Hotel Continental

1932
5.7| 1h7m| en| More Info
Released: 27 March 1932 Released
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Synopsis

Scheduled for demolition, Hotel Continental has seen 50 years of romance, intrigue, and tragedy. The last night attracts many nostalgic patrons, including a gangster planning to grab the loot that he hid there many years ago.

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Reviews

Console best movie i've ever seen.
Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.
Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
mark.waltz Like the Broadway theater in the Stephen Sondheim musical "Follies" about to be torn down to make way for a parking lot, the Hotel Continental is about to go way of the Hippedrome. The management of the hotel decides to throw a special party for their last night, which brings back a lot of the old guests who stayed there for special occasions, bringing back memories of royalty, former presidents and entertainers from various walks of the industry which we hear from a radio host narrating the festivities. While there are various small subplots going on, the major storyline involves "the boy embezzler" (Theodore Von Eltz) who just got out of prison and has checked in for the last night to find the stash of cash he hid there years ago. This brings on crooks who hire a former con-artist (Peggy Shannon) to trap him into revealing where the hidden treasure is. While romance blossoms between the two, various party goers go through their own situations, which includes one former guest who has had a share of bad luck, once the toast of the hotel, now a vagrant, and a drunk (Bert Roach) looking for his next snoot. A misunderstanding causes Shannon to believe that Von Eltz betrayed her with another woman, leading to her betrayal of him and a sudden act of violence which brings in the law to figure everything out. Suicide, shootings, accusations of infidelity and other issues add to the Auld Lang Syne feeling of this storyline which may not have been Tiffany's in budget (in spite of the studio name) but ultimately is satisfying, if not quite the equivalent of the more remembered "Grand Hotel". A fine supporting cast also includes Alan Mowbray and Henry B. Walthall, with a gripping conclusion that brings everything to a close with a great morale to the story.
MartinHafer "Hotel Continental" is a movie that starts off horribly. Fortunately, if you can possibly wade past the first 10 minutes or so, the film is pretty enjoyable...though a bit clichéd and stupid. As I mentioned above, the film begins badly. It almost comes off like the cocktail party skit on "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-in". Again and again, the camera pans on folks and they spout a line or two of supposedly funny or clever dialog and then the camera goes on to the next. It really didn't have much to do with the rest of the film.As for the REAL plot, the ultra-famous hotel is about to close forever. So, the owners are staging a huge party. Among the guests is a guy fresh out of prison. He is an embezzler and has apparently hidden the money somewhere in the hotel. Unfortunately, the nice woman he meets isn't so nice--and she was planted there by other crooks who want the money. Their relationship, while interesting, really makes no sense. Overall, a silly but enjoyable film that is like a super-low budget version of "Grand Hotel"....if it was written by an nice idiot.
kidboots Extraordinary thing - whenever these early 1930s "just another day, nothing ever happens at the ..... Hotel" type of movies were released they all paid homage to MGM's "Grand Hotel" but this movie was released 6 months before so cannot be accused of riding on the more prestigious film's coat tails. Quite prophetic, the story of a stately hotel's last hurrah was made by Tiffany in the studio's last year of production. It's star was the beautiful Peggy Shannon who, unfortunately, was soon to find out that alcohol and stardom didn't mix!!Even in 1932, Alfred Newman's "Street Scene" concerto was beginning to show up in variations in any film that had a New York locale. Why they are tearing down the Hotel Continental next day is a big mystery but that evening the hotel foyer is simply teeming with guests - they are still open for business, whether for good time gals (I'm sure I saw Minna Gombel giving orders) or crooked card games.The main story concerns A.R. Cooper (Theodore von Eltz), a former jewel thief whose arrest at the Hotel Continental a few years before is now part of the Hotel's folklore. He is now out of prison and eager to retrieve the hidden jewels and start afresh. Along the way he stops a potential suicide, Ruth Carlton (Peggy Shannon, looking like a million dollars) and she falls in easily with his plan to find some stolen happiness (shades of "Stolen Heaven"(1931)). But what's this!!! She is a crook herself who has quickly phoned her gang to say she has hooked him line and sinker - all very far fetched considering minutes after the call she is starting to have second thoughts. Well the movie is only an hour in length!!Bert Roach does his usual "happy drunk" routine and introduces Henry B. Walthall to a bunch of shallow party goers. He was a somebody back in the Hotel's heyday but is now down on his luck and returns that night for a last hurrah. Ruth's feelings for Cooper change again when she sees him in the arms of another woman (Mary Carlisle in a fleeting glimpse) - of course it's a mistake, he is just trying to stop two timer husband's (Alan Mowbray) wife (Ethel Clayton) from finding out what a rat her husband really is!! Too late, Ruth changes her mind again, because now she has put the wheels in motion to assure there will be no happy ending for Cooper - or will there be??Very hard to believe that someone from MGM didn't see this film and rework the John Barrymore/Greta Garbo storyline. Anyway, just a very entertaining film.
wes-connors The "Hotel Continental" has seen 50 years of romance, intrigue, and tragedy. But, in one day, the bustling building is going be demolished, "until the last brick is carted away." Its "last night" attracts many nostalgic patrons to the "Continental", but most importantly (for the sake of this motion picture), it attracts embezzler Theodore von Eltz (as James Bennett). The suave Mr. Von Eltz has just finished a stint in prison, and needs to collect a stash of money before the hotel closes. Von Eltz checks in as "A. R. Cooper", and maneuvers his way into the suite where he stashed the money. Along the way, he falls in love with suicidal Peggy Shannon (as Ruth Carleton). Von Eltz doesn't know it, but the duplicitous Ms. Shannon has ulterior motives! You will need to check your brain at the door of the "Hotel Continental", if you want to fully enjoy the movie. There is NO WAY this building is ready to be torn down. Every fixture remains in place - probably, even the soap and towels haven't been removed. The place is, also, doing rather brisk business. Mostly, director Christy Cabanne follows the Von Eltz/Shannon storyline, with drunken Irishman Bert Roach (as Charlie Layton) providing comic relief. Mr. Cabanne was a D.W. Griffith "Biograph" veteran, as was Henry B. Walthall, who has a small role (as Tommy Winthrop). "Tiffany Productions" got this film out in time to get some box office overflow from MGM's impending "Grand Hotel".**** Hotel Continental (1932) Christy Cabanne ~ Theodore von Eltz, Peggy Shannon, Bert Roach, Henry B. Walthall