Dinner For One (1963) (DVD) (Freddie Frinton)

The 11 minute black]and]white 1963 TV recording featuring British comedians Freddie Frinton and May Warden has become an integral component of the New Year's Eve schedule of several German television stations and Danish national television. It has also been a cult television classic in Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Faroe Islands and Austria: On New Year's Eve 2003 alone, the sketch was broadcast 19 times (on various channels) The sketch presents the 90th birthday of elderly upper]class Englishwoman Miss Sophie, who hosts a dinner every year for her close friends Mr Pommeroy, Mr Winterbottom, Sir Toby, and Admiral von Schneider to celebrate the occasion. (Note that the plot has nothing to do with New Year's Eve, as is often incorrectly stated. There is a "Happy new year" toast, but this is purely a reference to Miss Sophie's anniversary.) The problem is that given Miss Sophie's considerable age, she has outlived all of her friends, and so her equally aged butler James makes his way around the table, impersonating each of the guests in turn.h