Hôtel Réserve

James Mason, refugee from what was formerly Austria is now at a resort hotel on the French Riviera when he's picked up as a spy. Of course he's not our spy, however he's let go by the authorities and put under essentially house arrest at the hotel. Someone switched cameras there on him and he'd like to find out who is a real spy at the hotel.

He's got quite a few choices. Some he'd like not to think of as a spy others look like they could have come from central casting as sneaky and spy like. As a detective he's not very good and it is fortunate the authorities do have the situation closely monitored.

The object of all this is the French naval base at Toulon. It's been the home of their Mediterranean fleet since the middle ages. Still is.

The film is based on a novel by Eric Ambler and Mason himself didn't feel it was something that belonged in his best work. Still he's not bad as the Eric Ambler protagonist in this film.

Hotel Reserve is an interesting little thriller set before World War 2 and I taped this when BBC2 screened it one afternoon.

A medical student on holiday in France is arrested for spying when some photos are developed showing something to do with the Army or Navy. To clear is name, the police release him and he has to find the actual person who took these with his camera. It has to be on of his fellow guests at Hotel Reserve...

The cast includes James Mason and Herbert Lom, both of whom went on to play Captain Nemo, Mason in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Lom in Mysterious Island. With Patricia Medina.

Hotel Reserve is quite a tense movie and is worth catching.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

One wonders what this movie would have become if Hitchcock had gotten his hands on it. Would he have revved up the plot, tightened up the script, recast some of the characters, put in a highway chase over the countryside interrupted by sheep, added a more appealing female interest for Mason? The climb up to the roof at the end, the strong lighting and direct closeups, the art and photographic direction(seemingly uncredited to one of the directors),as well as the music score and the general "look" of the film, not to mention James Mason's compelling presence all had the ingredients for a potential Hitchcockian thriller, but something is missing here. The plot's not that complicated (certainly not like "The Lady Vanishes") and there seems not to be enough risk or sense of danger (certainly not like "The 39 Steps")to Mason's life, although there is suspense and surprise along the way. One big weakness is the supporting cast. The young lady's character (can't even remember her name) isn't developed enough, nor does she have sufficient charm or sex appeal, as a Hitchcockian heroine would.

Still one watches it for Mason, before he has developed any overt mannerisms or been sadly type-cast as a villain. He seems to have made a number of these not-quite-up-to-snuff pictures in his career. Was he hard up? why didn't Hitchcock cast him and why didn't he ever accept a Powell & Pressburger offer? His presence on any number of these "grade-b" films, including the brief appearance in "Madame Bovary" (with Jenifer Jones), for example, or in the disappointing "Mayerling," adds a sense of gravitas to any of the proceedings in which he appeared, but the scripts and directors fail him, if not the cast.

Fortunately, he can be remembered for his appearance as Captain Nemo in "Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea," and Sir Randolph Nettleby in "Shooting Party," both of which tapped his natural dignity and aristocratic bearing and surrounded him with a worthy cast. See those for Mason at his best.

Of four stars****, two and a half.

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.

I enjoyed this. It had an interesting plot, and yes, Hitchcock would probably have beefed it up and done it better, and some of the characters are clichés, but not a bad way to spend a rainy afternoon.

For a film over 75 years old it has stood the test of time quite well. It was a far better viewing experience than many current films I have watched recently.