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 silent war drama film directed by Mauritz Stiller and released by Paramount Pictures. The film is set in Austria-Hungary during World War I and starring Pola Negri as a hotel chambermaid. It is based on the 1917 Hungarian play of the same name by Lajos Bíró.[1][2][3]
Plot
[edit]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
[edit]- 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
[edit]The film used the same exterior town square set from Negri's film The Spanish Dancer (1923).[3]
Commentary
[edit]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
[edit]Hotel Imperial is one of Negri's few Paramount films to survive and is preserved in several film archives.[5][3]
References
[edit]- ^ The AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Hotel Imperial Retrieved December 11, 2014
- ^ Magill's Survey of Silent Films, Vol. 2. FLE-POT p. 558, edited by Frank N. Magill c.1982 ISBN 0-89356-241-6 (3 book set ISBN 0-89356-239-4) Retrieved December 11, 2014
- ^ a b c Progressive Silent Film List: Hotel Imperial at silentera.com
- ^ a b Girelli, Elisabetta (2019). ""Our Bravest and Most Beautiful Soldier": Pola Negri, Wartime and the Gendering of Anxiety in Hotel Imperial". Film-Philosophy. 32 (2). Edinburgh University Press: 159–76. doi:10.3366/film.2019.0107. hdl:10023/17747. ISSN 1466-4615.
- ^ The Library of Congress American Silent Feature Film Survival Catalog: Hotel Imperial Retrieved December 11, 2014
External links
[edit]
- Hotel Imperial at IMDb
- Hotel Imperial at the TCM Movie Database
- ‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› Synopsis at AllMovie
- Hotel Imperial film clip on YouTube
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- 1927 films
- 1927 war films
- American war drama films
- American silent feature films
- American black-and-white films
- American films based on plays
- Films directed by Mauritz Stiller
- Films set in hotels
- Films set on the Austro-Hungarian home front during World War I
- World War I films set on the Eastern Front
- Films set in Austria
- Films set in Lviv
- Films set in Poland
- Films set in Ukraine
- Films with screenplays by Jules Furthman
- Paramount Pictures films
- Films produced by Erich Pommer
- 1927 drama films
- 1920s American films
- Silent American drama films
- Silent war drama films
- 1920s English-language films
- 1920s war drama films
- English-language war drama films
- 1920s silent drama film stubs
- World War I film stubs
- War drama film stubs