digger who is carrying out, right under Dan's nose, an affair with...
to:
* Dan Packard (Wallace Beery), an unethical businessman who is plotting a hostile takeover of Jordan Lines. He is married to Kitty Packard (Creator/JeanHarlow), (JeanHarlow), a selfish gold digger who is carrying out, right under Dan's nose, an affair with...
* ActorAllusion: Lots of comments about Renault being "The Great Profile" and having been a huge star in the silent movie days. John Barrymore was a silent-movie heartthrob who was in fact called "The Great Profile". This became HarsherInHindsight within a few years, when Barrymore's career tanked (just like Larry Renault) due to his out-of-control alcoholism (just like Larry Renault).
* TheAlcoholic: Larry Renault is drunk during the day, and drunk for a crucial meeting with a producer, and he tries to hock his belt buckle and picture frame for a little more liquor. This bleak portrait of alcoholism was unusual for TheThirties.
* AsYouKnow: Lots of expo-speak from Oliver and Carlotta about how he once courted her and how she toyed with all the eligible bachelors in New York back in the old days.
* {{Blackmail}}: Kitty's maid, who knows who Kitty is having an affair with, blackmails Kitty into handing over a diamond bracelet.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Packard is leading Jordan on while attempting to take control of Jordan Lines through front men. Kitty threatens to expose his schemes.
* DeadpanSnarker: Carlotta, who gets off several zingers. The film ends with a memorable exchange between her and Kitty as they go in for dinner.
--> '''Kitty''': I was reading a book the other day.
--> '''Carlotta''': (''DoubleTake, visibly reels in shock'') Reading a book?
--> '''Kitty''': Yes. It's all about civilization or something. A nutty kind of a book. [[Literature/BraveNewWorld Do you know that the guy says that machinery is going to take the place of every profession?]]
--> '''Carlotta''': (''looks over Kitty's sexy body and tight dress'') Oh, my dear, that's something you need never worry about.
* DeuxExMachina: Packard is all set to take control of the Jordan Lines, when Kitty demands that he stop and give control back to Jordan--because she doesn't want to ruin her first society party.
* DoubleTake: Carlotta gets off a great one at the end (see DeadpanSnarker above).
* DrivenToSuicide: Larry, having finally realized he's finished as an actor, facing imminent eviction from his suite, without even five dollars to buy some booze, kills himself with gas from the fireplace. ([[LargeHam He arranges the lighting artfully before sitting down in a lounge chair.]])
* HyperlinkStory: The people getting invited to the Jordan dinner are related to each other in ways some of them aren't aware up. See the introduction.
* TheAlcoholic: Larry Renault is drunk during the day, and drunk for a crucial meeting with a producer, and he tries to hock his belt buckle and picture frame for a little more liquor. This bleak portrait of alcoholism was unusual for TheThirties.
* AsYouKnow: Lots of expo-speak from Oliver and Carlotta about how he once courted her and how she toyed with all the eligible bachelors in New York back in the old days.
* {{Blackmail}}: Kitty's maid, who knows who Kitty is having an affair with, blackmails Kitty into handing over a diamond bracelet.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Packard is leading Jordan on while attempting to take control of Jordan Lines through front men. Kitty threatens to expose his schemes.
* DeadpanSnarker: Carlotta, who gets off several zingers. The film ends with a memorable exchange between her and Kitty as they go in for dinner.
--> '''Kitty''': I was reading a book the other day.
--> '''Carlotta''': (''DoubleTake, visibly reels in shock'') Reading a book?
--> '''Kitty''': Yes. It's all about civilization or something. A nutty kind of a book. [[Literature/BraveNewWorld Do you know that the guy says that machinery is going to take the place of every profession?]]
--> '''Carlotta''': (''looks over Kitty's sexy body and tight dress'') Oh, my dear, that's something you need never worry about.
* DeuxExMachina: Packard is all set to take control of the Jordan Lines, when Kitty demands that he stop and give control back to Jordan--because she doesn't want to ruin her first society party.
* DoubleTake: Carlotta gets off a great one at the end (see DeadpanSnarker above).
* DrivenToSuicide: Larry, having finally realized he's finished as an actor, facing imminent eviction from his suite, without even five dollars to buy some booze, kills himself with gas from the fireplace. ([[LargeHam He arranges the lighting artfully before sitting down in a lounge chair.]])
* HyperlinkStory: The people getting invited to the Jordan dinner are related to each other in ways some of them aren't aware up. See the introduction.
* IWasQuiteALooker: Carlotta says this, which is why she explicitly rejects Oliver's suggestion to go back to the stage. She wants people to remember her as beautiful, instead of old and fat.
--> "I was rather gorgeous, wasn't I?"
--> "I was rather gorgeous, wasn't I?"
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Max Kane, Larry's agent, finally manages to get Larry a meeting with a producer, which a drunken Larry ruins with his demands for a bigger part. An enraged Max then tells Larry in no uncertain terms that he's finished.
--> '''Larry''': You're trying to throw a scare into me.
--> '''Max''': Oh, no. l'm just telling you the truth... You know, you never were an actor. You did have looks, but they're gone now. You don't have to take my word for it. Just look in any mirror. They don't lie. (''forces Renault to look at himself in a nearby mirror'') Take a good look. Look at those pouches under your eyes. Look at those creases. You sag like an old woman! Get a load of yourself! Wait till you start tramping around the offices, looking for a job, because no agent's going to handle you. Sitting in those anterooms hour after hour, giving your name to office boys that never even heard of you. You're through, Renault! You're through in pictures and plays and vaudeville and radio and everything. You're a corpse, and you don't know it. Go get yourself buried!
--> '''Larry''': You're trying to throw a scare into me.
--> '''Max''': Oh, no. l'm just telling you the truth... You know, you never were an actor. You did have looks, but they're gone now. You don't have to take my word for it. Just look in any mirror. They don't lie. (''forces Renault to look at himself in a nearby mirror'') Take a good look. Look at those pouches under your eyes. Look at those creases. You sag like an old woman! Get a load of yourself! Wait till you start tramping around the offices, looking for a job, because no agent's going to handle you. Sitting in those anterooms hour after hour, giving your name to office boys that never even heard of you. You're through, Renault! You're through in pictures and plays and vaudeville and radio and everything. You're a corpse, and you don't know it. Go get yourself buried!
Changed line(s) 18 (click to see context) from:
* SocialClimber: Kitty pesters her husband about attending the movie's titular dinner party, which is expected to include the aristocrats Lord and Lady Ferncliffe among the guests. It could be argued that the hostess of the dinner, Millicent Jordan, is also engaging in this by having the party. The Ferncliffes are members of the English aristocracy, while the Jordans own a shipping company (and the Packards' money is newer yet).
to:
* SocialClimber: Kitty pesters her husband about attending the movie's titular dinner party, which is expected to include the aristocrats Lord and Lady Ferncliffe among the guests. It could be argued that the hostess of the dinner, Millicent Jordan, is also engaging in this by having the party. The Ferncliffes are members of the English aristocracy, while the Jordans own a shipping company (and the Packards' money is newer yet).yet).
* ThirdPersonPerson: Carlotta does this from time to time, particularly when she is embarrassed to tell Oliver that she sold off her shares in Jordan Lines.
* TitleDrop: Several times when mentioning the time of the dinner.
* VideoCredits: Used in the opening credits. Much more common in TheThirties.
* WhiteDwarfStarlet: Larry Renault is a rare male example of this. He's washed up, but he refuses to admit it, still imagining himself to be a star.
--> '''Renault''': Now listen Stengel, I'm a name, and I know it.
* YourCheatingHeart: Kitty is having an affair with her doctor, who is himself married. The doctor wants to break it off and go back to his wife, while Kitty is trying to maintain her hold on him.
* ThirdPersonPerson: Carlotta does this from time to time, particularly when she is embarrassed to tell Oliver that she sold off her shares in Jordan Lines.
* TitleDrop: Several times when mentioning the time of the dinner.
* VideoCredits: Used in the opening credits. Much more common in TheThirties.
* WhiteDwarfStarlet: Larry Renault is a rare male example of this. He's washed up, but he refuses to admit it, still imagining himself to be a star.
--> '''Renault''': Now listen Stengel, I'm a name, and I know it.
* YourCheatingHeart: Kitty is having an affair with her doctor, who is himself married. The doctor wants to break it off and go back to his wife, while Kitty is trying to maintain her hold on him.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
i\'m going to expand this later, don\'t worry
Added DiffLines:
''Dinner at Eight'' is a 1933 film directed by Creator/GeorgeCukor and featuring an AllStarCast. The movie features a half-dozen plotlines concering the various members of the New York elite that have been invited to a society dinner.
* Oliver and Millicent Jordan (Lionel Barrymore and [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Billie Burke]]). Millicent is the one engaged in the SeriousBusiness of planning and hosting the dinner at her house. She hasn't had time to notice that her husband Oliver is both seriously ill and in severe financial trouble; his shipping business (the Jordan Lines) is on the verge of collapse. Their daughter Paula has a fiance who is just back from Europe, but in the meantime she has been having an affair with...
* Larry Renault (John Barrymore), an actor who was a huge star in the SilentFilm era but whose career is now in the dumper. Larry is trying to keep up appearances, but he is both completely broke and severely alcoholic. Larry is living in a hotel suite (that he can't pay for anymore) across the hall from...
* Carlotta Vance (Marie Dressler), a "battleship" of a woman who in her youth was a famous stage actress that attracted all the men in the New York uppercrust. Oliver was one of her suitors. She too is in poor financial straits and is looking to sell off her stock in Jordan's shipping company. One of the people interested in buying is...
* Dan Packard (Wallace Beery), an unethical businessman who is plotting a hostile takeover of Jordan Lines. He is married to Kitty Packard (Creator/JeanHarlow), a selfish gold digger who is carrying out, right under Dan's nose, an affair with...
* Dr. Wayne Talbot, whose clientele includes a lot of New York society. Another one of his patients is...
* Oliver Jordan, whose heart ailment is very serious.
''Dinner at Eight'' is a mix of drama, comedy of manners, and farce. It was adapted from a stage play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber.
----
!!Tropes:
* HypocriticalHumor: Kitty says, during a party conversation about sunbathing: "You know, my skin's terribly delicate and I don't dare expose it." Then she turns around, revealing her backless dress.
* OperaGloves: Kitty Packard the social climber wears them as part of her outfit.
* SexyBacklessOutfit: See Hypocritical Humor above.
* SocialClimber: Kitty pesters her husband about attending the movie's titular dinner party, which is expected to include the aristocrats Lord and Lady Ferncliffe among the guests. It could be argued that the hostess of the dinner, Millicent Jordan, is also engaging in this by having the party. The Ferncliffes are members of the English aristocracy, while the Jordans own a shipping company (and the Packards' money is newer yet).
* Oliver and Millicent Jordan (Lionel Barrymore and [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Billie Burke]]). Millicent is the one engaged in the SeriousBusiness of planning and hosting the dinner at her house. She hasn't had time to notice that her husband Oliver is both seriously ill and in severe financial trouble; his shipping business (the Jordan Lines) is on the verge of collapse. Their daughter Paula has a fiance who is just back from Europe, but in the meantime she has been having an affair with...
* Larry Renault (John Barrymore), an actor who was a huge star in the SilentFilm era but whose career is now in the dumper. Larry is trying to keep up appearances, but he is both completely broke and severely alcoholic. Larry is living in a hotel suite (that he can't pay for anymore) across the hall from...
* Carlotta Vance (Marie Dressler), a "battleship" of a woman who in her youth was a famous stage actress that attracted all the men in the New York uppercrust. Oliver was one of her suitors. She too is in poor financial straits and is looking to sell off her stock in Jordan's shipping company. One of the people interested in buying is...
* Dan Packard (Wallace Beery), an unethical businessman who is plotting a hostile takeover of Jordan Lines. He is married to Kitty Packard (Creator/JeanHarlow), a selfish gold digger who is carrying out, right under Dan's nose, an affair with...
* Dr. Wayne Talbot, whose clientele includes a lot of New York society. Another one of his patients is...
* Oliver Jordan, whose heart ailment is very serious.
''Dinner at Eight'' is a mix of drama, comedy of manners, and farce. It was adapted from a stage play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber.
----
!!Tropes:
* HypocriticalHumor: Kitty says, during a party conversation about sunbathing: "You know, my skin's terribly delicate and I don't dare expose it." Then she turns around, revealing her backless dress.
* OperaGloves: Kitty Packard the social climber wears them as part of her outfit.
* SexyBacklessOutfit: See Hypocritical Humor above.
* SocialClimber: Kitty pesters her husband about attending the movie's titular dinner party, which is expected to include the aristocrats Lord and Lady Ferncliffe among the guests. It could be argued that the hostess of the dinner, Millicent Jordan, is also engaging in this by having the party. The Ferncliffes are members of the English aristocracy, while the Jordans own a shipping company (and the Packards' money is newer yet).
