Separate Tables

Writer Terence Rattigan knits a pair of his one-act plays together for this 1958 chamber piece, an all-star drama about a somber gathering of lonely, repressed souls at a British seaside inn during the dreary off-season. David Niven and Wendy Hiller earned well-deserved Oscars for their subdued performances—Niven as Major Angus Pollock, a blustery old warhorse hiding a guilty secret; and Hiller as Pat Cooper, the efficient hotel proprietress. Burt Lancaster costars as John Malcolm, an alcoholic American writer whose secret affair with Pat is complicated when his former wife, Ann (Rita Hayworth), breezes in, reopening old emotional wounds; and Deborah Kerr is mousy Sibyl Railton-Bell, whose secret love for Major Pollock is shattered by scandal. American director Delbert Mann remains true to the sense of British reserve, as good manners and quiet desperation keep these sad folks isolated at separate tables, and he gracefully floats between the narratives. An intelligent, handsome production that is a little too respectful of its stage origins to take on a real life of its own, the combination of a superior cast and a literate script nevertheless makes this the kind of classic that will appeal to fans of such current TV shows as Downton Abbey. Re-released on DVD and bowing on Blu-ray, extras include an audio commentary. Recommended. (S. Axmaker)