BY LEE PFEIFFER

Sir Alec Guinness gave so many brilliant dramatic screen performances that many moviegoers forget that he was also one of the most accomplished comedic actors the British film industry had ever seen. Although Guinness first gained fame with star-making roles in David Lean's "Great Expectations" and "Oliver Twist" (playing Fagin), the bulk of his successes in the 1950s were in classic British comedies such as "The Lavender Hill Mob", "Kind Hearts and Coronets", "The Ladykillers", "The Horse's Mouth", "Our Man in Havana", "All at Sea", "The Captain's Paradise", "The Man in the White Suit" and "The Lavender Hill Mob". By any standard, a remarkable roster of great comedies.  By the 1960s, however, Guinness concentrated mostly on dramatic roles. Who could blame him, with prime appearances in David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Doctor Zhivago"? In 1965 he did make one screwball comedy, "Situation Hopeless..But Not Serious", a WWII-era film that co-starred young up-and-coming Robert Redford in a supporting role, but the movie didn't particularly resonate with critics or audiences.  His only other concession to the genre of cinematic farce was "Hotel Paradis0", filmed in 1966 by writer/director Peter Glenville, who only sporadically made movies. Glenville's most recent cinematic excursion had been his highly acclaimed 1964 film version of  Jean Anouilh's play "Becket". "Paradiso" was as far away from that dramatic achievement as one could imagine. It returned Guinness to a genre that allowed him to re-tune his considerable skills at playing overt comedy. In fact, Guinness had starred in the original London production of the play in 1956. 

The film is adapted from the play "L'Hotel du Libre Echange", which was co-written by Georges Feydeau (who Glenville appears as in the film, albeit in an uncredited role.) In fact, Alec  Guinness had starred in the original London production of the play in 1956. Like the play, the movie is set in the suburbs of Paris in the early 1900s. Guinness plays Benedict Boniface, a sophisticated milquetoast who lives a comfortable existence with one glaring exceptional factor: he is constantly henpecked by his shrewish, dominating wife Angelique (Peggy Mount), who oversees his every move. Benedict suffers in silence, finding a bit of solace by puttering around his garden which adjoins the home of Henri and Marcelle Cotte (Robert Morley and Gina Lollobrigida).They have their own problems: Henri is a negligent husband who is more obsessed with his career as an architect than he is with the considerable charms of his gorgeous wife, who is frustrated by his neglect and who is desperate for some romantic attention. One sunny afternoon when Henri leaves for an overnight business trip to the city, Benedict summons the courage to drop in on Marcelle and express his love for her. She is shocked but doesn't lose any time in agreeing to explore the possibility of an affair with him. Fate favors the would-be lovers when Angelique announces that she, too, is leaving on an overnight trip to look after an ailing sister. Things almost go awry when an unexpected house guest, Mr. Martin (David Byng), arrives to take up the Boniface's on a long ago offer they made to have him stay with him. The trouble is that Martin, a widower, has in tow his brood of four young daughters and their enormous amount of luggage. The Benedicts are horrified and inform Mr. Martin in the most polite manner possible that they simply don't have space to lodge the entire family and that he she consider taking rooms at a hotel in Paris. Through a misunderstanding, the name of Hotel Paradiso is mentioned. This happens to be a sleazy establishment that stays afloat by catering to illicit lovers. It is precisely the place where Benedict intends to spend the night with Marcelle. However, unbeknownst to him, Mr. Martin has mistakenly assumed that Benedict has recommended the hotel as a place for him and his daughters to stay. Benedict and Marcelle meet for dinner at a local restaurant where they briefly enjoy a rather saucy stage act before realizing they might be recognized. They then head off to Hotel Paradiso where they rather awkwardly enter the bedroom in anticipation of carrying out their plans for engaging in the kinds of activity that would surely cause a public scandal if they were to be discovered. Things get complicated quickly. Every time the would-be lovers are about to get down to business, another remarkable coincidence occurs. They include the arrival of Henri, who is staying at the hotel to examine the plumbing. Then Mr. Martin arrives with his four daughters. Even the Benedict's flirty maid shows up with Henri's nephew, who is about to be seduced by the amorous domestic servant. Playwright Georges Feydeau is on hand as he silently observes the goings-on. The film quickly becomes a classically-styled bedroom farce with Benedict and Marcelle now trapped in their room and deftly trying to avoid being seen. There are countless near-misses and close encounters and the inevitable face-to-face meetings that require explaining their presence at the hotel by employing incredulous excuses. Before long, the police end up the hotel and Benedict and Marcelle are arrested, which adds another obstacle to overcome in their unconsummated love affair.

The film was greeted with tepid reviews at the time, with critics citing Glenville's propensity to direct films as though he was still working in a theater. It's true that Glenville does have a somewhat heavy hand in terms of directing lightweight comedy scenarios.However, the movie certainly plays better today simply because no one makes films like this anymore, least of all with the caliber of stars like Guinness and Lollobrigida, who was also quite adept between dramatic roles and lightweight farces. Both actors are at their best here, especially as the pace of the farce picks up pace and the coincidences and obstacles that their characters have to deal with become more incredible and amusing. There is able support from the always-reliable Robert Morley and Akim Tamiroff turns up as the hotel's sleazy manager. However, the show-stealing performance is the hilarious turn by  David Byng, whose Mr. Martin is a naive eccentric with a sporadic speech impediment that comes and goes depending upon the state of the weather! It plays a pivotal role in the film's climax. The concluding sequence takes place at the opening of a new play by Georges Feydeau which the principal characters attend together. It leads to a very amusing "sting-in-the-tail" finale with ironic consequences. "Hotel Paradiso" benefits from a lavish production design and a good score by Laurence Rosenthal. It also marked an early career achievement for legendary film editor Anne V. Coates. In summary, a most entertaining film from an era in which there was a place for sophistication in cinematic comedies. 

The Warner Archive DVD is region-free and includes the original trailer.  The packaging also retains the wonderful original poster art by Frank Frazetta.

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