David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Burt Lancaster, Rita Hayworth, Wendy Hiller, Rod Taylor and Gladys Cooper sit literally or figuratively at "Separate Tables" in this 1958 film also starring Cathleen Nesbitt and Felix Aylmer and directed by Delbert Mann.
The story concerns characters at a British seaside resort: Major Pollock (Niven), a phony with a secret; an overbearing mother and her shy, fearful daughter (Cooper and Kerr), a man (Lancaster) involved with the woman who runs the hotel (Hiller), his ex-wife (Hayworth) and a med student and his girlfriend (Rod Taylor and Audrey Dalton), and a few assorted other characters. Lancaster plays John Malcolm, who is engaged to Hiller's character Cooper. When his ex-wife shows up unexpectedly, he needs to deal with the intense feelings he still has for her. Cooper has to face it as well. Major Pollock has become friendly with the almost childlike Sibyl (Kerr) who is terrified of life; when his secret is revealed by Sibyl's mother, the effect on Sibyl is traumatic.
These are all top-notch actors playing rich characters, but in the end, the most poignant performances belong to Niven and Kerr. Niven finally gets a chance in this film to prove his greatness as an actor, and his change from blustering braggart to timid man is awesome. His scene with Kerr as he attempts to explain himself is gut-wrenching. Kerr's Sibyl, who sees her one chance at happiness and independence from her mother fading away, gives a devastating performance. Those roles are flashier than the others; Wendy Hiller's strong and honest portrayal may not be as showy, but it is just as good. Lancaster, who coproduced, does a great job as the tormented Malcolm, who, despite their rotten marriage, can't help loving Ann (Hayworth), an aging beauty facing loneliness.
Some characters in "Separate Tables" are resigned to their lives and have come to accept and enjoy the quiet solitude of the hotel; one couple, Charles and Jean (Taylor and Dalton) are in a transition, and this will take them out of the hotel and into a new life; Pat Cooper and Sibyl's mother, two very different women, face very different losses; and John, Ann, Major Pollock and Sibyl attempt to reach across their separate tables, take a risk and make a connection. And the assorted residents of the hotel, Lady Matheson (Nesbitt), Mr. Fowler (Aylmer) and Miss Meacham (May Hallatt) take a risk by being nonjudgmental and making a connection as well.
A beautiful film that left this viewer reaching for the Kleenex. "Separate Tables" is about loneliness, reality vs. fantasy, hope and redemption. Don't miss it.
The story concerns characters at a British seaside resort: Major Pollock (Niven), a phony with a secret; an overbearing mother and her shy, fearful daughter (Cooper and Kerr), a man (Lancaster) involved with the woman who runs the hotel (Hiller), his ex-wife (Hayworth) and a med student and his girlfriend (Rod Taylor and Audrey Dalton), and a few assorted other characters. Lancaster plays John Malcolm, who is engaged to Hiller's character Cooper. When his ex-wife shows up unexpectedly, he needs to deal with the intense feelings he still has for her. Cooper has to face it as well. Major Pollock has become friendly with the almost childlike Sibyl (Kerr) who is terrified of life; when his secret is revealed by Sibyl's mother, the effect on Sibyl is traumatic.
These are all top-notch actors playing rich characters, but in the end, the most poignant performances belong to Niven and Kerr. Niven finally gets a chance in this film to prove his greatness as an actor, and his change from blustering braggart to timid man is awesome. His scene with Kerr as he attempts to explain himself is gut-wrenching. Kerr's Sibyl, who sees her one chance at happiness and independence from her mother fading away, gives a devastating performance. Those roles are flashier than the others; Wendy Hiller's strong and honest portrayal may not be as showy, but it is just as good. Lancaster, who coproduced, does a great job as the tormented Malcolm, who, despite their rotten marriage, can't help loving Ann (Hayworth), an aging beauty facing loneliness.
Some characters in "Separate Tables" are resigned to their lives and have come to accept and enjoy the quiet solitude of the hotel; one couple, Charles and Jean (Taylor and Dalton) are in a transition, and this will take them out of the hotel and into a new life; Pat Cooper and Sibyl's mother, two very different women, face very different losses; and John, Ann, Major Pollock and Sibyl attempt to reach across their separate tables, take a risk and make a connection. And the assorted residents of the hotel, Lady Matheson (Nesbitt), Mr. Fowler (Aylmer) and Miss Meacham (May Hallatt) take a risk by being nonjudgmental and making a connection as well.
A beautiful film that left this viewer reaching for the Kleenex. "Separate Tables" is about loneliness, reality vs. fantasy, hope and redemption. Don't miss it.