Dinner at Eight

Summary

1951 BBC studio production of the comedy Dinner at Eight by George Kaufman and Edna Ferber.

Theatre play

Dinner at Eight by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman [more information]

Play synopsis

A social-climbing hostess in New York organises a smart dinner party to honour visiting British nobility. The play reveals the background of all guests, including their business dealings and affairs, so that by the time dinner is served the audience knows all of their secrets.

Production history

Opened in New York in October 1932.

Date of transmission

Sunday 4 March 1951

Time

8.30-11.00pm

Channel

BBC Television

Production company

BBC

Credits

Producer

Eric Fawcett

Playwright

Edna Ferber

Playwright

George S. Kaufman

Sets / Settings

James Bould

Cast

Robert Adair	Jo Stengel
Robert Ayres	Dr J. Wayne Talbot
Mark Baker	Ed Loomis
Jane Barrett	Paula Jordan
Cecil Brock	Gustave
Sebastian Cabot	Mr Fitch
James Carney	Larry Renault
Gaylord Cavallaro	Waiter
Wynne Clark	Hattie Loomis
Eileen Draycott	Mrs Wendel
Elaine Dundy	Dora
Daphne Dyer	Tina
Cecilia Eddy	Miss Copeland
Ruth Gower	Miss Alden
Sidney [or "Sydney"?] Keith	Max Kane
Jessie Royce Landis	Millicent Jordan
Percy Marmont	Oliver Jordan
Robert Marsden	Ricci
Jean McDonald	Lucy Talbot
Peter Mendoza	Bell Boy
Hartley Power	Dan Packard
Molly Raynor	Carlotta Vance
Charles Richardson	Mr Hatfield
Mavis Villiers	Kitty Packard

Additional details

Origination

Live from studio

Vision original

Monochrome

Later transmissions

Presented again at 8.00pm on Thursday 8 March 1951.

Extant status

No archival copy is known to exist.

Play tags

American drama; class issues / differences

Print sources

Title

Radio Times, 2 March 1951 (Magazine)

Linking notes

listing, p. 48 and article by Lionel Hale, ‘A Challenge to the Television Cameras’, p. 47