Supper at Six: A Time Capsule You Might Want to Skip

If you're looking for something modern and sharp, Supper at Six is going to drive you up the wall. It’s slow, it’s theatrical, and it doesn't care if you're bored. But if you’re the kind of person who enjoys watching old, scratchy film just to see how people held their spoons in 1923? You’ll probably find something to love here.

The whole thing feels like a stage play that got locked in a room and told to hurry up. Kay Spangler is doing a lot of work with her eyebrows, which is honestly the highlight of the first twenty minutes. She carries the screen, even when the camera work feels like it’s struggling to keep up with the dialogue.

There’s this one scene involving The Great Maurice that just goes on for an eternity. It’s meant to be funny, I think? But it mostly just feels like watching someone try to juggle while the room is actively falling apart around them. It’s awkward. It’s weirdly charming. I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or check if the projector was broken.

Honestly, the pacing is a mess. It reminds me a bit of the frantic, uneven energy in The Fortune Teller, where you can feel the production budget drying up right before your eyes. They really try to pack a lot into these small rooms, which makes the whole thing feel claustrophobic.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Supper at Six (1933) through its definitive frames.

• The lighting choices are... a bold, flickering choice.
• The Ponce Sisters show up for about thirty seconds and steal the entire energy of the room.
• I’m still not entirely sure what the motivation for the third course of dinner was.

If you liked the vibe of The Third Degree, you might appreciate the attempt at building tension here. Though, to be fair, the tension here is mostly about whether the actors are going to trip over the furniture. It’s a very specific brand of 1920s chaos.

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s barely even a coherent movie by today's standards. But sometimes you need to watch something that feels like it was filmed in someone’s living room by a bunch of people who were really, really trying to impress their friends. 🍿

Don't expect a deep narrative. Just expect a lot of talking, some very loud outfits, and a general sense that everyone involved was having a better time than the audience.