The Blue Hotel

In the mid to late 1970s, a series of American short stories were made into TV dramas. They were funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and were shown on PBS in the States. About half of them were introduced by Henry Fonda...who introduces this Stephen Crane short story (1898) which was directed by Ján Kadár.

A group of strangers are stuck in a hotel in the American West during a blizzard. Four of them sit down and play cards...until one (David Warner) accuses one of them (James Keach) of cheating...and planning on killing him!

The film is VERY stark...as are all the short stories in the series that I've watched. There is no incidental music and the stories seem more like plays with nice sets than traditional movies. It's also done with minimal dialog and is, dare I say, a bit dull because of this. But the acting is very realistic.

Stranger gets off train in a sem-deserted little town in the days of the old west carrying with him his fear and suspicions of his fellow man. Will his own parinoia direct his fate? I liked this one, great acting, and an interesting story. The Swede (David Warner appears timid and frightful, but later he gets a few drinks in him and transforms into your common baroom type nuisance. In many ways the story was gripping. No great final climaxes, but I found it to be enjoyable and it sticks with you after the movie is over