It's definitely true that this type of comedy probably still works out better in the theaters, with a live audience but still, this farce works out as an enjoyable and fun one.Thing that I liked about this movie was that it was being perfectly silly. It really wasn't afraid to truly go over-the-top at times, with its characters and situations. Some of the comedy makes absolutely no sense in the context of the story but that actually made it all the more hilarious to watch. Yes, this truly is a movie that made me laugh a couple of times and therefore I can also do nothing else but to consider this movie a good and a successful one, at what it was trying to achieve.You could definitely still complain about the story itself though. Of course its being quite simplistic but what is all the worst is that you are supposed to root for a man and woman who are cheating on their wife and husband. It felt a bit weird to me, no matter how obnoxious and uptight the wife and husband of the two were.But still, this obviously isn't a movie you should take very seriously or think too much about. You should simply enjoy it for what is is and you should definitely be able to do so, thanks to its great comical situations and actors involved.The acting is definitely really stagy-like but this obvious suits the genre and you will start to feel accustomed to it, after a few minutes in already. And Alec Guinness, Gina Lollobrigida, Robert Morley and all of the others really succeed in making their characters work out as greatly comical ones, who get themselves more and more into trouble, no matter how hard they try to get out of it.This is very typical for a farce of course. It begins with a simple situation and setup but slowly and steadily things start to go from bad to worse for the characters, when more and more different characters show up, in the hotel Paradiso. The comedy even turns really slapstick at times which was definitely silly but still fun to watch at the same time.It all made me laugh, so this movie definitely served its purpose well enough for me, though I can still recognize it as a not very great movie. 7/10 http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Farces are made in the dramas of all countries, but they are usually the most difficult things to push from one state to another. Language is the chief problem, but also there is the issue of what one country considers a farce as opposed to another. Britain's best known farce (that remains in repertoire) is Brandom Thomas's CHARLIE'S AUNT. It's main peg is the two act female impersonation act of the hero, Lord Fancourt Baberley, as the aunt of his college chum, with all the attending complications concerning two elderly suitors, his own romantic pursuit, and the arrival of the actual lady he is pretending to be. While England has sex farces (plenty of them), their best farce plays spoof the conventions. Michael Frayn's comedy NOISES OFF, about third rate actors putting on a fifth rate farce for far too long, is quite typical.But the French stuck to sexual subjects - particularly the idea of illicit sex and assignations. And the master of this was Georges Feydeau, probably their most revivable dramatist of the "Belle Epoque" (1890 - 1914). When one thinks of a farce as one where people are running from one room to another, just missing each other by seconds, it is Feydeau that most people think about. It's like his signature.However, like reading any foreign writer, that writer is best read in his or her native tongue. Feydeau is a witty writer, but his farces become mechanical marvels only in English translation. You need a top cast and director to overcome the loss of language.In 1958-59 Alec Guinness appeared in a London stage production of HOTEL PARADISO, a Feydeau farce. It was quite a success on the West End (an American production at that time also starred Bert Lahr). But the film version was not made until 1966. It is a highly amusing film, but it lacks the verve needed to make it a totally successful farce on film.The cast is good. Guinness is Benedict Boniface, who is an architect married to his wife Angelique (Peggy Mount). Ms Mount may be named Angelique, but she is no angel - she is bossy. Their neighbors are Henri and Marcelle Cot (Robert Morley and Gina Lolabrigida). He too is an architect, but is frequently consulted on building problems. He has been asked to check a hotel that may have pipe problems, or noises that could be a ghost. Lolabrigida is angry that Morley is again putting his work ahead of their marriage, but he insists he has no choice due to his court appointed duty. But Guinness intends to take advantage of his wife's temporary absence to visit an ailing relative to traipse off with Lolabrigida. In the meantime there are additional problems regarding a visiting attorney (Douglas Byng) and his four daughter, and Morley's nephew (Douglas Fowles - the assistant to Paul Eddington on YES MINISTER) and Guinness's maid (Anne Beach). All the characters end up at the rather tacky HOTEL PARADISO, which is run by Akim Tamiroff with the assistance (?) of David Battley. Others in the hotel that night are a Turk, a prominent singer and her lover a British Duke, and a writer...actually two writers - the director of the film Peter Glanville plays Feydeau, a neighbor of the Boniface and Cot families, who is watching the antics, and deciding on what his next play is going to be like. The performances are good, but they tend to be sluggish at too many points. And the translation to English from the French seems to leave out too many verbal jokes. The film as a whole is well mounted, and amusing. But it is minor Guinness, despite his having been successful in the stage production seven years earlier.

I just finished watching this off of TCM Middle East, and boy do I feel good! This started out slow paced like most Guinness comedies do, but it was all worth the wait. It all came together extremely nicely and I thought it was almost perfect. The extra charms are of the 1900 era settings provided, truly an age of enlightened innocence with all the modern conveniences coming into play. Gina is just sooo hot and really funny, and Alec is flawless in his role, plus there is an Akim Tamiroff role who I really dig (Alphaville among other great character roles). I honestly laughed out loud with delight the way it all came together especially the time Morley tried to barge in the room with his wife and neighbor on the other side desperately holding the door back. Yeah it's heavy on slapstick but hey, I never hear people hating Chaplin for that! Very entertaining, especially if you like a nice setup to a great joke. I'm feeling very good now, thanks all involved in this film!

For anyone to disparage the long history of the farce (as someone did in their review here) just boggles my mind. The farce has a long and rich history.For that same someone also to slip in a comment about how they dislike the entire country and culture of France, well, that says it all--about them. No need for me to point out (but I will) their location is in Texas. Sheeeesh.I saw this particular farce (which stars one of the greatest British actors of stage/screen, mind you) many years ago and it left a vivid enough impression, simply as a well-made comedy, that I would have no hesitation about renting it again. Worrying about whether one is 'understanding the farce' --or resenting the insecurity you may feel if you suspect that you don't understand the format--has nothing to do with it.Watch films you like--don't watch films that you dislike, and you will never need any further defense than this. Personal taste is yours to command. Don't worry about fitting in with other people, worry about yourself.