Wordiezett So much average

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

st-shot James Mason is as pale as the script in this forties "thriller" that looks like it was performed and directed by a community theatre group. Mason is poorly miscast as a Austrian medical student accused of espionage while on vacation at a resort hotel in the south of France. The police threaten to turn him over to the Gestapo if he doesn't cooperate by uncovering the real spy among the hotel guests. With a group of arch characters, some casting sinister side glances, others acting buffoonish, a suspenseless game of Clue commences. In comparison the board game is more animated.With the exception of Herbert Lom's fine sinister turn performances run from bad to ham to invisible. The set design is sparse, the lighting unimaginative and the photography flat. The editing is glaringly incompetent and the direction (three are given credit; talk about too many cooks) haphazard.In an attempt to amp up the tension and showcase their matinée idol, the directors throw a trench coat on the pallid Mason and bring him along to vanquish the villain at the film's climax. It is a ridiculously contrived ending that in a way is wholly appropriate to a film that remains consistently bad from start to finish.

Neil Doyle 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.

Jem Odewahn HOTEL RESERVE is a a reasonably good attempt at a suspense thriller, yet it could have been so much better with a more inspired director and cameraman at the helm. As another reviewer mentioned, one wonders what Hitchcock could have done with HOTEL RESERVE if it landed in his more-than-capable hands.Nevertheless, HOTEL RESERVE does offer an interesting plot and some occasional visual flair. A young man holidaying in the French Riviera (James Mason)is mistaken for a spy after his camera, with incriminating non-vacation snaps, is seized. To clear his name, he must find the real spy amongst the ten holiday makers who are also sharing the hotel.Leading man James Mason turns in his usual committed performance, elevating the production by a mile through his sheer presence and acting talent. Mason, with his distinct, mellifluous voice, lifts the average script just by speaking his lines. Herbert Lom, soon to star with Mason in the much better THE SEVENTH VEIL, also does well as a villain. Mason gets a pretty yet bland love interest in Lucie Manheim.HOTEL RESERVE is entertaining enough- Mason fans would enjoy this most.

Chris Gaskin Hotel Reserve is an interesting little thriller set before World War 2 and I taped this when BBC2 screened it one afternoon.A medical student on holiday in France is arrested for spying when some photos are developed showing something to do with the Army or Navy. To clear is name, the police release him and he has to find the actual person who took these with his camera. It has to be on of his fellow guests at Hotel Reserve...The cast includes James Mason and Herbert Lom, both of whom went on to play Captain Nemo, Mason in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Lom in Mysterious Island. With Patricia Medina.Hotel Reserve is quite a tense movie and is worth catching.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.