Separate Tables (1958)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Delbert Mann

Writers:

John Gay (writer)
Terence Rattigan (play)

Release Date:

18 December 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

The stories of several people are told as they stay at a seaside hotel in Bournemouth which features dining at "Separate Tables."

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | Ex Convict | Alcoholism | Class Differences | Writer

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Deborah Kerr	...	Sibyl Railton-Bell
Rita Hayworth	...	Ann Shankland
David Niven	...	Major Angus Pollock
Wendy Hiller	...	Pat Cooper
Burt Lancaster	...	John Malcolm
Gladys Cooper	...	Mrs. Railton-Bell
Cathleen Nesbitt	...	Lady Matheson
Felix Aylmer	...	Mr. Fowler
Rod Taylor	...	Charles
Audrey Dalton	...	Jean
May Hallatt	...	Miss Meacham
Priscilla Morgan	...	Doreen

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording)

Certification:

Germany:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:K-12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1998)

Filming Locations:

Stage 5, Samuel Goldwyn/Warnert Hollywood Studios, 1041 N. Formosa Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions

Trivia:

The original Broadway production of "Separate Tables" by Terence Rattigan opened at the Music Box Theater in New York on October 25, 1956, ran for 332 performances and was nominated for the 1957 Tony Award (New York City) for the Best Play. May Hallatt recreated her stage role in the movie version.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Major Pollock is handed the newspaper in the last scene of the movie, it is folded in half in one shot but folded in fourths in another - the evidence being the picture on the back 'half' being upright. In reality, if in half the picture would be upside down.

Quotes:

Pat Cooper: [to John about his relationship with Ann] When you're together, you slash each other to pieces. When you're alone, you slash yourselves to pieces.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Laverne & Shirley: Separate Tables (#5.26)" (1980)

Soundtrack:

Separate Tables

Do Check Into The Beauregard Hotel!

"Separate Tables" (1958) is a movie that I'd been wanting to see for many years, and it was worth the wait. A "Grand Hotel"-type of story that takes place at a quaint English inn by the sea, it features any number of interesting characters, marvelously depicted by a host of great talents. Thus, we get a love triangle between Burt Lancaster, his ex-wife Rita Hayworth (40 years old in this film and still looking very pulchritudinous) and the charming hotel owner Wendy Hiller, who really did earn her Best Supporting Actress Oscar here. We meet the repressed mess of a spinster played by Deborah Kerr, as well as her impossibly overbearing mother (Gladys Cooper, doing here what she did to Bette Davis in 1942's "Now, Voyager"). We get to know retired Army major David Niven, and learn his dark secrets. (Niven, too, earned his Oscar for this fine portrayal; he also costarred with Kerr in another 1958 film, "Bonjour Tristesse.") And finally, we encounter a pair of young lovers, Rod Taylor and the yummy Audrey Dalton, who can't decide if they should marry or not. Many dramatic encounters abound (some of them sexually frank for 1958), and Hayworth's mature and adult performance might come as the pleasantest surprise of the bunch. Personally, I would say that big Burt picks the wrong gal to go off with at the film's conclusion, but I suppose that this is a matter of personal taste. The bottom line here is that this classic film is a wonderful treat for viewers who appreciate good screen writing and who relish deliciously served acting by a bunch of real pros. And this nice, crisp-looking DVD only adds to the pleasure. So do yourself a favor and check into the Beauregard Hotel!