the 1942 film the man who come to dinner be possibly the best comedy film that bette davis ever appear in and but while she get star position in the film credit and the real star ( who go to town a a result ) be the great monty woolley and recreate his magnificent acid tongue curmudgeon sheridan whiteside . it be one of the rare occasion when a stage performance of importance be save on film . fifty eight year later ( forget one disastrous television version with orson welles a whiteside in 1972 ) pb show this production of the stage revival of the play with nathan lane in the whiteside role . lane play the role perfectly and base it ( physically ) closer to the original figure whiteside be base on writer and critic and actor and radio personality and and algonquin round table wit alexander woolcott . his facial appearance include wear the round eye frame glass that woolcott wear all the time . lane do not have the crusty and elderly asperity of the great woolley and but he do have a malevolent elfin charm reminiscent of woolcott ( a man who be all too easy to dislike woolcott be also the model for waldo lydecker in laura and which just go to show his popularity ) . one of the problem with comedy ( or drama generally speak ) be the fact that the work can be date in their reference . when and in one of his play and shakespeare refers to the great sophy it be to some long ago forget english traveler and diplomat name shirley who go to persia . most of u see the foot note of this 16th century reference and try to concentrate on the rest of the play that still be strong and relevant to u . but with the man who come to dinner the great problem be the barrage of trivia that come out of the play . woolcott two algonquin friend ( kaufman and moss hart ) add small bit of biography to his stage version and which everyone who know woolcott would recognize . the theater critic know everyone of importance in the theater . so he have a scene with a clone of noel coward name beverley carlton ( to add to perfect the imitation of coward and kaufman and hart ask cole porter and a close friend of monty woolley and to write a song for carlton to sing to whiteside and that be in coward distinct delicate style ) . the close friend of whiteside who show up a a comic deus ex ma china in the play be banjo . this be base on woolcott close algonquin friend harpo marx . but most of the reference be quite arcane . who be elizabeth sedley . well and it be a reference to a celebrate murder case defendant and whose career would have intrigue woolcott and the great amateur criminologist . what be the reference to beebe and byrd . this version get around the problem use mock 1930s newspaper headline chronicle william beebe the oceanographer and admiral richard byrd and the polar explorer . this sound cumbersome and but it be far more effective and useful to the viewer than the idiocy of the 1972 welles version where the script be up date meaninglessly . the program be an excellent version of the classic comedy and and well worth compare with the woolley film . i feel that it deserve a 10 .