''Hotel Splendide'' is a 1932 British comedy drama film directed by

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a seri ...

. It was made as a

Quota quickie The Cinematograph Films Act of 1927 ('' 17 & 18 Geo. V'') was an act of the United Kingdom Parliament designed to stimulate the declining British film industry. It received Royal Assent on 20 December 1927 and came into force on 1 April 1928. D ...

Plot

Jerry Mason inherits the Hotel Splendide at Speymouth but is disappointed when he sees it is a quiet place with few permanent residents. Gentleman Charlie, a jewel thief arrives after a long spell in prison expecting to be able to dig up the pearls he had buried - only to find the hotel has been built on the site.

Cast

Jerry Verno Jerry Verno (26 July 1895 – 29 June 1975) was a British film actor. He appeared in 39 films between 1931 and 1966, including five films directed by Michael Powell, and two with Alfred Hitchcock. He was born in London. As well as appearing ...

as Jerry Mason * Anthony Holles as 'Mrs.LeGrange' *

Edgar Norfolk Edgar Norfolk (5 November 1893 – 1980) was a British actor. Norfolk was born Edgar Greenwood. He was the first husband of the actress Helen Saintsbury (a daughter of the actor H.A. Saintsbury); her second husband, Captain Buckley Rutherford, a ...

as 'Gentleman Charlie' * Philip Morant as Mr.Meek * Sybil Grove as Mrs.Harkness * Vera Sherborne as Joyce Dacre * Paddy Browne as Miss Meek *

as Bugging device engineer (uncredited)

Production

Made for £4,000 for

Gaumont-British The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of the Gaumont Film Company of France. Film production Gaumont-British was founded in 1 ...

, the film features one of the earliest cinematic uses of

Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's "Funeral March of the Marionettes", better known as the theme music for '' Alfred Hitchcock Presents''.

Critical reception

In contemporary reviews, '' Picturegoer Weekly'' wrote, "Jerry Verno is an efficient and funny comedian...What laughter there is is easily accounted for but the scenes that are supposed to be thrilling miss the mark"; ''

Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. History ''Kinematograph Weekly'' was founded in 1889 as the monthly publication ''Optical Magic Lantern a ...

'' wrote, "Comedy and thrills are adequately blended in a somewhat far-fetched crook story. Acting is quite good, presentation fair. A light

second feature A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

, of which cheeriness is the keynote, is indicated"; and ''The Bioscope'' wrote, "Here is one of those unostentatiously produced British pot-boilers, made with an eye on the cash-box, which may be expected to hold its own in the family house, chiefly as a second feature. Its light comedy and mystery atmosphere will get it past an unsophisticated audience."

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Chibnal, Steve. ''Quota Quickies : The Birth of the British 'B' Film''. London: BFI, 2007. * Powell, Michael. ''A Life in Movies: An Autobiography''. London: Heinemann, 1986. .

External links

* * *
''Hotel Splendide''
reviews and articles at th
Powell & Pressburger Pages
1932 films Films directed by Michael Powell Films by Powell and Pressburger 1932 comedy-drama films British comedy-drama films British black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s British films {{1930s-comedy-drama-film-stub