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Theatrical release poster Directed by George Cukor, Dinner at Eight (1933) revolve s around the eminent dinner part hosted by Millic ent Jordan (Billie Burke), the s nobbish soci alite wife of shipping magnate Oliver Jordan (Lion el Barrymore). Millic ent is so aggrav ated about every thing going wrong that she is oblivious to Oliv er's impendin g bankrup t cy and serious heart condition, as well as her daug hter Paula 's (M ad ge Evans) preoccupa tion about the return of her fiancé, Ernest DeGraff (Phillips Holmes), from Europe. One of the invited g uests is Carlott a Vance ( Marie Dressler), a former sta ge s tar and Oliver's one -time flame. Also invited are corrupt mining t yco on Dan Packard (Wallace Beery), who is secretly consuming Oliver's business , and his brassy young wife Kitty (Jean Harlow). On the eve of the dinner, Millicen t, short of an extra man for Carlotta , in vites wash ed-up silent movie star Larry Renault (John Barrymore), compl...

In honor of Norma Shearer's 114th birthday, which was on Wednesday, this week on "Film Friday" I bring you what is arguably one of her most iconic pictures.   Original release poster Directed by George Cukor, The Women (1939) begins when Sylvia Fowler (Rosalind Russell) learns from her manic urist, Ol ga (Dennie Moore), that Stephen Haines, the husband of her cousin Mary (Norma Sh e arer), is having an affair with a predatory perfume cle rk named Crystal Allen (Joan Crawford). A notorious go ssip, Sylvia share s the news with her Park Ave nue friends and then sends Mary for a manicure with Olga so that she hears the rumor herself. Mary's mother, Mrs. Morehead ( Lucile Watson) urges her to ignore the gossip, but she cannot control herself when she unexpectedly e ncount ers Crystal at a fashion show. Much to Sy lvia's delight, the meeting between the two r ivals makes the front page of the soci ety columns , which prom pts Mary to ask for a divorce. ...