The Man Who Came to Dinner

The Man Who Came to Dinner is a 1972 American TV adaptation of the 1939 play The Man Who Came to Dinner by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It was directed by Buzz Kulik for Hallmark Hall of Fame. The film was broadcast on November 29, 1972. Plot summary Sheridan Whiteside, a sharp-tongued and famous radio critic, is on a lecture tour in Ohio when he slips on the icy steps of the home of the prominent Stanley family and breaks his hip. Forced to convalesce in their home during the Christmas holidays, Whiteside takes over the household, turning the Stanley home into a whirlwind of chaos. The already dramatic situation is further complicated by a series of events: Whiteside’s secretary, Maggie Cutler, falls in love with a local newspaper reporter named Bert Jefferson. To keep Maggie from leaving his employ, Whiteside schemes to have his actress friend, Lorraine Sheldon, come and lure Bert away from Maggie. Additionally, Whiteside has to deal with a variety of eccentric characters who visit him during his convalescence, including the strange Professor Metz and the eccentric actor Beverly Carlton. As Whiteside continues his manipulations and the Stanley home becomes more chaotic with penguins in the library and octopi in the cellar, it’s revealed that he has been well enough to leave for some time but has stayed for his own amusement and purposes. However, his ruses are eventually revealed, leading to a series of comedic confrontations and resolutions.