Dinner For One is a sketch, very popular in Germany, of which there exist two versions: one lasts only eleven minutes and was recorded by a germano-Switzerland chain which diffuses in the South of Germany; the other, more known, lasts nearly eighteen minutes and was recorded by a chain which diffuses in the Northern two-thirds of the country.

History which surrounds this film

In 1963, a German producer of television seeks, almost without hope, a sketch to be diffused on its chain to fill the white holes which remain on the program of its television. It also needs this sketch for booster rocket its TV rating.

For this purpose, he traverses the Europe. At this point in time it meets, in a cabaret of Manchester, in England, the two actors playing Dinner For One . It buys this part at once.

History

An English old woman wants to celebrate her 90e birthday with her friends of always, Sir Toby, the admiral von Schneider, Mr. Pommeroy and Mr. Winterbottom. But they all are died. Its majordomo thus will play the parts of these people. Consequently, it will drink enormously. Other comic effects: he plays the part of an admiral by claquant his heels, that hurt. At the end, it is completely drunk, in such a point that it does not stumble even any more on the carpet in skin of tiger. The old woman, phlegmatic, share then to lie down.

With each dish and the end of the evening (at the time of lying down), the majordomo points out to him:

The same procedure ace last year, Sophie Miss?

The same procedure ace every year, James! she answers him.

What wants to say in French:

the same thing as last year, Miss Sophie?

the same thing as each year, James!

Popularity

This sketch became very famous in Germany since its first diffusion. Each year, with the midnight supper of the New Year's Day, it is diffused with the Télévision on almost all the chains of the country, and on some even several times! It is besides the moment more awaited Germans with the midnight supper. The sentence " The same procedure ace every year, James! " became more than worship. Amusing anecdote: this sketch is worship in Germany, diffused in VO (19 times all confused chains, for the midnight supper 2003). The German knows the dialogs best that the English, however this sketch is in English. He was even never diffused in the United States, and he was interdict during years in Sweden because of the alcohol abuses. He is also very known in Austria, Denmark and Norway. If a French wants to know what this short-measuring is for a German, it does not have that to think of the film the Father Christmas is a refuse of Jean-Marie Poiré which is a little the equivalent of Dinner For One in French.

External bonds

• long Version: part 1 (http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=OBTZZ0TwgWo)
• long Version: part 2 (http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=TLsdc1krl6w)
• short Version (http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=zXLtM7JO50E)