Stories of unwanted guests go back eons, though they can vary from comedy to horror to thriller. From Hollywood’s “Golden Age”, we get a mirthful stab at the topic via 1941’s The Man Who Came to Dinner.

When haughty author and radio personality Sheridan Whiteside (Monty Woolley) embarks on a lecture tour, he goes to spend time with a noteworthy local clan as part of a publicity stunt. As he ascends the steps to their home, however, Whiteside slips on ice and breaks his leg.

To settle a potential lawsuit, the Stanley family agrees to let Whiteside recuperate at their home. The arrogant and demanding Sheridan upends various lives along the way.

Not mentioned in that synopsis: the film’s two top-billed actors. Bette Davis plays Whiteside’s long-suffering assistant Maggie Cutler, whereas Ann Sheridan portrays Lorraine Sheldon, a glamorous actress Whiteside summons to his side to subvert a romance between Maggie and local journalist Bert Jefferson (Richard Travis) because he fears he’ll lose her as his employee.

I guess I could’ve mentioned all that in my two-paragraph overview, but those elements seemed somewhat tangential to the main plot. Dinner revolves around the ways in which Whiteside creates havoc and complications, so the Maggie subdomain feels like part of that overall narrative.

In any case, I understand the need for these subplots. A movie that revolves entirely around the obnoxious and pushy Whiteside would probably get tiresome quickly.

Though Woolley does his best to make Whiteside an amusing tyrant. While he comes across as self-centered and narcissistic through most of the film, Woolley conveys enough charisma and charm to ensure that we enjoy our time with this demanding beast.

Woolley played Whiteside on stage and it can feel like no one told him to alter his volume and demeanor for film. While this would damage a lot of movie performances, because Whiteside offers such a broad personality, Woolley’s work succeeds.

To some degree, Davis feels miscast as Maggie, mainly because it feels tough to accept that tough-as-nails Davis would quickly become smitten by Midwest Nice Guy Bert and the small town lifestyle. Davis ensures that we swallow her as the only person who can stand up to Whiteside, but it feels like too much of a stretch to accept her as the lovestruck lady.

Part of this stems from Travis’s dull personality. Granted, I suspect he largely reflects the character as written, but Bert seems like such a dud that it makes even less sense that Maggie would fall for him.

Sheridan gets a more flamboyant part as the Hollywood star. Like Woolley, Sheridan gobbles scenery relentlessly, but she fits the film’s goals and becomes a delight when she appears, even if her role seems awfully small for her to get second billing.

Director William Keighley does little to adapt the stage play for the screen. As such, Dinner often feels like a filmed take on the show, without a lot of cinematic pizzazz.

Nonetheless, Keighley allows the source material to shine. Despite a few minor complaints, Dinner turns into a pretty lively comedy.

The Man Who Came to Dinner appears in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. The Warner Archive imprint essentially guarantees quality, and Dinner lives up to that reputation.

Sharpness looked solid. Hardly a sliver of softness materialized across this accurate presentation.

No jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and I saw no edge haloes. With a nice layer of grain, I suspected no intrusive digital noise reduction, and print flaws failed to mar the presentation.

Blacks seemed dark and rich, while contrast appeared appealing and shadows came across as smooth and concise. Dinner offered another fine image from Warner Archive.

While not in the same league as the picture, the DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack of Dinner also worked well. Speech seemed reasonably accurate and distinct, with no issues related to intelligibility or edginess.

Music came across as fairly bright and lively, though dynamic range seemed limited given the restrictions of the source. Effects were similarly modest but they showed good clarity and accuracy within the confines of 85-year-old stems. This was a more than adequate auditory presentation for an older movie.

A mix of extras appear here, and Inside a Classic Comedy brings a featurette. It runs 11 minutes, 47 seconds and presents notes from film professors Drew Casper and Jeanine Basinger, film critic Paul Clinton and author Boze Hadleigh.

“Inside” examines the source play and its adaptation, story and characters, cast and performances, and their thoughts about the film. It becomes a decent but somewhat superficial look at Dinner.

Two circa 1941 shorts appear here. We get the live-action Glen Gray and His Casa Loma Orchestra (8:53) and animated The Wabbit Who Came to Dinner (8:09).

The first simply shows a stage performance from the band in question, though it comes accompanied by some dancers and shot in a cinematic manner. While shorts like this offer a slice of life related to the era’s popular music, I can’t take much entertainment value from them.

As for the cartoon, Elmer pursues Bugs but abandons this quest when an inheritance depends on his refusal to harm animals. Bugs takes advantage of this situation.

Bugs and Elmer were still “works in progress” circa 1941 and hadn’t fond their classic design yet. Still, Wabbit delivers a funny journey.

In addition to the film’s trailer, the disc concludes with two vintage radio broadcasts. These adapt Dinner and include a 12/25/1949 Hotpoint Holiday Hour production (59:40) and a 3/27/1950 episode of Lux Radio Theater (59:50).

With Hotpoint, Jack Benny plays the lead and Dorothy Maguire portrays Maggie. In Lux, Clifton Webb shows up as Whiteside while Lucille Ball acts as Maggie.

Usually when a Blu-ray includes two adaptations of the same film, one runs about an hour and the other goes for half that length. Because both Hotpoint and Lux fill nearly identical spans, this makes comparisons more apples/apples.

However, the narratives don’t take up the whole running times. Hotpoint ends with Christmas music, while Lux concludes with a message from General George Marshall.

Both offer similar but not identical adaptations. In terms of how they rework the film’s tale, both fare about the same, albeit with some variations in dialogue.

I prefer Hotpoint thanks to its cast. In addition to Benny and Maguire, we find Rosalind Russell, Gregory Peck and Henry Fonda as a narrator. Lux lacks the same star power.

Benny also does better as Sheridan than Webb. The latter seems gruff without charm, while Benny makes the character more wry and indignant than obnoxious.

In any case, both adaptations offer entertainment. I feel happy the set includes them.

Though it occasionally shows its roots as a stage production, The Man Who Came to Dinner compensates for these shortcomings. With some vibrant performances and witty banter, the movie keeps us entertained. The Blu-ray boasts strong picture, appropriate audio and a mix of bonus features. Dinner remains an amusing ride after 85 years.