Delbert Mann's's 1958 drama hasn't worn its years well. I was curious to see the film for which, one of my favourites, David Niven, won a Best Actor Oscar, in what is very much an ensemble piece. As a fan I have to be pretty honest and suggest that though it was good to know he was rewarded for a distinguished career, I think he was pretty lucky. His character Major Pollock is virtually absent from the film's second act.
Speaking of film, Separate Tables is striking in how strongly it reflects it's theatrical origins, being based on two one-act plays by Terence Rattigan, who had a hand as a co-writer in adapting his plays for the screen. There are no external locations. Everything clearly takes place on soundstages, with the action confined to the interiors (and very occasionally the exteriors) of the Hotel Beauregard in Bournemouth on the south coast of England.
The story concerns a day or two in the life of the hotel residents, many of whom presumably take a room on a permanent basis. I see some of the scribes to this site are talking about the characters' storylines, using words such as "gripping", "suspenseful" and "adventures"(???). Might I respectfully suggest that they are guilty of a severe case of hyperbole. Nothing could be much further from the truth. To paraphrase Rick Blaine from Casablanca, "... it doesn't take much to see that the problems of these little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."
A domineering mother (Gladys Cooper) lording it over her mousy shy daughter(Deborah Kerr) who holds the torch for a pompous ex-military windbag (Niven), who finds himself on the outer, for apparently going the grope in a darkened theatre. If that doesn't rock your boat, you can always try the American connection. Rather unbelievably, an ex-model played by Rita Hayworth, comes looking to ostensibly reunite with the ex-husband who apparently once tried to murder her in some drunken rage and who we see still has his anger management issues. If the hotel proprietress (Wendy Hiller)(who is secretly engaged to her international guest) smells a rat, so do we, when we see that Burt Lancaster's writer, is written more sympathetically than the missus. Perhaps this was because Lancaster's production company made the film and he oversaw the editing process over Mann's objections. Whatever, but the tone is decidedly anachronistic in a modern era dominated by MeToo themes and campaigns.
The other guests' stories are shoved unceremoniously into the background of this brisk 100 minute feature. Given the late 50's conservative social setting, the thread of the 2 university students, suspected by some guests of engaging in a little pre-marital horizontal folk-dancing in each others rooms is oddly given only the slightest passing reference. Separate Tables ends up being a well-acted, curiosity piece more than anything else. Certainly not a serious piece of classic cinema by any means.
In finishing I have to agree with that minority of other observant users, who see the very obvious template, being laid out for the future Fawlty Towers. Of course John Cleese and Connie Booth had to have been influenced by this movie, in creating their hilariously classic TV series. The same sort of hotel, in the same part of the world, with the same sort of retired major (minus the harassment charges) managed by the same sort of primly efficient proprietress, whose name is Sybil (like Deborah Kerr's character) and much of the action also takes part in the dining room of separate tables. If this was to be the lasting legacy of Separate Tables, well then the least I can do is award it a generous 6.
Speaking of film, Separate Tables is striking in how strongly it reflects it's theatrical origins, being based on two one-act plays by Terence Rattigan, who had a hand as a co-writer in adapting his plays for the screen. There are no external locations. Everything clearly takes place on soundstages, with the action confined to the interiors (and very occasionally the exteriors) of the Hotel Beauregard in Bournemouth on the south coast of England.
The story concerns a day or two in the life of the hotel residents, many of whom presumably take a room on a permanent basis. I see some of the scribes to this site are talking about the characters' storylines, using words such as "gripping", "suspenseful" and "adventures"(???). Might I respectfully suggest that they are guilty of a severe case of hyperbole. Nothing could be much further from the truth. To paraphrase Rick Blaine from Casablanca, "... it doesn't take much to see that the problems of these little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world."
A domineering mother (Gladys Cooper) lording it over her mousy shy daughter(Deborah Kerr) who holds the torch for a pompous ex-military windbag (Niven), who finds himself on the outer, for apparently going the grope in a darkened theatre. If that doesn't rock your boat, you can always try the American connection. Rather unbelievably, an ex-model played by Rita Hayworth, comes looking to ostensibly reunite with the ex-husband who apparently once tried to murder her in some drunken rage and who we see still has his anger management issues. If the hotel proprietress (Wendy Hiller)(who is secretly engaged to her international guest) smells a rat, so do we, when we see that Burt Lancaster's writer, is written more sympathetically than the missus. Perhaps this was because Lancaster's production company made the film and he oversaw the editing process over Mann's objections. Whatever, but the tone is decidedly anachronistic in a modern era dominated by MeToo themes and campaigns.
The other guests' stories are shoved unceremoniously into the background of this brisk 100 minute feature. Given the late 50's conservative social setting, the thread of the 2 university students, suspected by some guests of engaging in a little pre-marital horizontal folk-dancing in each others rooms is oddly given only the slightest passing reference. Separate Tables ends up being a well-acted, curiosity piece more than anything else. Certainly not a serious piece of classic cinema by any means.
In finishing I have to agree with that minority of other observant users, who see the very obvious template, being laid out for the future Fawlty Towers. Of course John Cleese and Connie Booth had to have been influenced by this movie, in creating their hilariously classic TV series. The same sort of hotel, in the same part of the world, with the same sort of retired major (minus the harassment charges) managed by the same sort of primly efficient proprietress, whose name is Sybil (like Deborah Kerr's character) and much of the action also takes part in the dining room of separate tables. If this was to be the lasting legacy of Separate Tables, well then the least I can do is award it a generous 6.