HOTEL IMPERIAL


photo: Joseph Yranski

1927, 85 min.

DIRECTION:
Mauritz Stiller
SCRIPT:
Jules Furthman from a play by Lajos Biro
CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Bert Glennon
EDITING:
E. Lloyd Sheldon
PRODUCER:
Erich Pommer
PRODUCED BY:
Famous Players - Lasky / Paramount
CAST:
Pola Negri (Anna Sedlak), James Hall (Lt. Paul Almasy), George Siegmann (Gen. Juschkievitsch), Max Davidson (Elias Butterman)

SYNOPSIS:

Set in 1917 Budapest, six Hungarian soldiers ride into a frontier town and find it occupied by Russians. Lieutenant Almasy is forced to take a refuge in a small hotel, where he is hidden by the chambermaid. The two fall in love. But a Russian general makes the hotel his headquarters and sets sights on the maid. In addition, the Austrian must find out the identity of a spy who is feeding the Russians military information that could lead to the destruction of the Austrian army.
The film is considered the only Hollywood work of Mauritz Stiller to have survived complete. The Swedish director was fired by Paramount on the set of BARBED WIRE and died a year later.

Thursday, November 9, 2006 at 8:00 pm. (Portage Theatre)