Thanks to the voluminous film library at TCM and the magic of the DVR, I watched this wonderfully cheesy piece of 1960's kitsch last night.
"Hotel" is based on the Arthur Hailey best selling novel of the same name, and it featured the proverbial all-star cast....Rod Taylor, Catherine Spaak, Karl Malden, Melvyn Douglas, Richard Conte, Kevin McCarthy, Michael Rennie, Merle Oberon, and Harry Hickox.
The story centers on the pending sale/bankruptcy/demolition of the Hotel St. Gregory in New Orleans. The St. Gregory is a grand hotel in the tradition of places like the Plaza in New York, the Ritz in Paris, the Peabody in Memphis...you get the idea. Douglas is the owner of the joint who holds to the rich traditions (like segregation) of such places, Taylor is the manager of the place whose innovative ideas and business savvy has managed to keep the place afloat, and McCarthy, who spends most of the movie with his shirt unbuttoned down to his navel and does everything but twirl a mustache to indicate how evil he is, is the chain hotel owner who wants to buy the joint and "modernize" it, even if it's over Douglas' dead body!! Boo hiss.
In the tradition of such movies, a la "Grand Hotel", there are a bunch of side stories. Rennie and Oberon are a visiting Duke and Duchess who have a secret to hide, Conte is an unscrupulous house dick who may be a blackmailer, Spaak is McCarthy's mistress whom he uses to leverage his position but who, eventually, has a heart of gold, and Malden is "Keycase Milne", a hotel cat burglar just trying to make a buck but who is becoming increasingly frustrated because of all "those damn credit cards." Malden earns the George Kennedy Award for Scenery Chewing in this one.
Everything, of course, resolves itself after a climactic scene that involves a short-circuited elevator that stalls and leads to an heroic rescue by Taylor. But does the St. Gregory get saved? No spoilers here; you have to watch this one to find out for yourself.
Here are some other tidbits from the movie and some things I found out in researching this write-up.
My favorite bit of dialog occurred in a conversation between Oberon and Rennie. As the Duchess frantically endeavors to protect and save her husband's reputation, Rennie looks at her and simply says "I detest you." Don't you love it?
Catherine Spaak was - and still is - a French actress who was 22 years old when this movie was made. She never quite made it big here in America, but she is still with us. She will turn 76 in 2021, and is still working in Europe. She has 85 acting credits in IMDB with the most recent one coming in 2019.
Merle Oberon was 57 years old when she made this movie and she was undeniably beautiful in it. Fun Fact: The jewelry that she wore in this movie was her own and was reported to be valued at half a million dollars at the time. It included a piece that was previously owned by Marie Antionette! She died in 1979 at the age of 68.
A "Hotel" TV series based on the Hailey novel and this movie ran for five years in the 1980's and starred James Brolin and Connie Selleca.
Oh, and I mentioned Harry Hickox above, and I can still hear you whispering, "Who the hell is Harry Hickox?" Well, I am sure that only Dan Bonk, Rob Tuchman, and myself can appreciate this bit of casting. Hickox, who played another house detective (I think) in this one, was much more renowned for playing the role of Charley Cowell, the frustrated anvil salesman out get Harold Hill in "The Music Man."
In spite of my semi-smart assed tone in this write-up, I actually liked this movie. Yeah, it's corny, cheesy, and predictable, but it was really fun to watch. I highly recommend it.
Three Stars from The Grandstander.
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