Dinner at the Ritz (1937)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Annabella is engaged to Paul Lukas, but when her fiancé's car crashes into David Niven's car, it's love at first sight! But Dinner at the Ritz isn't a love triangle; it's a mystery. . . Shortly after the arrival of the "other man", Annabella's father is murdered during a house party. The police have ruled it a suicide, but the devoted daughter knows better, and with a bit of help, she sets out to find her father's killer.The plot of Dinner at the Ritz was very entertaining. The biggest problem was the casting. Most of the actors, save David Niven and Paul Lukas, never grew up to be very famous, and there were two or three men who looked so similar I kept getting them confused. And when one of them was very clearly a good guy, and the other just as clearly a bad guy, I would have preferred one of the pseudo-twins to have dyed his hair or grown a mustache! The two leads were very cute, though. Annabella was charming, The Niv was dashing, and they both were very convincing in their pursuit of their young love. All in all, it's a cute movie, and if you like oldies, you could do a lot worse than Dinner at the Ritz.

The plot reveals itself early, there isn't any suspense to speak of and most of the jokes are weak. However! There are some bright spots:If you remain interested after the first 45 minutes, you will find more jokes to be entertained by, although some of these moments are merely incidental. Shooting on-location in Europe provides a welcome change of pace. The dialog, which is smoothly and stylishly delivered by a "classic" cast of capable actors, adds to the film's overall camp value. The cast provides some worthwhile moments, but you must be patient. I also enjoyed the costumes but if I am going to watch a movie from this era solely for costumes and dialog, this wouldn't be my first pick. If you like film from this era (I do) and already are familiar with the cast (I am), then I might recommend it. If you are not familiar with the period and the actors, I recommend finding something else to watch. The film isn't immensely popular so if you've come this far then you probably know what you're getting into.

Dinner at the Ritz was done while David Niven was making his first visit back to the old country. Sam Goldwyn who made as much money with Niven by selling his services to major studios as using Niven himself, lent him out to 20th Century Fox for this European production.The chief recommendation for Dinner at the Ritz is the location shooting in Paris, Monte Carlo, and London. It was good for American audiences to see the real deal as opposed to studio set recreations. It wasn't bad for our audiences to see the beautiful Annabella who would be marrying Niven pal Tyrone Power shortly.Annabella is the daughter of a banker who allegedly commits suicide after telling her he was going to confront one of a group of six men who pulled off a swindle on his bank. Of course Annabella doesn't believe it, neither does detective David Niven who's after these guys for other crimes.Since we already know who the murderer is, there's no real suspense in Dinner at the Ritz. It's whether she can catch them and prove it and will she realize Niven ain't one of the gang.I will say this, the gimmick used to get her father's money back is pulled off with quite a bit of style. Look for some good performances by Francis L. Sullivan and Paul Lukas as two of the gang of six. But the film really could have used some Hitchcock touches.

This smoothly paced English made work has many advantages going: capable direction that includes thoroughgoing competence with editing processes, a talented internationally flavoured cast, striking settings, of which many are in Paris and along the French Riviera, a comedic yet accessible screenplay, and top-flight design of costumes and interiors for each scene. Beautiful Annabella has top billing as Ranie Racine whose financier father, despite his ostensible suicide, has to her mind been murdered, and in an attempt to determine the actual cause of her sire's death, Ranie links up with Paul de Brack, a British government agent seeking identical information (David Niven with his initial starring part in a major feature), the two formulating various undercover ploys during which they come upon a large banking scandal while, naturally, facing the pleasant bother of falling in love. Elegance is the keynote of the film, with the gowns and other costuming of René Hubert being specially effective in its fostering, while a Monte Carlo casino, a luxurious Mediterranean yacht belonging to a probable principal in the mentioned scandal, in addition to concordant venues, are harmoniously complemented by the breezy dialogue penned by Roland Pertwee with additions from Romney Brent who also plays as a journalist following along the same trail as are Ranie and Paul. From the cast come numerous fine performances, Annabella earning acting honours for her vivid turn as an amateur detective, and there are telling contributions from Francis L. Sullivan and Tyrell Davis, representatives of the Forces of Evil, Shakespearian player William Dewhurst as an enigmatic jeweller who aids Ranie with adornment for her disguises, radiant Nora Swinburne, who not surprisingly steals her two brief scenes and, ever at ease among the elite, Niven may not be overlooked in this pleasant cinematic soufflé.