Where Sinners Meet (1934) User Reviews

A very British comedy that fizzles once the mystery is revealed.

[Art-22 · 6/10 · 9 February 1999]

The 1921 romantic comedy by A.A. Milne (of "Winnie-the-Pooh" fame) starts intriguingly when Reginald Owen's car beaks down on the London to Dover road, forcing him and Diana Wynyard to take lodgings for the night in a hotel nearby. But it turns out the "hotel" is not a hotel at all, but the private residence of wealthy Clive Brook, who conspires as a hobby to detain couples to prevent their hasty marriage when they take the boat from Dover to France. They become virtual prisoners because their luggage is hidden, usually for about a week, after which they are free to go. There is another couple, Billie Burke and Alan Mowbray, about to leave after a week's stay and we learn when they meet for breakfast that Owen and Burke are man and wife. So far so good, but I expected a lot more fireworks than I got after their meeting.

My biggest problems were what did lovely and gentle Wynyard see in the pompous and ill-mannered Owen to begin with, and similarly, what did Mowbray see in the nagging and prissy Burke. It was a put-up job, for I sensed that Burke and Owen were more suited to each other. Still, there were a few more surprises and some laughs in store, so it pays to stay with the film until the end. I enjoyed all the first-rate acting.

Good but overlong...and loses some of its momentum as the film progresses.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 19 January 2013]

"Where Sinners Meet" is an enjoyable film. However, the movie seems to lose a bit of steam about midway through it and that is why I give it a mediocre score of 6, even though it's a wildly original story--a story created by A.A. Milne--the creator of Winnie the Pooh! The film begins with two lovers racing to Dover so they can elope and run off to the continent. After all, the husband to be already has a wife--so haste is very important. However, their car develops problems and they are forced to seek refuge at a hotel...or manor home--they aren't sure what the place is. However, the two soon start to wonder if the car really was broken and if perhaps this all wasn't arranged by their host--a very strange eccentric indeed. There are LOTS of surprises in store--particularly when they find that there is another couple staying there under identical circumstances. What's next? See the film.

Had the film been wrapped up quicker and not been drug out so much, I would have scored this one an 8. The acting is nice and the story very good. And, despite dragging later, it is still worth your time. Not brilliant but nice.

Weird sinners...don't forget weird.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 24 April 2019]

This drawing-room comedy has to be seen to be believed, a mixture of farce and sophisticated double-talk that somehow just missed being cut because of the production code which apparently was not ready to be enforced. While it's not vulgar in any means, there are certainly a lot of innuendos of what is going on, with unmarried couples traveling together and two of them from Individual couples actually married. It's a follow-up for Diana Wynard and Clive Brooke from the Oscar winning "Calvalcade", is a curio and certainly no classic, but definitely a lot better than their next film together, "Let's Try Again".

Estate owner Brook basically kidnaps two couples who have car problems and end up in his mansion, thinking that it's a hotel. Brook is probably rather self-serving as he does his best to come between the beautiful Diana and the pompous Reginald Owen by I hope you're attending a judging them all morally, and when Owen's wife, Billie Burke, shows up with her own intended liaison (Alan Mowbray), it's obvious that they aren't driving around to see the sites.

Burke, even more chirpy than normal, obviously irritates the effete Mowbray, and that makes her performance both hilarious and annoying. She's a type of bird brain that never stops chirping, fawning over everything Mowbray does to the point of smothering him. I can see why Owen and Burke need space. For every tweeting sound Burke makes, Owen bellows like an irritated bull, chained up and unable to charge. The RKO gloss is glorious, but it's a bit too far out there to completely love.

It didn't work

[hmpulham · 2/10 · 22 December 2003]

Despite a first rate cast, this feeble -- very feeble British comedy, falls flat. Even great actors can't work with nothing, and this film offered nothing in the way of wit or interest. One might watch it only to see the lovely and classy Diana Wynyard, who could read a phone book and be worth the watch. However, here, H.W. Hanemann's adaptation of an A.A. Milne play is as interesting as a telephone book. My rating: #2

Elopers, Take Warning!

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 18 February 2004]

The Dover Road takes two pairs of adulterous lovers to the unconventional mansion WHERE SINNERS MEET.

Based on a play by A. A. Milne (the creator of Winnie-the-Pooh), this forgotten little film will come as a surprise & delight for discriminating viewers who enjoy sophisticated repartee & witty dialogue. Virtually no action occurs, but there is almost endless talk on a rather high intellectual level. Except for the opening & closing scenes, the entire plot takes place at the house and grounds of a rather splendid residence in the South of England. While this only heightens the feeling of watching a filmed play, all is forgiven amid the pleasure of enjoying what the characters are saying.

Clive Brook stars as the mysterious Mr. Latimer, who enforces a gentle morality upon his indiscreet house guests. Brook was an elegant actor, excellent with dialogue, who could communicate his feelings with the bare minimum of inflection or movement. Here he's given a wonderful opportunity to show his skills to advantage, starting with his eccentric entrance heralded by marching, regimented servants. Diana Wynyard, cool & crisp, adds her no-nonsense presence as a charming young woman literally halted on her road towards making a big romantic mistake.

Blustery, bellowing Reginald Owen & fluttery, smothering Billie Burke portray a noble couple who each attempt to escape from their stultifying marriage. They are vastly entertaining. Alan Mowbray plays a decent yet boring chap who still has a few lessons to learn in the game of love. Gilbert Emery is properly droll as a butler with unusual skills.

Billie Burke & Alan Mowbray make this a Classic Film!

[whpratt1 · 16 January 2004]

In 1934, this picture with its great classic actors and crazy plot where couples were trapped in a rich man's mansion, kept the public spellbound. Viewing this film in 2004 is like viewing a silent picture and should not be taken too serious, after all it was a COMEDY to be enjoyed. Billie Burke,(Eustasia),"Three Husbands"'51, was admired and hailed as a great actress along with Alan Mowbray,(Nicholas),"I Wake Up Screaming",'41. If you like vintage films and great actors from the past, take the time and view this film and be happy that the movie industry HAS GREATLY IMPROVED !

Brilliant 20's surrealist play makes an elegant 30's precode

[sue-colleycross · 8/10 · 22 August 2023]

The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. In the period between the wars, the codes of behaviour imposed by Victorian society were finally broken and from the top down a new found sense of liberty prevailed. That was of course until Depression and World War 2 ushered in another set of even stricter codes. For the period of this piece however, the party was still in full swing and what we are being asked to consider metaphorically here, is what happens the morning after when you wake up with a hangover/head cold.

The fact that the original piece was written as a play enhances the claustrophobic atmosphere of the film which takes place within the confines of a locked house. The characters are imprisoned for a period of reflection before they finally take the plunge into their 'new life'.

The choice of cast is perfect and no one but Clive Brook could pull off the line: 'Oh in that case I shot the mushrooms'.

If you dislike surrealism or crisp, 'wordy' satire, then this is not for you but you'll be missing a great commentary on society, which is just as relevant today as it was then, perhaps more so in an age of surfaces, where advances in technology have created an even greater gulf between fabricated entity and genuine self.