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Hotel Splendide (1932 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Hotel Splendide' is a 1932 British comedy drama film directed by Michael Powell. It was made as a Quota quickie.
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 as Jerry Mason
* Anthony Holles as 'Mrs.LeGrange'
* Edgar Norfolk as 'Gentleman Charlie'
* Philip Morant as Mr.Meek
* Sybil Grove as Mrs.Harkness
* Vera Sherborne as Joyce Dacre
* Paddy Browne as Miss Meek
* Michael Powell as Bugging device engineer (uncredited)
Production
Made for 4,000 for Gaumont-British, the film features one of the earliest cinematic uses of Gounod'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' wrote, "Comedy and thrills are adequately blended in a somewhat far-fetched crook story. Acting is quite good, presentation fair. A light second feature, 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. .
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