Plot summary for
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942)

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Lecturer Sheridan Whiteside slips on the ice on his way into the home of a prominent Ohio family. The Dr. says Whiteside must remain confined having broken his leg. He begins to meddle with the lives of everyone in the household and, once his plots are underway, learns there is nothing wrong with his leg. He bribes the doctor. The owner discovers the fraud, but Whiteside blackmails him (he finds out that the owner's sister is an axe murderer) and resumes control. Written by Ed Stephan {stephan@cc.wwu.edu}

While noted acerbic wit, cultural critic, and egotistical radio personality Sheridan Whiteside is on a lecture tour in a small provincial town in Ohio, he condescends to have dinner at the house of dizzy matron Daisy Stanley, wife of a local conservative businessman. Whiteside slips and falls on their front steps, breaking his hip and forcing him to recuperate in their house. He immediately takes over the entire household with a combination of threats, intimidation, and acid-tongued wit, exiling the Stanleys to the second floor. He holds court in the living room for his wide circle of friends, runs up staggering long-distance bills to world leaders, monopolizes the Stanley servants, and populates the house with a menagerie of exotic animals. Unfortunately for the demanding Whiteside, Maggie Cutler, his trusted secretary and indispensable girl Friday, has fallen in love with a local newspaper man. Although he is pronounced well and free to leave by the local doctor, Sherry feigns his infirmity in order to find away to keep Maggie with him. Written by Gabe Taverney (duke1029@aol.com)

Sheridan Whiteside, an eccentric and acid-tongued radio lecturer, is disabled on the doorstep of a prominent Ohio family and must remain confined to the unwilling family's home for a few days. Discovering what he believes to be problems within the household, Sheridan ("Sherry") discovers his leg is fine. Bribing the doctor to declare him unfit to leave for a few weeks, Sherry hatches a plot to fix all of the household's problems. But has he made a mistake? Written by Not Roger Ebert!

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