The Great Junction Hotel

After making some lovely silent shorts, the very talented Edward Everett Horton appeared in this rather dopey talking short. And, if you skip it, you aren't missing much.

The story is set at some hotel where Horton and his new bride check in late at night. Several hours later, the staff and house detective (Harry Gribbon) hear a scream and then all sorts of nonsense occurs.

So why didn't I like this? Well, the biggest reason is that it's a comedy without laughs. Gribbon overacts wildly and the story just made little sense.

Newlyweds Edward Everett Horton and Patsy Ruth Miller check in at the hotel. In the night Miss Miller disappears. A horde of incompetent detectives appear and grill Horton about the events.

It's one of the shorts that the Masquers Club did for Hollywood, with many of its members playing roles of varying length. Filled with little gags, like house detective Harry Gribbon oiling his squeaky shoes, it mostly relies on Horton ding his nervous act while being questioned. A nice bit of fun for fans of short comedies.

The Masquers' Club, together with RKO Pathe, made a series of two-reel shorts in the 30s, distinguished by off-the-wall humour, giant casts, and an end-of-term amateurism that is as often irritating as charming. The Great Junction Hotel is a very typical example, with a better cast than it deserves including Edward Everett Horton doing his usual nervous routine, Frank McHugh as a peeping Tom and Tom Dugan as a detective. There is a great deal of mugging, and with a cast of dozens to be marshalled over two basic sets, an awful lot of running around. As characters appear and disappear, it is never quite clear whether they are significant; a couple ("Mr & Mrs Jones") who appear in the opening scene are clearly meant to be unmarried, but their suspicious behaviour is milked for a couple of nice gags before they disappear, never to be seen again. Never as funny as it thinks it is, it passes twenty minutes painlessly, though the viewer is pleased to see the closing credits.