Rent Separate Tables (1958)
3.7 of 5 from 115 ratings
1h 36min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Travel to the Beauregard Hotel where the eccentric guests all share one common trait - loneliness. There's Major Pollack (David Niven), who hides a dark secret behind a polished military veneer; Sibyl Railton-Bell (Deborah Kerr), a shy, neurotic old maid who lacks the courage to break away from her domineering mother; John Malcolm (Burt Lancaster), a disenchanted writer who drowns his bitterness in a pool of alcohol; and Ann Shankland (Rita Hayworth), whose narcissism masks a deep fear of growing old alone and unloved. In one emotional evening, these four unhappy misfits will bare their innermost secrets...and change each other's lives forever.
- Actors:
- Deborah Kerr, Rita Hayworth, David Niven, Wendy Hiller, Burt Lancaster, Gladys Cooper, Cathleen Nesbitt, Felix Aylmer, Rod Taylor, Audrey Dalton, May Hallatt, Priscilla Morgan, Hilda Plowright
- Directors:
- Delbert Mann
- Producers:
- Harold Hecht, James Hill
- Writers:
- Terence Rattigan, John Gay
- Others:
- David Raksin, Charles Lang Jr.
- Studio:
- MGM
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Romance
- Collections:
- 10 Films to Watch Next If You Liked: Prick Up Your Ears, Acting Up: British Actors at the Oscars, Acting Up: British Actresses at the Oscars, Award Winners, Films to Watch If You Like..., Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Burt Lancaster, Holidays Film Collection, Oscar Nominations Competition 2024, Oscar Nominations Competition 2025, Romantic Film Pairings for Valentine's Day, Top 10 Guest Houses On Film, Top Films
- Awards:
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 20/08/2018
- Run Time:
- 100 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.66:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio commentary by Delbert Mann
- Burt Lancaster Guardian Interview (1972, 96 mins, audio only)
- Theatrical Trailer (1958)
- Stills Gallery
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Reviews (2) of Separate Tables
A pleasant surprise - Separate Tables review by CSF
This film is like when you find a gem in a bric-a-brac. I wanted to see this film because I love Terence Rattigan and Burt Lancaster and my family was fond of Rita Hayworth. All of them in the same film! Not disappointed at all. They were the actors my parents were always praising. Their playing was not dated, I would say 'vintage' maybe. The story is a well written classic drama. Only I would have wished a more elaborated ending.
On the other hand some aspect of the story has become a very modern issue! The idea of sexual harassment in the 50's is coming back today with the same people's reaction.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Understated drama - Separate Tables review by Pete W
It became fashionable in the 1960s to denigrate Rattigan but this is a well crafted film based on one of his plays. A hotel in Bournemouth is the claustrophobic setting as a range of characters confront their own and each others weaknesses and loneliness. I’m not a fan of Burt Lancaster in one of the main roles but practically everyone else is a knockout, very often playing against type. David Niven shows a vulnerability I really didn’t expect, Deborah Kerr is a damaged spinster under the thumb of her domineering mother, Gladys Cooper and Wendy Hiller holds the hotel together. In the denouement, rarely has the phrase “Good morning” or a discussion about the weather or cricket scores been freighted with so much meaning.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.