Marie Dressler, Jean Harlow in Dinner at 8
Marie Dressler III: Wallace Beery, Polly Moran Comedies
Some reviewers have complained that Marie Dressler didn't act. They say she overacted. What do you think?
Writing about her as an actress was tough, because there is no one remotely like her anymore. If you watch her performances today, you can see that she was a true-blue ham. And I can see how that would bother people, but for me it's an essential part of her charm. If I settle into a Marie Dressler picture, I know I won't get naturalism by today's standards. Neither will I get fart jokes, horny frat boys, or mean-spirited mockery. Instead, Marie offered character-driven humor.
She played the charwoman or the grand dame with equal distinction. And she played to the camera as if it were the back row of a vaudeville theater, mugging and overreacting shamelessly. But because she was so good at it, and so experienced, it became who she was as an actress. It's Marie and her character becoming one. And behind all that mugging is someone so warm, so funny, and so human, that she makes a beeline straight to your heart. Call it overacting, but it's hard to deny her entertainment value, even today. Once you see Marie Dressler on the screen, you don't forget her!
The 1933 all-star Dinner at 8 is probably Marie Dressler's best-remembered film. How did filming go? Was it well received at the time?
Dinner at 8 was filmed on a very tight schedule, since it involved some of the biggest names at the studio in an ensemble, and they were all needed on other sets as well. This is one of George Cukor's first movies as a director, and he was masterful at working with Marie, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, Lee Tracy, and Billie Burke. Reportedly, there were no raging egos, and everyone was happy with their roles and performances.
Dinner at 8 was received extremely well both critically and commercially. It was a direct descendant of the newly defined ensemble movie that MGM perfected the year before with Grand Hotel. As enduring entertainment, I think Dinner at 8 edges out Grand Hotel. It is creaky in parts, but most of it is still so funny and wise.
Marie's down-on-her-luck actress Carlotta, the twittering of Billie Burke, the boudoir sparring of Harlow and Beery — this is classic American film comedy at its very best. And of course there's the exchange between Marie and Harlow that has a secure place among the great moments ever captured on film. Something about machinery taking the place of every profession…
Marie Dressler's last movie was The Late Christopher Bean. Considering that it's an MGM film — currently owned by Time Warner — why is it unavailable?
I believe it has to do with the estate of the play's author, Sidney Howard. I'm happy to say that the film survives, and we can only hope that it will be seen someday on Turner Classic Movies and elsewhere. I went to the Eastman House in Rochester to see it. It's not Marie's best, but it is a pleasing slice of Americana co-starring Lionel Barrymore and Beulah Bondi. Marie was very ill during production, but you'd never know it. She is fine, bringing both humor and nostalgic wistfulness to her character.