Separate Tables (1958)

Terence Rattigan's pair of one-act plays are deftly woven together into this intelligent, handsome drama, a kind of somber Grand Hotel of lonely and repressed lives at a British seaside hotel in the dreary off-season. David Niven and Wendy Hiller earned well-deserved Oscars for their subdued turns, as a blustery old warhorse hiding a guilty secret and the efficient hotel proprietress, respectively. Burt Lancaster is the alcoholic American whose secret affair with Hiller is complicated when his former wife (Rita Hayworth) breezes in and reopens old emotional wounds, and Deborah Kerr is a mousy woman whose secret love for Niven is shattered by scandal. Director Daniel Mann (Marty) remains true to the good manners and quiet desperation that keeps these sad souls isolated at separate tables. He gracefully floats between the two dramas and patiently allows his repressed characters to open up and reveal their true feelings in their own quiet fashion. --Sean Axmaker Amazon.com

Stands the test of time

A thoughtful and sensitive movie which stands the test of time. Superb performances from a stellar cast including David Niven and Burt Lancaster. Well worth revisiting. It's a pity there weren't any extras featured apart from an audio commentary. Good quality reproduction. March 4, 2008

An Uninteresting Star-Studded Movie

This is Terrence Rattigan's character study of five individuals staying at a resort British town of Bournemouth. The setting of this motel is a symbol of a refuge for these five desperate characters trying to make their lives better, and staying out of troubles. The movie, directed by Delbert Mann, casts some of the best actors in Hollywood. David Niven won an Oscar award for his role as a retired Major (Angus Pollack). Mann is known for great comedic movies such as, Lover Come Back, and That Touch of Mink. His modest directorial role in this film is insufficient to make this movie interesting.

Ann Shankland (Rita Hayworth), a former model comes in search of her ex-husband John Malcolm (Burt Lancaster), who is currently engaged to Pat Cooper (Wendy Hiller), the manager of the motel. Other residents of the motel include, Sybil Railton (Deborah Kerr) an unassertive and frightfully repressed young lady living with her wealthy mother Mrs. Railton Bell (Gladys Cooper). She is casually befriended by Angus Pollack (David Niven) who has been charged with a minor sexual infraction in a public theater. As the lives intersect, emotions grow tense, providing all of the characters with their big dramatic moments. While David Niven offers a fine performance in this otherwise boring film, the viewers are some what bored by the role of Ms. Kerr who is known to have made some of the best movies Hollywood could offer. This movie is far from the magic of "Here to Eternity" that showed Deborah Kerr's love-making scene with Burt Lancaster on the Hawaiian beach.

Rita Hayworth and Burt Lancaster shine as ex-lovers forced to examine their pasts. Hayworth plays a passive woman in a reconciliatory mode who has not lost love for her ex-husband in spite of the fact she is engaged to be married again. Gladys Cooper is interesting to watch as she uses her status as a wealthy woman to control the opinion of the rest of the residents of the motel to throw Major Pollack out of the motel because of his run in with the law. The movie moves slowly in spite of some penetrating character study of the five individuals.

1. From Here to Eternity (Superbit Collection)
2. The King and I (50th Anniversary Edition)
3. An Affair to Remember
December 10, 2007

Separate Tables

A wonderful cast performing to near perfection. Burt Lancaster and Rita Hayworth are superb as is David Niven as the shy, lonely introvert who creates an artificial persona diametrically opposed to his reality. The "Major" is a caricature but played so that one is unsure of how deeply he is a phony. When exposed Niven plays heroically. December 1, 2007

good but dated

a very fine ensemble cast indeed.. while the indiscretions of the Major (Niven) were considered scandalous, they would be out of date today. Lancaster is strong as the american torn between his passion for the beautiful Hayworth and the stability of the admiration of the innkeeper Hiller... i felt Kerr was terribly miscast as the simpering daughter of a rich matron, and would have been better if she had been 10 years younger when this film was made.. Niven is strong, but his role was not very big, and i questioned whether it was oscar material (over Paul Newman in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof).. the strongest performance was of Dame Wendy Hiller.. the strong and composed keeper of the hotel.. and managed to keep strong in spite of losing a man she loved.. Hayworth also strong.. not familiar with her work... but she worked as a woman still beautiful, clinging to her beauty to retain the man who worshipped her... a very well made film and still good today July 8, 2007

Superb drama

This is a movie which is a must-see for those of you who like a classic. It is one of Rita Hayworth's best movies, and it was made two years before she contracted Alzheimer's Disease. Deborah Kerr is truly her character and doesn't appear as Deborah Kerr. She utilizes her craft and makes a convincing character. David Niven puts on a very fine bit of acting which reminds me of his superb movie "Enchantment" (1949). Wendy Hiller (who was in the Broadway performance of "Enchantment") is perfectly cast as Burt Lancaster's mistress. Burt Lancaster is Burt Lancaster, but I think he does a pretty good job and is convincing in his character. The way this movie is presented, you'd swear you were watching the play (also written by Terrence Rattigan). This is a movie you should own and watch often. July 4, 2007

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