Hotel Reserve

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.

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.

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.

Looks like RKO had a British productions unit that would explain the non-American cast, and perhaps also why the unusual number of three directors was used on a black and white programmer. Some of the sets are impressive, especially the tower used in the final scene. Also, Frederick Valt impresses as the sinister Schimler, along with a sparkling Clare Hamilton who's a dead ringer for her sister Maureen O'Hara and apparently just as talented; yet, this is her only screen appearance and I'm curious why.

Nonetheless, in my little book, the movie disappoints, mainly because it's set up as a suspense film, yet doesn't really manage much suspense. We're introduced to each of ten suspects, one of which is a Nazi agent. Ordinarily, the narrative would develop each so that the audience could sort through them, thereby heightening the suspense. That doesn't happen here. Instead, much time is given over to two unnecessarily long scenes with the intelligence chief and repeated episodes with the pompous Duclos who's really more annoying than amusing. In fact, the narrative meanders to the extent few suspects are developed, and when the agent is revealed, it's done in highly unsuspenseful, pedestrian fashion. The various parts simply don't gel, and I suspect it's due not only to a muddled adaptation of the Ambler novel, but also to each director having his own preoccupations.

It's also a different James Mason. Not the dark, brooding presence he is so good at. Instead, he's rather sunny and serene, even in tight spots. Frankly, his performance here could have been equaled by a dozen lesser actors and leading men. The movie does have its moments, particularly the seaside setting with the moody resort hotel. That, plus the premise of ten suspects, had me thinking of the 1945 Rene Clair mystery classic And Then There Were None. Unfortunately, the result here likely demonstrates that old adage about too many cooks.

Idylls before the war turn into a nest of wasps and intrigue. James Mason is the innocent medical student on a vacation from his studies in Paris, who gets his camera 'borrowed' by someone who takes some forbidden pictures of the French navy at Toulon - just before the war. Naturally James Mason gets implicated for the heinous crime with prison, expulsion and perhaps execution to look forward to as a sudden interruption of his medical career, which was not what he had expected of his holiday in Provence by the delightful Mediterranean with some lovely young ladies around at the ideal hotel. Among the guests are a German citizen from Berlin who proves himself to be a direct victim of the Gestapo, a fugitive from Prague and a former social-democrat journalist with nothing good to expect from his Gestapo pursuers, and he is the tragedy of the case. The hotel and its environment is very much like in the comedy "French Without Tears", it's the same atmosphere and the same idyllic charm, which is brutally contrasted by sinister proceedings. Several of the guests are great comedians. James Mason makes the best of a precarious predicament, sometimes loses his temper at the risk of his life, and he is absurdly compromised, but that is all part of the game. The French police know what they are doing, and the only thing missing here is Hercule Poirot.