Hotel Paradiso (film)

Hotel Paradiso is a 1966 British comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Panavision. It was directed by Peter Glenville and based on the play L'Hôtel du libre échange by Maurice Desvallières and Georges Feydeau. The film allowed Alec Guinness to reprise the role he had played in the London West End theatre production of Hotel Paradiso, which opened at the Winter Garden Theatre, Drury Lane, London on 2 May 1956.^[1] In the play, Guinness performed alongside Martita Hunt (Angelique), Irene Worth (Marcelle), Frank Pettingell (Cot), Kenneth Williams (Maxime) and Billie Whitelaw (Victoire). Douglas Byng also reprised his part from the stage play.^[2]

Hotel Paradiso
Theatrical release poster by Frank Frazetta
Directed by	Peter Glenville
Written by	Jean-Claude Carrière Peter Glenville
Based on	L'Hôtel du libre échange 1894 play by Georges Feydeau Maurice Desvallières
Produced by	Peter Glenville, Pierre Jourdan
Starring	Alec Guinness Gina Lollobrigida Robert Morley
Cinematography	Henri Decaë
Edited by	Anne V. Coates
Music by	Laurence Rosenthal
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	14 October 1966 (1966-10-14) (New York City)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Plot

Playwright Monsieur Feydeau is staying in the Parisian Hotel Paradiso. He needs to write a new play, but has writer's block. He takes the opportunity to observe his fellow guests: Monsieur Boniface, henpecked by his domineering wife, and Marcelle, the beautiful but neglected wife of Henri, a building inspector. Henri is sent to the hotel to investigate rumours of ghosts (which turn out to be caused by drains). However, the hotel is the trysting place of Marcelle and Boniface, who are having an affair. Family friend Martin shows up with his little daughters, but there isn't enough room at Boniface's place for the entire family. Martin overhears the name of the hotel, and checks in with them there.

In the somewhat rundown 'by-the-hour' hotel, there are two husbands and one wife, plus Henri's nephew and Boniface's maid, who are also having an affair. The little girls, responding to a "spooky" atmosphere in their room, sing a chant about witches while waving bedsheets, frightening Henri and other guests into thinking the ghost rumor is true. Marcelle and Boniface's affair is severely compromised (not least by a police raid). All these events provide Feydeau with the material for his play, which becomes the succès fou of the next season.

Cast

• Alec Guinness as Benedict Boniface
• Gina Lollobrigida as Marcelle Cotte
• Robert Morley as Henri Cotte
• David Battley as George
• Ann Beach as Victoire
• Marie Bell as la Grande Antoinette
• Douglas Byng as Mr. Martin
• Derek Fowlds as Maxime
• Eddra Gale as Guest
• Peter Glenville as the Playwright
• Robertson Hare as the Duke
• Darío Moreno as the Turk
• Peggy Mount as Angelique Boniface
• Leonard Rossiter as the Inspector
• Akim Tamiroff as Anniello

Critical reception

Writing for The New York Times, Thomas Lask said "essentially, 'Hotel Paradiso' is a bedroom farce in the old tradition, and the picture is based on a frothy example of the genre by a master, Georges Feydeau, who worked with Maurice Desvallieres on the play. That kind of exercise calls for a crispness, a propulsive energy that Mr. Glenville's film has only fitfully. The result is that the picture is charming when it should be brisk, amiable when it should be ridiculous."^[3] However, he praised the cast, particularly Guinness.^[3]