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Cult Review
Senior Film Conservator
Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for 1930s French comedies where everyone is yelling or whispering behind curtains. If you get annoyed by characters who can’t hold a conversation without someone else barging into the room, stay far away.
It’s the kind of movie that feels like a stage play that got lost on its way to the theater. Every actor looks like they are waiting for a cue that came three seconds too late.
The hotel itself is the main character here, and it has that dusty, cramped energy that makes you want to open a window. The pacing is weird. One minute we are deep in a misunderstanding about a suitcase, and the next, everyone is just standing around looking confused. Did they forget their lines? Sometimes it really looks that way.
I found myself staring at the background extras. There is this one bellhop who walks past the camera at least four times in the first twenty minutes. He looks like he just wants to go home. I feel you, buddy.
There’s a specific scene where the lead characters are trying to hide from each other. They hide behind a sofa that is clearly too small for them. It’s not funny, it’s just awkward. It reminded me of the frantic energy in Meine Tante - deine Tante, but without the charm to pull it off.
If you want to see something from this era that actually has a pulse, maybe look at The Big Parade instead. This one? It’s just fluff. 🏨
It’s not bad, it’s just… there. Like a piece of furniture you don’t really like but are too lazy to move. I watched it, I survived, and now I need a coffee. Don't expect to remember much of this by tomorrow morning.