Hotel Reserve (1946)

Just perfect...

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A small number of people are resident at the "Hotel Reserve" which is meant to be in France but is clearly on a studio set. It is up to one of the residents, Peter Vadassy (James Mason) to find out which guest is a Nazi spy. The cast are split into 2 groups. First of all, there are the good actors who portray interesting characters - Emil Schimler (Frederick Valk) - bad/good guy with a secret?, the female hotel owner - bad/good girl?, Andrew Roux (Herbert Lom) - bad/innocent guy? and the main police inspector - a good guy that knows more than the audience/James Mason. Set against this are the rest of the cast who are all buffoons, especially the Major (Anthony Shaw) and the fisherman (David Ward) who play their roles for laughs and who are never funny. There is also a pointless role for a French policeman who follows Vadassey around and he plays for humour. He is also not funny...............a mention must also go to Lucie Mannheim as the romantic interest for James Mason. She is dreadful and it is criminal that she is second-billed in this film. Neither her air-time nor her acting skills merit this lofty position. James Mason is OK and the film is a time-passer. Nothing more.

I read through the review of [email protected] and they were absolutely right. This film, while watchable, could have been a lot better in the hands of a master director. They suggested that Hitchcock could have done a much better job, as essentially the same sort of material had been done better earlier with THE 39 STEPS or THE LADY VANISHES. There just isn't that much suspense in HOTEL RESERVE--even though it is meant to be a suspense film. It's a shame, too, as the film has a few very good actors (James Mason and especially the terrific performance by a sinister Herbert Lom).The film begins with an interesting plot idea. It's 1938 (just before WWII) and James Mason takes his film to be developed and he's arrested when he goes to pick it up later. It seems that in addition to his photos of lizards (!), the first few photos on the roll of film were of secret naval installation! Mason must have accidentally had his camera switched with a resident at the hotel where he resides. It's obvious to anyone with half a brain he is not a spy--after all, what spy would take their film to be developed at a local shop?! Here's an odd twist. They decide to let Mason go BUT insist that he goes back to the hotel and try to look around to find out whose camera got switched with his. I assume the police in France can legally search without a warrant but maybe they can't and it's a great way to get around this. Whatever the case, Mason tries to eliminate the guests one by one from being suspects until he is able to uncover the Nazi spy. However, in the conclusion which looks like it's right from THE 39 STEPS, the ending just sort of fizzles and Mason and France are spared--at least until June 1940.Overall, a decent time-passer but not all that much more. Too bad, as I usually like British movies from this time period and this one should have been better.

JAMES MASON finds himself in a very Alfred Hitchcock situation in HOTEL RESERVE, that of an innocent man suspected of being a spy and having to prove his innocence by cooperating with the authorities to nab the real espionage agent. Sound familiar? Hitchcock used the same sort of innocent man frame-up in many films, most notably NORTH BY NORTHWEST.But what's missing here, as others have commented, is that Hitch's expert touch is missing from the direction. The plot even has an exciting ending where hero and villain are atop a tall building and we know which one is going to meet his demise--but it's rather well done, except that Hitchcock would have thrown in some added touches for an even tighter bit of suspense.Mason is very good in the leading role as the man caught in what appears to be a trap, while staying at the Hotel Reserve, where he must survey all the other guests to determine which one may have gotten their hands on his camera by mistake. The plot never becomes too overburdened with subplots (as some of these thrillers do), so it's all told in a brief hour and nineteen minutes.HERBERT LOM is effectively cast as the hot-headed villain, with PATRICIA MEDINA not having much to do as his docile wife, and LUCIE MANNHEIM makes almost no impression at all as Mason's love interest, providing little more than a pretty face and a blank stare.The improbable entrapment of the killer by police is a minor quibble, as is his method of temporary escape--but other than that, it's an acceptable spy thriller.Summing up: Taut and tense with occasional bits of humor, it establishes why James Mason became a favorite with British and American audiences.

HOTEL RESERVE is a a reasonably good attempt at a suspense thriller, yet it could have been so much better with a more inspired director and cameraman at the helm. As another reviewer mentioned, one wonders what Hitchcock could have done with HOTEL RESERVE if it landed in his more-than-capable hands.Nevertheless, HOTEL RESERVE does offer an interesting plot and some occasional visual flair. A young man holidaying in the French Riviera (James Mason)is mistaken for a spy after his camera, with incriminating non-vacation snaps, is seized. To clear his name, he must find the real spy amongst the ten holiday makers who are also sharing the hotel.Leading man James Mason turns in his usual committed performance, elevating the production by a mile through his sheer presence and acting talent. Mason, with his distinct, mellifluous voice, lifts the average script just by speaking his lines. Herbert Lom, soon to star with Mason in the much better THE SEVENTH VEIL, also does well as a villain. Mason gets a pretty yet bland love interest in Lucie Manheim.HOTEL RESERVE is entertaining enough- Mason fans would enjoy this most.