A hunt for a spy, in an hotel in the South of France just before World War Two.A hunt for a spy, in an hotel in the South of France just before World War Two.A hunt for a spy, in an hotel in the South of France just before World War Two.
Joseph Almas
- Albert, the waiter
- (as Josef Almas)
Hella Kürty
- Hilda Vogel
- (as Hella Kurty)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaClare Hamilton, who plays Mary Skelton, was the sister of Maureen O' Hara. This would be her one and only screen appearance.
- GoofsAll online summaries of the plot identify the year being 1938, but days and dates seen on the calendar in Peter's room are only correct if the year is 1937. Whoever wrote the original synopses for this film apparently knows no French.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Mme Suzanne Koch: Let them be happy, while they can. There are so few summers. There's so little time.
- Crazy creditsOpening credits prologue: A holiday...in France...before the war...yet even then the plane-trees and cypresses of the South cast shadows in the sun.
It happened in August 1938 ...
- ConnectionsRemade as Epitaph for a Spy (1953)
Featured review
Tense British espionage thriller made during wartime WWII...
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.
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.
helpful•122
- Doylenf
- Jan 17, 2008
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Epitaph for a Spy
- Filming locations
- D&P Studios, Denham, Uxbridge, Buckinghamshire, England, UK(studio: made at)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 19 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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