THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER (1942) Guest from hell

Based on the Kaufman-Hart Broadway hit THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER is a hilarious peek back to a time when giants walked the literary and entertainment worlds. The "Man," Sheridan Whiteside, and other main characters were based on well-known figures of the time and channeled by equally well-known screen stars. One Christmas, a famous writer and radio star known for his intellect, wit and sarcasm (inspired by the waspish critic/author Alexander Woolcottt) breaks his leg on a small-town Ohio family's icy stoop and is confined to their home. The super-controlling curmudgeon Whiteside appoints himself dictator of the household and runs over everyone in his wheel chair, amassing long distance phone bills, meddling in others' affairs, and piling up countless gifts from his admirers including an octopus, penguins and an Egyptian tomb (which figures neatly into the plot resolution). When he tries to break up a romance between his secretary Maggie (Bette Davis) and the town ace reporter, the man who came to dinner gets his just desserts.