Hotel Imperial (1927 film)
| Hotel Imperial | |
|---|---|
 Advertisement | |
| Directed by | Mauritz Stiller |
| Written by | Jules Furthman |
| Based on | Szinmü négy felvon (Hotel Imperial) by Lajos Bíró |
| Produced by | Erich Pommer |
| Starring | Pola Negri James Hall |
| Cinematography | Bert Glennon |
| Edited by | E. Lloyd Sheldon |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Hotel Imperial is a 1927 American
Plot
Officer Paul Almasy is separated from his unit behind enemy lines and hides in the Hotel Imperial in Lemberg (nowadays Lviv, Ukraine), where chambermaid Anna disguises him as a waiter. The invading Russian troops make the hotel their headquarters. Paul later kills the Russian spy Petroff and Anna arranges the room to depict the death as being a suicide. Later, when the Russians accuse Paul of the killing, Anna provides an alibi by saying that Paul was instead with her in her room and while so doing rips the fine clothing that General Juschkiewitsch has provided her. She later helps Paul elude the Russians and leave the hotel so that he can rejoin his unit. After Austrian troops regain the city, the lovers are reunited and their bravery is recognized.[4]
Cast
- Pola Negri as Anna Sedlak
- James Hall as Lieutenant Paul Almasy
- George Siegmann as General Juschkiewitsch
- Max Davidson as Elias Butterman
- Michael Vavitch as Tabakowitsch
- Otto Fries as Anton Klinak
- Nicholas Soussanin as Baron Fredrikson
- Golden Wadhams as Major General Sultanov
- George Berrell as Old Man with White Hair
- Josef Swickard as Austrian General (uncredited)
- Carl von Haartman as Russian Soldier (uncredited)
Production
The film used the same exterior town square set from Negri's film The Spanish Dancer (1923).[3]
Commentary
In a departure from her former vampish roles, and Negri depicted Anna as tense and fidgeting, experiencing the anxiety of war time noncombatents, a woman surrounded by foreign army men in the hotel. She watches carefully and, when she sees the need, takes decisive action to avoid sexual assault and save her lover and, indirectly, her nation.[4]
Preservation
Hotel Imperial is one of Negri's few Paramount films to survive and is preserved in several film archives.[5][3]
References
- ^ The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Hotel Imperial Retrieved December 11, 2014
- ISBN 0-89356-239-4) Retrieved December 11, 2014
- ^ a b c Progressive Silent Film List: Hotel Imperial at silentera.com
- ^ ISSN 1466-4615.
- ^ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Hotel Imperial Retrieved December 11, 2014
External links
- Hotel Imperial at IMDb
- Hotel Imperial at the TCM Movie Database
- Synopsis at AllMovie
- Hotel Imperial film clip on YouTube
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