The Man Who Came to Dinner

When I was at college I saw this on television. At the time I was really into the work of Welles, rarely noticing the criticism that was to be found against him. While on the whole he was a welcome film and stage giant he had flaws. One of them was his comic sense. He had a sense of humor, but his performance as Sheridan Whiteside seemed pretty dull. And his singing "American Pie" several times in the course of the play seemed meaningless (Monty Wooley sang "I'se Just a Wittle Wabbit" once in the play and movie, so Welles's warbling seemed even more meaningless).

Actually the real problem was that the Wooley-Davis film of 1941 was just too perfect to be replaceable by later versions (at least until Nathan Lane's excellent "Sheridan Whiteside" portrayal could be compared to Wooley). Both men went to town as the irascible critic who meddles in people's lives. But Welles never came to grips with it. Without a good central performance "The Man Who Came To Dinner" is hardly worth watching. So yes, this one is justly forgotten.