Separate Tables (1958)

The stories of several people are told as they stay at a seaside hotel in Bournemouth which features dining at "Separate Tables."

Director:

Delbert Mann

Writers:

Terence Rattigan (screenplay), John Gay (screenplay),

Stars:

Deborah Kerr, Rita Hayworth, David Niven

Won 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Deborah Kerr	...	Sibyl Railton-Bell
Rita Hayworth	...	Ann Shankland
David Niven	...	Major Angus Pollock
Wendy Hiller	...	Pat Cooper
Burt Lancaster	...	John Malcolm
Gladys Cooper	...	Mrs. Railton-Bell
Cathleen Nesbitt	...	Lady Matheson
Felix Aylmer	...	Mr. Fowler
Rod Taylor	...	Charles
Audrey Dalton	...	Jean
May Hallatt	...	Miss Meacham
Priscilla Morgan	...	Doreen

Storyline

It's the off-season at the lonely Beauregard Hotel in Bournemoth, and only the long-term tenants are still in residence. Life at the Beauregard is stirred up, however, when the beautiful Ann Shankland arrives to see her alcoholic ex-husband, John Malcolm, who is secretly engaged to Pat Cooper, the woman who runs the hotel. Meanwhile, snobbish Mrs Railton-Bell discovers that the kindly if rather doddering Major Pollock is not what he appears to be. The news is particularly shocking for her frail daughter, Sibyl, who is secretly in love with the Major.

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Plot Keywords:

hotel | writer | song during credits | sexual repression | snobbery | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fra bord til bord

Filming Locations:

Stage 5, The Lot - 1041 N. Formosa Avenue, West Hollywood, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hill-Hecht-Lancaster Productions, Clifton Productions, Norlan Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Delbert Mann was so upset over producer/star Burt Lancaster's re-cutting of the picture that he severed his relationship with the company. According to Mann, it was done because Lancaster's character is the last of the four major protagonists to be introduced.

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Goofs

When Major Pollock is handed the newspaper in the last scene of the movie, it is folded in half in one shot but folded in fourths in another - the evidence being the picture on the back 'half' being upright. In reality, if in half the picture would be upside down.

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Quotes

John Malcolm: [to Ann] People who hate the light usually hate the truth.

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Connections

Version of BBC Play of the Month: Separate Tables (1970)

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Soundtracks

"Separate Tables"
(1958)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Harold Adamson
Sung by Vic Damone (uncredited)

User Reviews

Do Check Into The Beauregard Hotel!

"Separate Tables" (1958) is a movie that I'd been wanting to see for many years, and it was worth the wait. A "Grand Hotel"-type of story that takes place at a quaint English inn by the sea, it features any number of interesting characters, marvelously depicted by a host of great talents. Thus, we get a love triangle between Burt Lancaster, his ex-wife Rita Hayworth (40 years old in this film and still looking very pulchritudinous) and the charming hotel owner Wendy Hiller, who really did earn her Best Supporting Actress Oscar here. We meet the repressed mess of a spinster played by Deborah Kerr, as well as her impossibly overbearing mother (Gladys Cooper, doing here what she did to Bette Davis in 1942's "Now, Voyager"). We get to know retired Army major David Niven, and learn his dark secrets. (Niven, too, earned his Oscar for this fine portrayal; he also costarred with Kerr in another 1958 film, "Bonjour Tristesse.") And finally, we encounter a pair of young lovers, Rod Taylor and the yummy Audrey Dalton, who can't decide if they should marry or not. Many dramatic encounters abound (some of them sexually frank for 1958), and Hayworth's mature and adult performance might come as the pleasantest surprise of the bunch. Personally, I would say that big Burt picks the wrong gal to go off with at the film's conclusion, but I suppose that this is a matter of personal taste. The bottom line here is that this classic film is a wonderful treat for viewers who appreciate good screen writing and who relish deliciously served acting by a bunch of real pros. And this nice, crisp-looking DVD only adds to the pleasure. So do yourself a favor and check into the Beauregard Hotel!