Home > Separate Tables

Browse Amazon

Apparel & Accessories

Beauty

Jewelry

see larger picture

Staring: Rita Hayworth, Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Burt Lancaster, Wendy Hiller
Director: Delbert Mann
Average Customer Rating:

List Price: ~~$14.98~~
Our Price: $32.95

Product Details
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780792851646
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, DVD, Letterboxed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 0792851641
Label: MGM (Video & DVD)
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: MGM (Video & DVD)
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2001-12-11
Running Time: 100
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Theatrical Release Date: 1958-12-18

What similar items do customers ultimately buy after viewing this item?

Editorial Review
Amazon.com
Terence Rattigan's pair of one-act plays are deftly woven together into this intelligent, handsome drama, a kind of somber Grand Hotel of lonely and repressed lives at a British seaside hotel in the dreary off-season. David Niven and Wendy Hiller earned well-deserved Oscars for their subdued turns, as a blustery old warhorse hiding a guilty secret and the efficient hotel proprietress, respectively. Burt Lancaster is the alcoholic American whose secret affair with Hiller is complicated when his former wife (Rita Hayworth) breezes in and reopens old emotional wounds, and Deborah Kerr is a mousy woman whose secret love for Niven is shattered by scandal. Director Daniel Mann (Marty) remains true to the good manners and quiet desperation that keeps these sad souls isolated at separate tables. He gracefully floats between the two dramas and patiently allows his repressed characters to open up and reveal their true feelings in their own quiet fashion. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

There are some very peculiar overtones in this film, 2009-03-18
Some peculiar overtones in this film

I'll let you read about the plot in other reviews. Suffice it to say, although overtly this is a sweet film about lonely people finding each other, it has some decidedly peculiar overtones. It belongs to a type of drama popular in the mid 20th century, which I personally call "group therapy." A group of relatives or friends--in this case the inhabitants of a residence hotel--has a status quo which hides their most secret feelings, acts, and incidents in their pasts. A catalyst occurs--in this case the arrival of a stranger (to all the residents but her ex-husband). Everyone reveals their secrets (voluntarily or not), and then enters into tears, recriminations, accusations, etc. By the end of the drama there is a new status quo--one that is not guaranteed to solve any of the characters' problems, but which enables life to go on.

But the most peculiar aspect of this film is the assumption that males are so hormonally driven that women owe them sexual satisfaction. Before the drama begins, one man's wife's sexual denials have led him to assault and a stint in a mental hospital (plus she divorced him). Her "selfishness" in not wanting to spoil her figure by having children (she is a successful fashion model) is castigated, and she has to show up at the hotel and repeatedly plead to resume their relationship, and this time, she has to agree to . . . well, you know. Early in the drama, another man's lack of a partner leads him to grope strangers in a movie theatre, which in turn lands him in jail. He is rewarded with a shy, younger, more upper-class woman he's always liked, but never had the courage to approach.

And sexual satisfaction is not all the film says males are entitled to--they're entitled to children, too. Another couple consists of a medical student who is perpetually exhausted by his incessant study of anatomy either in books, or on the girlfriend who keeps dragging him into bed. But that's not enough for him; he proposes marriage a couple of times a day. The girlfriend loves him, but is not sure she wants to be tied down by marriage. At the end _she_ has to agree to marry him and furthermore, have numerous children.

Meanwhile, a very nice woman (much nicer than the ex-wife) who is engaged to the first man, is completely left out in the cold when his ex-wife shows up. She wants him, but the ex-wife is much more beautiful and desirable, so she has to be generous and gracious. The filmmakers certainly aren't worried about the urges of any _females_ landing them in a mental hospital or jail.

Very English parade of American movie stars, 2010-01-01
Plot- and setting-wise, "Separate Tables" is a very English affair. A seaside hotel, its stuffy residents... Every major character, however, is living his or her personal drama. The director Delbert Mann's (Marty, 1955) experienced hand got the very best of the plethora of acting stars - mature and very stylish Rita Hayworth, typically masculine Burt Lancaster, or both Academy Award winners for this film as best supporting actors - David Niven and Wendy Hiller. But the movie might very well belong to Deborah Kerr, who portrays a woman manipulated by her possessive mother. It's her character that somehow holds the key to the film's denouement and mostly influences the final impact on a viewer. If you like your movies talky and psychologic, but not depressing, don't hesitate a minute. Gets even better with repeated viewings.

Much better than I remembered..., 2010-01-04
I've let this one mull around in my head for a while, because quite frankly I wasn't sure what I thought of it when I saw it all those months ago (it's been nearly a year). In fact, I think I let too much time go by, so much so that I actually rewatched this the other night to refresh my memory and confirm my sentiments.

David Niven deserved the Oscar, just not in that category.

The film is one of those that I didn't really remember too fondly, but as I watched it again the other night I found myself remembering liking it. You know those films, the ones that you really enjoy only to find that time (and your memory) was unkind to them, and then, as you watch it a second (or maybe even a third, fourth or tenth time) you realize that you liked it more than you remembered.

That was this film for me.

The films takes place on a seaside hotel that hosts a slew of very different and very interesting characters who all happen to become a major part of each others lives. As scandal breaks out on all ends (most notably with a rumor involving a respected war veteran) the guests begin to fester and their relationships begin to fray and soon the controversy engulfs them all. Loyalties are tested, emotions are bared and truths are accepted.

For me, half the enjoyment from a film of this nature is experiencing all of the twists and turns with a naivety that comes from walking in blind, so I'll refrain from giving away the plot any more than I already have. I think that the less you know the more you can become swept away by anticipation and suspense.

I will say that the films final frame may be its finest.

The acting (for the most part) is outstanding. The only sore point for me was a shocking one. I usually ADORE Deborah Kerr, but I found her portrayal of the seemingly simple-minded Sybil to be clichéd and aggravating. I hated her handling of her character. The rest of the cast was phenomenal. Like I mentioned, Niven deserved that Oscar, but I have a hard time considering his performance a Lead performance. I would have placed him in supporting myself (this is a true ensemble piece with no definitive lead character). Hiller, Hayworth (scene stealing for certain), Lancaster and the devilish Cooper were all spot-on perfection. Cooper is a hoot as the demanding and intrusive old-woman, and Hiller is devastating in her portrayal of a woman wanting what she fears she'll never completely attain. While I personally give my supporting award to MacLaine in 1958 (I know the Academy went with Lead for her as well, but that performance has SUPPORTING written all over it) I cannot fret over Hiller's much deserved Oscar!

In the end I have to say that I am so glad I disregarded my ill-advised memory and watched this film again before reviewing it. I fear that in a year I may have the same misconceived notion that this is less than I remember, but I will have no problems putting it back on and proving my memory wrong once again.

I Just Love Rita Hayworth, 2009-09-29
As I stated in the title, I just love Rita Hayworth. This is a very good movie, no matter who the leading lady would have been.

Very enjoyable old fashioned film, 2009-06-24
Another reviewer named this type of film, popular in the 50's as "group therapy." I had to laugh at that because there is a certain amount of truth in it. A varied group assembles in a site and each one, with his/her own personality defect gradually interacts with the others and a certain transformation occurs, at least in the main players. Personally I love this format--find it much more satisfying than a lot of stuff that passes for art nowadays.

The setting is charming to modern eyes---a small, apparently modest residential hotel, located three minutes away from the sea in an unremarkable English town. These people all seem to be suffering from something yet they keep up appearances grandly, and the hotel supports their various illusions. It's a perfect place for secrets to be exposed as the folks encounter one another.

The cast is first rate. David Niven is lovely as a fellow whose hearty old-style British bravura hides a desperate secret. I'm usually bored by Niven but this performance is wonderfully done...especially the last scene. Deborah Kerr is probably miscast as the frightfully repressed woman of an indeterminate age who is dominated by her scarey mother. Kerr is too robust and healthy and naturally gorgeous to get away with portraying such an unfortunate person and her attempts at shy awkwardness border on charicature. Rita Hayworth is very good as the aging but still glamourous model whose unexpected shows of kindness endear her to the audience. Burt Lancaster is perfect as the failing writer turned alcoholic whose passion for Hayworth still flares up even after a terrible marriage. Wendy Hiller plays the competent, smart woman who runs the hotel and has fallen for Lancaster. All the others are well cast and played. The only characters who didn't seem to add anything were the young couple who were on the verge of marriage. Perhaps they were there to portray "normal" against whom the others played. I thought they could have been eliminated.

This could have been terrible in the hands of lesser artists, including the director. Fortunately it was so well done that a fine, sensitive, and satisfying film emerged. The attitudes are dated so perhaps younger viewers may have a problem appreciating it. Read the other reviews and make up your own mind.

Top Sellers