Why isn't anyone screaming about THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER not on Blu? (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

One of our good members @Allen Hollis posted this photo on his Facebook page

A smile came to my face. I saw this movie for the first time in the last two years and LOVED IT!

I mean, Sheridan Whiteside is one of the most animated, enjoyable characters ever to light up the screen.

So, I looked in my Blu-ray library. Perhaps I bought this? Don't own it.

I know I saw it. Perhaps on the Criterion Channel?

Then I look on Amazon. No Blu-ray. I mean...really? No Blu-ray release of this classic?

And then I did an HTF search. Maybe I am having a moment of stupidity but I didn't even see any threads with people screaming about this not being on Blu-ray.

What's the deal here? This is a Warner title, for God's sake. How could this classic not be on Blu-ray yet? It's friggin' Christmas!

 

[Matt Hough]

I agree with you, Ron. Even if it weren't Christmastime, I want this wonderful film on Blu-ray. The DVD looks very good, and I'm glad to have it, but the classic movie deserves a Blu-ray for sure!

 

[Josh Steinberg]

It’s on HBO Max in HD but I don’t know if it’s the existing transfer that the DVD was based on, or an as yet to be released on disc new master from WAC.

 

[t1g3r5fan]

I'm in concurrence with you on this, Ron. I have the DVD and rarely miss the opportunity of catching it on TCM when its broadcast. This absolutely should have a Blu-ray release; hopefully this omission will be rectified by Warner Bros. in 2022.

 

[darkrock17]

I could see Criterion releasing this film, as it goes along with their classic comedy titles.

 

[Thomas T]

I'm content with my DVD. I'm not sure I'd even upgrade if it made it to blu. But hey, that's just me! I'm sure it's in the pipeline. Be patient.

 

[bujaki]

I thought the HBO Max presentation looked excellent., As Thomas T pointed out, it's surely coming.

 

[usrunnr]

There is another version, with Nathan lane that is really good, but
I don't know if it's available on disk.

 

[cda1143]

Agreed! Great film! And a big whole in the HD catalog. The HBOMAX HD looks much better than the DVD. It’s been on HBOMAX for a very long time. I am surprised we have not seen a disc yet. It’s not even available on iTunes.

Another great film in the same situation (although the HBOMAX HD is fairly recent) is Midnight. Here the HD is undoubtedly a new master - far superior to the DVD.

Another masterpiece in a similar position is John Ford’s Long Voyage Home. An HD version has appeared on and off HBOMAX and Criterion Channel for a while, with no disc, and no digital purchase available. It doesn’t look great, but it’s much better than any previous version.

 

[Claude North]

I mentioned it in another thread, but am happy to see a thread devoted to it. It's one of my top wished-for Blu-ray titles.

 

[ahollis]

I keep thinking each month there will be an announcement.

“Is there a man in the world who suffers as I do from the gross inadequacies of the human race?”

 

[RichMurphy]

There is another version, with Nathan lane that is really good, but
I don't know if it's available on disk.

I think that is just a recording of the Broadway revival, which reopened the American Airlines (formerly Selwyn) Theatre in New York in 2000. I saw it there, and Jean Smart's wonderful performance made me laugh out loud several times, which I rarely do. Not sure if this showed up on the TV version, but the audience burst out laughing as soon as the curtain first rose: the Stanley family in the play obviously used the same interior decorator as the designers of the auditorium of the American Airlines Theatre, since the decor matched perfectly.

 

[Will Krupp]

It’s on HBO Max in HD but I don’t know if it’s the existing transfer that the DVD was based on, or an as yet to be released on disc new master from WAC.

It's definitely a new master and one that looks pretty damn good (except for what looks like an errant hair that got stuck in the film gate during the first reel)

 

[ahollis]

I think that is just a recording of the Broadway revival, which reopened the American Airlines (formerly Selwyn) Theatre in New York in 2000. I saw it there, and Jean Smart's wonderful performance made me laugh out loud several times, which I rarely do. Not sure if this showed up on the TV version, but the audience burst out laughing as soon as the curtain first rose: the Stanley family in the play obviously used the same interior decorator as the designers of the auditorium of the American Airlines Theatre, since the decor matched perfectly.

There was a 2000 TV film with Nathan Lane and a 1972 TV film with Orson Wells. Nathan Lane and Carol Burnet did a recording of an attempt at a Broadway musical titled “Sherry”. I found some of the songs enjoyable and many not that enjoyable.

 

[borisfw]

Love the original film. Monty Woolley is fantastic as Sheridan Whiteside. He makes you like him even though his character is an ahole. I also think Bette Davis was really good in this . A very understated performance by her that really works. Plus add the Christmas feel. I would buy this again if it comes to Blu ray.

 

[Rick Thompson]

Too bad the film killed the last act by casting Jimmy Durante in a part that the authors (George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart) modeled on Harpo Marx (hence the character name "Banjo"). The Nathan Lane production for some reason did the same thing.

 

[breeezer]

Too bad the film killed the last act by casting Jimmy Durante in a part that the authors (George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart) modeled on Harpo Marx (hence the character name "Banjo"). The Nathan Lane production for some reason did the same thing.

I know you don't mean Jimmy Durante was cast in the Nathan Lane production. Is your objection because the character is not named "Harpo?"

 

[Waldo Lydecker]

The character “Beverly Carlton” is a thinly disguised nod to Noel Coward. In fact for the 1939 production Cole Porter wrote a song for the character titled “What Am I to Do?”…It’s a brilliant slyly snarky send up of Coward’s writing style. Alas, it never made it to the film…Monty Woolley was a great friend of the Porters and is credited with originating the term “De-lovely”.

 

[Anthonydasher]

I wholeheartedly agree. This movie, and Christmas in Connecticut, are my 2 go to Christmas movies but i watch each several times a year. Definitely, TMWCTD should be on bluray by now.

 

[Will Krupp]

Nathan Lane and Carol Burnet did a recording of an attempt at a Broadway musical titled “Sherry”. I found some of the songs enjoyable and many not that enjoyable.

I've never heard it, I'm kind of jealous! Sherry! was a notorious flop (72 perfromances) when it opened on Broadway in spring 1972. George Sanders was the original Whiteside in that production when it was out of town but he dropped out prior to the Broadway opening and was replaced by Clive Revill, with Dolores Gray playing the part of Lorraine Sheldon.

The character “Beverly Carlton” is a thinly disguised nod to Noel Coward. In fact for the 1939 production Cole Porter wrote a song for the character titled “What Am I to Do?”…It’s a brilliant slyly snarky send up of Coward’s writing style. Alas, it never made it to the film…Monty Woolley was a great friend of the Porters and is credited with originating the term “De-lovely”.

Kaufman based the "famous" characters in the play on real life Broadway celebrities. Whiteside himself was based on Alexander Woollcott and "Lorraine Sheldon" is a thinly disguised nod to Gertrude Lawrence, one that's said to be closer to the real Gertie than Julie Andrews portrayal years later in Star! (lol)

Woolley pops up in a lot of stories about Porter (cough cough), including one in which he's responsible for Porter writing the song "Miss Otis Regrets." The two friends made a bet when Porter claimed he could write a song to any title that Woolley came up with. "Miss Otis Regrets" (a very funny title that would have confounded most songwriters) is what Woolley barked out. Porter won the bet when he wrote an equally funny song in response.