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Post by topbilled on Dec 4, 2022 16:26:22 GMT
Some of the lines that Monty Woolley delivers as sharp-tongued Sheridan Whiteside in Warners Brothers’ THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER are hysterical. But I think what I love most about this production is all the name-dropping that occurs, mostly from Sheridan in his wheelchair. Of course, the viewer has to sort of place himself in 1942 to realize just how big some of these names were at the time, and just how important Sheridan must have been to know such famous people.
1. The first famous name mentioned is that of Ethel Barrymore. After Sheridan Whiteside’s injury, a call comes in from Miss Barrymore inquiring about his condition.
2. A second phone call comes from another concerned V.I.P.– Winston Churchill in London.
3. Next, Sheridan wants his secretary Maggie to get in touch with Eleanor Roosevelt; and also contact the Duchess of Windsor about an upcoming dinner. He rattles off a few other names: people he plans to have as guests on his radio program, like violinist Jascha Heifetz; Helen Hayes, Dr. Alex Carrel; fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli; and the Lunts (actor Alfred Lunt and his wife Lynn Fontanne).
4. Renowned newspaper editor William Allen White is mentioned next.
5. Then, Sheridan compares Maggie to Elsie Dinsmore, a successful children’s author.
6. A few minutes later naturalist William Beebe sends an octopus to Sheridan.
7. Maggie tells Sheridan that Jefferson the reporter has written a play that would be perfect for stage actress Katharine Cornell.
8. Moments after this, Sheridan scolds Maggie for acting like ZaSu Pitts. Then, he says that Maggie’s puppy love for Jefferson is a type of Ginger Rogers fantasy.
9. Katharine Cornell is mentioned again when Sheridan calls Lorraine in Palm Beach. He says that a part in a play meant for Cornell could be hers if she comes to see him.
10. Christmas presents start to arrive for Sheridan. The gifts are from Winston Churchill, Deanna Durbin, Gypsy Rose Lee and Somerset Maugham (which the maid pronounces as Moggam).
11. Maggie refers to Jefferson the reporter as Horace Greeley (the editor of the New York Tribune).
12. Admiral Byrd sends four penguins to Sheridan in the next scene.
13. When the Stanleys’ daughter talks to Sheridan about her desire to marry a young beau, he sarcastically suggests Walter Winchell instead.
14. When Lorraine arrives at the house, she tells Sheridan she recently visited with Cary Grant and Barbara Hutton in Palm Beach. Also, Elsa Maxwell asked Lorraine to give a message to him.
15. Sheridan mentions Katharine Cornell again, but he calls her Kit Cornell.
16. When Beverly shows up, he describes a party he attended in Hollywood with Norma Shearer and Claudette Colbert.
17. The name Katharine Cornell is uttered once more, when Sheridan complains that Lorraine’s desire to quit acting and get married will benefit Cornell’s career. Lorraine is on the phone, instructing her maid to send telegrams about the wedding to the Duchess of Sutherland and Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt.
18. When Maggie quits working for Sheridan, he is annoyed by her theatrics and calls her Sarah Bernhardt.
19. Later during Banjo’s visit, Sheridan receives a sweater that was supposedly worn by Lana Turner. Then, when Banjo considers a plan to help Maggie win Jefferson back from Lorraine, Sheridan cautions Banjo not to get carried away and act like J. Edgar Hoover.
20. In the next scene, Miss Preen leaves the house and a reference is made to both Florence Nightingale and Jack the Ripper.
21. An Egyptian mummy arrives for Sheridan, a gift from the Khedive of Egypt.
22. Next, we learn Maggie has left a message at the White House for Eleanor Roosevelt on Sheridan’s behalf.
23. After Lorraine’s exit, Jefferson shows up and Maggie says Sheridan is forwarding his play to Katharine Cornell.
24. When Sheridan finally leaves the house, the phone rings. Mrs. Stanley answers, and it’s Eleanor Roosevelt. Sheridan injures himself again, and as he’s brought back inside, we hear the first lady’s voice on the line.
Several of the characters in the story are based on real-life celebrities. Woolley’s role is based on critic Alexander Woollcott; Maggie the secretary (Bette Davis) is inspired by writer Dorothy Parker; Lorraine (Ann Sheridan) is modeled after actress Gertrude Lawrence; Banjo (Jimmy Durante) is a stand-in for Harpo Marx; and Beverly Carlton (Reginald Gardiner) is a facsimile for Noel Coward.
If THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER was remade today, the title character would probably drop names like Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Jennifer Aniston, Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey and Lady Gaga. But under what circumstances would all these well-known personalities be remotely interested in associating with a persnickety old grouch like Sheridan Whiteside…?
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Post by Fading Fast on Dec 4, 2022 17:30:28 GMT
The name dropping, as you wonderfully explained and detailed, and the one-liners come so fast and furiously in this one, that multiple viewings are required to fully appreciate it.
Also, while you are right about the current names that would be similar, the difference is that in 1942 it was a more-monolithic culture; whereas today, we all surf in our own streams leaving less of a "common" culture.
Also we have no Sheridan/Woollcotts (or Winchells) today as, again, we've splintered our culture so no one person/reporter/radio commentator/podcaster/etc., is universally known or as powerful as a Winchell once was.
It was that power that also allowed him access to all those names (they wanted to be on his good side to get good press) - we broke that self-reinforcing loop.
That's a long way of saying, "The Man Who Came to Dinner" is a window into a cultural framework that no longer exists, which is why it's such wonderful time travel to the 1940s.
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Post by BingFan on Dec 4, 2022 18:27:48 GMT
The Man Who Came To Dinner is a favorite movie at our house (my wife and I named our parrot “Sherry” after Whiteside), one that we watch almost every Christmas season. I find Monty Woolley hilarious and love his references to celebrities of that time. Indeed, I probably heard of some of these people for the first time when Whiteside (or other cast members) mentioned them in the movie.
Last December, I thought it would be fun to supplement the movie by reading the play, to see how it differed from the film. While there were definitely some differences — e.g., as the play starts, Whiteside has already been injured, so no scenes of him arriving at the train station or of him falling on the Stanleys’ front steps — for the most part, the play would seem very familiar to anyone who knows the movie.
But I found it interesting to note how many of the celebrities mentioned are different in the play, although some (e.g., a Christmas present from Somerset Maugham; the guests on an upcoming radio show: “Jascha Heifetz, Katherine Cornell, the Lunts, and Dr. Alexis Carrel, with Haille Selassie on short wave from England [instead of Addis Ababa, as in the movie]”) are mentioned in both the play and movie. Lana Turner is also mentioned in both — which kind of surprises me, as I didn’t think she would have been famous enough at the time of the 1939 play. (Granted, she did co-star in 1938’s Love Finds Andy Hardy, which was a very popular movie and the best of that series.)
Among the celebrities mentioned in the play but not the movie: author H.G. Wells, Supreme Court justice Felix Frankfurter, Mahatma Gandhi (Whiteside makes a dinner date with him in Bombay instead of with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in Florida, as in the movie), conductor Arturo Toscanini, Shirley Temple (instead of Deanna Durbin as in the movie), and singer Ethel Waters.
I can see why the moviemakers would change the Gandhi reference; the movie was made after World War II started, so it wouldn’t be realistic for Whiteside to be traveling to Bombay, which would have been possible at the time of the 1939 play. I’m not sure, however, why some of the other changes were made — e.g., having Whiteside receive a gift from Deanna Durbin (movie) instead of Shirley Temple (play).
The connection between Whiteside and Alexander Woollcott is somewhat explicit. George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart included this dedication at the beginning of the play: “To Alexander Woollcott — For reasons that are nobody’s business. The Authors.”
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Post by Fading Fast on Dec 4, 2022 19:09:04 GMT
The Man Who Came To Dinner is a favorite movie at our house (my wife and I named our parrot “Sherry” after Whiteside), one that we watch almost every Christmas season. I find Monty Woolley hilarious and love his references to celebrities of that time. Indeed, I probably heard of some of these people for the first time when Whiteside (or other cast members) mentioned them in the movie.
Last December, I thought it would be fun to supplement the movie by reading the play, to see how it differed from the film. While there were definitely some differences — e.g., as the play starts, Whiteside has already been injured, so no scenes of him arriving at the train station or of him falling on the Stanleys’ front steps — for the most part, the play would seem very familiar to anyone who knows the movie.
But I found it interesting to note how many of the celebrities mentioned are different in the play, although some (e.g., a Christmas present from Somerset Maugham; the guests on an upcoming radio show: “Jascha Heifetz, Katherine Cornell, the Lunts, and Dr. Alexis Carrel, with Haille Selassie on short wave from England [instead of Addis Ababa, as in the movie]”) are mentioned in both the play and movie. Lana Turner is also mentioned in both — which kind of surprises me, as I didn’t think she would have been famous enough at the time of the 1939 play. (Granted, she did co-star in 1938’s Love Finds Andy Hardy, which was a very popular movie and the best of that series.)
Among the celebrities mentioned in the play but not the movie: author H.G. Wells, Supreme Court justice Felix Frankfurter, Mahatma Gandhi (Whiteside makes a dinner date with him in Bombay instead of with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in Florida, as in the movie), conductor Arturo Toscanini, Shirley Temple (instead of Deanna Durbin as in the movie), and singer Ethel Waters.
I can see why the moviemakers would change the Gandhi reference; the movie was made after World War II started, so it wouldn’t be realistic for Whiteside to be traveling to Bombay, which would have been possible at the time of the 1939 play. I’m not sure, however, why some of the other changes were made — e.g., having Whiteside receive a gift from Deanna Durbin (movie) instead of Shirley Temple (play).
The connection between Whiteside and Alexander Woollcott is somewhat explicit. George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart included this dedication at the beginning of the play: “To Alexander Woollcott — For reasons that are nobody’s business. The Authors.”
Only marginally related, it's funny that Monty Woolley is in two of my favorite Christmas movies, this one and "The Bishop's Wife," where he plays my favorite supporting character. |
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Post by topbilled on Dec 4, 2022 19:40:02 GMT
The name dropping, as you wonderfully explained and detailed, and the one-liners come so fast and furiously in this one, that multiple viewings are required to fully appreciate it.
Also, while you are right about the current names that would be similar, the difference is that in 1942 it was a more-monolithic culture; whereas today, we all surf in our own streams leaving less of a "common" culture.
Also we have no Sheridan/Woollcotts (or Winchells) today as, again, we've splintered our culture so no one person/reporter/radio commentator/podcaster/etc., is universally known or as powerful as a Winchell once was.
It was that power that also allowed him access to all those names (they wanted to be on his good side to get good press) - we broke that self-reinforcing loop.
That's a long way of saying, "The Man Who Came to Dinner" is a window into a cultural framework that no longer exists, which is why it's such wonderful time travel to the 1940s.
If you look at who trends each day on social media platforms, day after day, patterns start to emerge. I find it interesting that Jennifer Aniston is still trending all the time, given her age and the fact that by now, you'd think her popularity would be on the wane...but it isn't. |
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Post by BingFan on Dec 4, 2022 19:40:46 GMT
Very cool comparison, thank you for doing that. I'm impressed that you remembered all those names from both the play and the movie.
Only marginally related, it's funny that Monty Woolley is in two of my favorite Christmas movies, this one and "The Bishop's Wife," where he plays my favorite supporting character.
Monty Woolley is also my favorite supporting cast member in The Bishop’s Wife, and the same in Since You Went Away, which I consider a semi-Christmas movie based on the final scenes, which take place on Christmas Eve. I enjoy seeing Woolley in almost any role he plays. (Life Begins At 8:30 is another semi-Christmas movie starring Woolley that’s worth watching.) |
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Post by BingFan on Dec 4, 2022 19:45:28 GMT
For a time, I would say blogger/columnist Perez Hilton had a Sheridan/Woollcott/Winchell vibe and following. There will always be influencers in our culture at large. And I think that America still builds up people (and tears down these same people) that everyone hears about. Elon Musk is the latest one, and I wouldn't be surprised if like Trump, he is able to manipulate media into a successful run for the White House within ten years.
If you look at who trends each day on social media platforms, day after day, patterns start to emerge. I find it interesting that Jennifer Aniston is still trending all the time, given her age and the fact that by now, you'd think her popularity would be on the wane...but it isn't. |
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Post by topbilled on Dec 4, 2022 19:49:44 GMT
For a time, I would say blogger/columnist Perez Hilton had a Sheridan/Woollcott/Winchell vibe and following. There will always be influencers in our culture at large. And I think that America still builds up people (and tears down these same people) that everyone hears about. Elon Musk is the latest one, and I wouldn't be surprised if like Trump, he is able to manipulate media into a successful run for the White House within ten years.
If you look at who trends each day on social media platforms, day after day, patterns start to emerge. I find it interesting that Jennifer Aniston is still trending all the time, given her age and the fact that by now, you'd think her popularity would be on the wane...but it isn't.
But my point is that Americans still need personalities (sometimes divisive ones) to rally around and even to despise. So these people, like Musk, rise up out of nowhere and their names are repeated in so many places they take on a meaning of their own. Average people start to think they know these larger than life names.
In the film and play, I think what we have is a conscious attempt to poke fun at the "big names" and to spoof the whole notion of what it means to be a celebrity. |
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Post by BingFan on Dec 4, 2022 19:53:04 GMT
Very good points.
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