mike-frinton I thought it was time to add my contribution, and to refute a misconception. Freddie Frinton is (was) my dad. I was 14 when he died. The reviews and comments here are fantastic to read, and I know that dad would have been astounded by the ongoing appeal that the sketch has in Europe.....especially in Germany. Sadly, he died in 1968, still at the top of his game in this country, but without Dinner For One ever having been shown in its entirity in the UK. Now for the clarification......I read here and elsewhere on the reviews that Freddie "did not like the Germans, or Germany", or that he "refused to speak German" ! This is not true, and our whole family are mystified as to how this rumour ever got started. Mum is in her 90's and my older sisters in their senior years, and they were with dad when he recorded the sketch in Germany. I remember waving them off as they all drove away, the car loaded with all the clothes and kit for the sketch....including the tiger skin. They were all very excited about the recording, and going to Germany, and working with the Germans at NDR. None of us in the family ever heard dad say a bad word about Germans or Germany, and he worked there on at least three occasions. I have also read somewhere on this site that dad "hated the sketch at first and had to be persuaded to do it"....this is also untrue. He LOVED doing Dinner For One, and did so from first seeing it, and of all the sketches he wrote or developed, this was the one he would always try to "fit" into whatever show he had signed-up for. Be it Panto or summer-season, or variety, he always wanted to find the 15 to 16 minutes in a show where he could show off his favourite work. As a family, we are very proud of the sketch, and still enjoy watching it and hearing of other people's enjoyment. None of us can resist saying to any German's we meet, whether here or abroad......." Hello, you don't know me, but you know my dad"......and EVERY time, they DO !.......It's priceless. Thanks, Mike.

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Dinner for One" is an 18-minute movie and it's a West German production despite being completely in English (apart from the introduction). It was made over 50 years ago, back in 1963, and the original is in black-and-white, which is actually not a given anymore in the 1960s. However, there are also colored versions out there. The two lead actors are English and for both of them, it's easily their most famous work. Same can be said about director Heinz Dunkhase, who only made one other film.This film gets shown every year on the 31st of December many times on different television channels. It has really become a classic. However, I must say I do not find it that funny. The whole idea about the butler getting more and more drunk (and accordingly the non-existent guests as well) becomes repetitive fairly quickly and there is not any humor to Miss Sophie at all. I do not think this film somehow deserves its current status as a classic movie that everybody knows of. At least that is the case here in Germany. I do not think it's famous at all in England, let alone in the United States and they certainly got it right. Thumbs down from me.

Earthmonkey16 Ingredients: - 1 elderly lady, celebrating her 90th birthday - 1 old butler - 4 friends, passed away a long time agoWhat you get: - a fancy dinner party for 5, including the various refreshments that usually accompany the various courses - same procedure as last year, miss Sophie?? -Same procedure as every year James!!Which part is the best?? Oh, I don't really know is it the part where James mimics the guests?? Is it the anticipation will he or won't he trip over the tigers head?? (I ain't telling!!) Or is it the surprise at the end....Usually I am already in tears from laughter half way, and then it gets even better

dingoberserk Am I the only person in the world who does not find Dinner for One in the least funny? The sketch belongs to a low, unsubtle type of slapstick, something that may appeal to some non-Anglosaxon audiences. A world apart from the best of subtle humor (as in Yes Minister), or the best of slapstick for that matter (as in Laurel and Hardy movies). Even if some of the incidents could be regarded as comical (for example, the butler's frequent collisions with a tiger's head on the floor), their very repetitiousness engenders tedium. All the 'comical' bits are contained in the first three minutes, after which they are repeated ad nauseam. Mocking the frailties of old age seems unworthy to me. The success of Dinner for One remains a mystery.