Dominick Dunne: After the Party is a 2008 documentary directed by Kirsty de Garis and Timothy Jolley about Hollywood author and reporter Dominick Dunne. Dunne is a prominent columnist and society correspondent. The documentary reflects on his career in the entertainment industry. In the film, he remembers his past as a World War II veteran, falling in love and raising a family, his climb and fall as a Hollywood producer, and his comeback as a writer.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1925, Dominick Dunne was born the second-oldest of six children in a large, well-to-do Catholic family. He always had a passion for dance, theatre and Hollywood. His relationship with his father was often difficult. The prominent surgeon had difficulty accepting his son's lack of interest in sports and other 'masculine' pursuits and would occasionally beat young Dominick with a riding crop. Dunne reflects on his relationship with his father in the film, "My father was this famous heart surgeon, a wonderful man...but there was something about me that drove him crazy. He mimicked me, he called me sissy. It may seem like nothing now but it's awful to hurt a child. It's a terrible thing. My opinion of myself was nothing... I believed I was everything he said."

Dunne enlisted in the army and served in World War II, where he distinguished himself by running towards approaching German forces to rescue two injured American soldiers, and was awarded the Bronze Star for his bravery.

When the war ended, Dunne moved to New York City and studied at Williams College. After graduating, he secured a position as floor manager for The Howdy Doody Show and then for Robert Montgomery Presents.

Dunne met Ellen "Lenny" Griffin, who was in a relationship with his college roommate when he asked Dunne to pick her up at the railroad station. Dunne recalls, "She got off that train and I'll never forget it. It was like a scene from a movie!" Within six weeks they were married. They went on to have five children, although two ended up dying in infancy.

During his time as a stage manager, Dunne met a number of aspiring actors that hadn't yet made a name for themselves, such as Grace Kelly, Steve McQueen and Joanne Woodward, among others. Before long, he was a member of the social circle which included these talented, soon-to-be stars. In the film, Dunne speaks most affectionately of Humphrey Bogart. "What nobody knows about Bogart is that he went to Andover and he's from that kind of family too, but he played all these tough guys so he got a kick out of me and I really just worshipped him." In the film, Dunne intimates a memory of his first A-list Hollywood party, which happened to be at Bogart's house. "Sinatra sang, Judy Garland sang and Lana Turner lived next door. Lana Turner was so fantastic at that time, and Spencer Tracy... and David Niven... and Hank Fonda [were] there that night. And it went on and on. I mean I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. They just sort of took me in and accepted me like I was one of them... I never went to a party as good as that again."

Dunne's rising success in television soon resulted in the family's relocation to Los Angeles, where Dunne hit the big time, earning position of Vice-President at Twentieth Century Fox and producing the popular series, Adventures in Paradise. He and Lenny socialized with such top Hollywood stars Natalie Wood, Michael Caine, Elizabeth Montgomery, Dennis Hopper, Rock Hudson and Mia Farrow. The dinner parties thrown at the Dunne residence become nothing short of legendary. Dunne's son, Griffin, recalls, "My parents thought nothing of having a small orchestra playing and people coming over on a weeknight in full black tie." Playwright Mart Crowley reminisces with fondness about the legendary parties the Dunnes held.

Countered by the success of the limelight, however, was Dunne's developing addiction to alcohol and drugs. Despite his downturn, Dunne was resolute to create a facade of the perfect family when it discontinued being a reality. "He was infuriating," recalls his son. "He wanted us to dress in these Lacoste shirts...we were even art directed... Deadly serious Christmas cards that I think were based on Lord Snowdon's portraits of the royal family, that were taken in the middle of the summer. No smiling. So they weren't your happy Christmas cards, they were 'look how beautiful this family is'."