Overview
A high-society dinner party spirals into chaos as secrets and tensions rise to the surface.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- witty
- sardonic
- glamorous
- classic cinema night
- pre-code film marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly praise George Cukor's fast-moving adaptation, sharp dialogue, social satire, and exceptional ensemble performances, especially Marie Dressler and Jean Harlow.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film follows Millicent and Oliver Jordan, Dan and Kitty Packard, Carlotta Vance, Larry Renault, and others as their separate concerns accumulate around the dinner party.
The extravagant dinner functions as a pressure point for business failure, marital infidelity, debt, blackmail, and class anxiety during the Depression era.
Adultery, alcoholism, blackmail, and sexually candid character behavior are treated with the directness associated with 1933 Pre-Code Hollywood.
The dinner's elegant surface contrasts with Oliver's failing health, Larry Renault's career crisis, Carlotta's financial uncertainty, and the Packards' ruthless ambition.
Films like Dinner at Eight, and why
The Women
pre-code social satire, star-studded ensemble, and sharply intersecting upper-class and working-class lives
The Philadelphia Story
witty ensemble comedy-drama centered on social performance, marital tensions, and wealthy New York society
Grand Hotel
interlocking relationship drama with theatrical dialogue, romantic scandal, and incisive class observation
Stage Door
classic Hollywood ensemble storytelling combining social satire, romantic complications, and backstage emotional volatility
Movie Details
- Director
- George Cukor
- Release Date
- 1933-12-22
- Runtime
- 111 min
- Rating
- 6.8 / 10 (134)
Cast
- Marie Dressler
- John Barrymore
- Wallace Beery
- Jean Harlow
- Lionel Barrymore
- Lee Tracy
- Edmund Lowe
- Billie Burke
- Madge Evans
- Jean Hersholt
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Dinner at Eight about?
- An elegant MGM dinner party becomes a comic pressure cooker for collapsing fortunes, illicit romances, and the private anxieties of Depression-era New York society.
- What is Dinner at Eight like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Dinner at Eight as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Dinner at Eight violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Dinner at Eight.
- What did critics think of Dinner at Eight?
- Critics broadly praise George Cukor's fast-moving adaptation, sharp dialogue, social satire, and exceptional ensemble performances, especially Marie Dressler and Jean Harlow.
- Which films are like Dinner at Eight?
- Films with a similar feel include The Women, The Philadelphia Story, Grand Hotel, and Stage Door.
- How long is Dinner at Eight?
- Dinner at Eight runs 111 minutes.
- Where can I watch Dinner at Eight?
- In United States, Dinner at Eight is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
