Small Hotel is a 1957 British 'B' [2] comedy film directed by David MacDonald and starring Gordon Harker, Marie Lohr, John Loder, and Janet Munro.[3] It was written by Wilfred Eades based on the 1955 play of the same name by Rex Frost.[4]
| Small Hotel | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | David MacDonald |
| Written by | Wilfred Eades |
| Based on | the play Small Hotel by Rex Frost |
| Produced by | Robert Hall |
| Starring | Gordon Harker Marie Lohr Janet Munro |
| Cinematography | Norman Warwick |
| Edited by | Seymour Logie |
| Music by | Louis Levy |
Production company | A Welwyn Films Ltd. Production |
| Distributed by | Associated British-Pathé (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 58 min[1] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Premise
editAlbert, a crafty old waiter in a country hotel known as The Jolly Fiddler, teaches the younger staff how to maximise their tips and get rid of surplus food in the kitchen.
He suddenly finds he must work new tricks on management after being told he is too old for the job and will be replaced by a hard-nosed young waitress, named Miss Mallet.
Cast
edit- Gordon Harker as Albert
- Marie Lohr as Mrs. Samson-Fox
- John Loder as Mr. Finch
- Irene Handl as Mrs. Gammon
- Janet Munro as Effie Rigler
- Billie Whitelaw as Caroline Mallet
- Ruth Trouncer as Sheila
- Francis Matthews as Alan Pryor
- Frederick Schiller as foreigner [speaking in German and then in English]
- Derek Blomfield as Roland
- Dorothy Bromiley as Rosemary
Critical reception
editTV Guide gave the film two out of five stars and called it an "Average comedy."[5]
In the Radio Times, David McGillivray rated the film two out of five stars, calling it "no great shakes as comedy, but interesting as a vehicle built around a much-loved British star at the end of his career."[6]
Britmovie noted, "Twenty years after appearing on stage in this lively Rex Frost play, in his penultimate film Gordon Harker reprises the role of a belligerent hotel waiter having to use all his wit and cunning to save his job. This low-budget film features Harker in typically jovial form, dominating comic proceedings with typical polished expertise, and with a less assured cast this thin comedy wouldn’t be worthwhile. There are early roles for Billie Whitelaw and Janet Munro, and the doughty Irene Handl is cast as the hotel’s spirited cook."[7]
It was one of 15 films selected by Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane in The British 'B' Film, as among the most meritorious of the B films made in Britain between World War II and 1970. They especially praised the performances of Lohr, Handl and Harker.[2]
References
edit- ^ "SMALL HOTEL - British Board of Film Classification".
- ^ a b Steve Chibnall & Brian McFarlane, The British 'B' Film, Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2009, pp. 272–73.
- ^ "Small Hotel (1957)". BFI. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021.
- ^ Opening credits: Small Hotel
- ^ "Small Hotel".
- ^ "Small Hotel - Film from RadioTimes".
- ^ "Small Hotel 1957 - Britmovie - Home of British Films".
External links
edit- Small Hotel at IMDb
- Small Hotel at AllMovie
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