Hotel Paradiso (1966)

The Worst Film Ever

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Would-be Romeo Benedict Boniface (Alec Guinness) talks luscious neighbor, Marcelle Cot (Gina Lollobrigida), into having a tryst with him to get revenge with her husband. Henry Cot goes away many nights on business - really. The infidelity of Benedict and Marcelle is never consummated, so to speak. The events that follow at the Hotel Paradisio see to that.Robert Morley plays Henri Cot and Peggy Mount plays Angelique Boniface, as the innocent spouses of the two would-be adulterers. But others add to the frolicking fun in this farce. Ann Beach is particularly good as Victoire, the maid to the Bonifaces, and Duggie Byng is very good as Monsieur Martin. The movie isn't filled with clever dialog, nor does it have much slapstick. Mostly, the humor comes from the plot that has people running into one another unexpectedly. Guinness is the funniest as the choreographer of hide and seek, dodge and dart. It's a funny film of cat and mouse, hide and seek, and peekaboo. Unfortunately, these seem to come in spurts so there isn't a sense of running humor to the film. This is a light farce that has some very funny moments in the hotel and later. Several of the characters have been released after being taken to jail in a police raid of the hotel. The film is filled with innuendo, and has a couple of risqué scenes of overweight women in a floor show and in hotel rooms. "Hotel Paradisio" should be a safe film for mature teens. The ending is a hoot and accounts for the character of Georges Feydeau (played by Peter Glenville) whom the miscreants seem to bump into so frequently. Glenville directed the film. The real Feydeau wrote the 1894 play that is the basis for this movie.

While viewing an amply proportioned la Belle Epoc French "strip tease" artieste who performs over her audience's heads while on a trapeze, Mme. Cote notes that, according to the programme: "I says here 'she is the mother of three children and her husband is a professor at the Sorbonne.'"Such delightfully histerical lines are just the beginning of the fun.I first saw this during my college days when I was a projectionist at the local movie house in Rexburg, Idaho. I dispaired of ever seeing it again. When I finally found it on VHS I was in (not on) ecstasy.

I never knew that Gina Lollobrigida and Alec Guinness had such knack for comedy. What a treat to see them in such a caper. This is a fast paced film with complex twists, interesting screenplay, endless surprises, good acting, and just great fun for the whole family. This is how comedies should be.

Watch this movie to see Alec Guinness at his comedic best! The plot is somewhat contrived and does have its weak spots, but the stars really shine here. Guinness is at the top of his form here - his sly, sotto voce comments to the audience, his expressive face, and his manic capering show why he should be remembered for his comedy roles as well as his more serious roles. Robert Morley plays the role he's played a hundred times: a stuffed shirt of a character who bulldozes his way through the movie (but in a good way). Gina is lovely to look at, of course, and her excitable character is sympathetic enough. The last two-thirds of the movie are almost non-stop grins as the various characters encounter and "near-miss" each other in the Hotel Paradiso.