Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Roger Burke Another old goodie from RKO studios, in the era when they were churning out spy melodramas almost by the dozen.I decide to watch this one for two main reasons: first, it has a still young-looking James Mason, appearing in his thirtieth movie (he first appeared in 1935) and there's also one of the heavies of the thirties and forties, Herbert Lom, once again showing his under-rated acting ability.I was also surprised at the great camera work: some truly imaginative interiors, great use of shadows and lighting, and quite an interesting denouement between the two men at the top of a building, again with some brilliant camera work. The setting was supposed to be in 1938 southern France, but in wartime, one makes do with the back lot at Pinewood; unhappily, that was all too obvious. There are other technical faults and shortcomings but just pretend you're in the local Palace on a bleak afternoon in 1944 London.The story about a young man, Peter Vadassy (Mason), being framed for espionage seemed to me a bit weak, at the outset: the local gendarmerie allow him to go free so that he can help trap the real spy, after he proves, sort of, that he is not the guilty party. Why then would the director of French Naval Intelligence rope in a stranger to help do their work? Ah, well, that's a bit of the puzzle that all comes together at the end, and very nicely done too... Of course, that's what one should expect from an Alistair Maclean novel, I reckon.Given the times, it's a good cast and the acting is generally good, even if the characters are a bit stereotypical. Hey, it was wartime, so it was good propaganda, I guess...At 85 minutes, it was a nice break after a busy day and the office...my PC! It won't appeal to the younger set, of course, but RKO and spy-story enthusiasts, who probably tend to be a bit older, would enjoy this one. I did.

Chris Gaskin Hotel Reserve is an interesting little thriller set before World War 2 and I taped this when BBC2 screened it one afternoon.A medical student on holiday in France is arrested for spying when some photos are developed showing something to do with the Army or Navy. To clear is name, the police release him and he has to find the actual person who took these with his camera. It has to be on of his fellow guests at Hotel Reserve...The cast includes James Mason and Herbert Lom, both of whom went on to play Captain Nemo, Mason in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Lom in Mysterious Island. With Patricia Medina.Hotel Reserve is quite a tense movie and is worth catching.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

gleywong One wonders what this movie would have become if Hitchcock had gotten his hands on it. Would he have revved up the plot, tightened up the script, recast some of the characters, put in a highway chase over the countryside interrupted by sheep, added a more appealing female interest for Mason? The climb up to the roof at the end, the strong lighting and direct closeups, the art and photographic direction(seemingly uncredited to one of the directors),as well as the music score and the general "look" of the film, not to mention James Mason's compelling presence all had the ingredients for a potential Hitchcockian thriller, but something is missing here. The plot's not that complicated (certainly not like "The Lady Vanishes") and there seems not to be enough risk or sense of danger (certainly not like "The 39 Steps")to Mason's life, although there is suspense and surprise along the way. One big weakness is the supporting cast. The young lady's character (can't even remember her name) isn't developed enough, nor does she have sufficient charm or sex appeal, as a Hitchcockian heroine would. Still one watches it for Mason, before he has developed any overt mannerisms or been sadly type-cast as a villain. He seems to have made a number of these not-quite-up-to-snuff pictures in his career. Was he hard up? why didn't Hitchcock cast him and why didn't he ever accept a Powell & Pressburger offer? His presence on any number of these "grade-b" films, including the brief appearance in "Madame Bovary" (with Jenifer Jones), for example, or in the disappointing "Mayerling," adds a sense of gravitas to any of the proceedings in which he appeared, but the scripts and directors fail him, if not the cast.Fortunately, he can be remembered for his appearance as Captain Nemo in "Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea," and Sir Randolph Nettleby in "Shooting Party," both of which tapped his natural dignity and aristocratic bearing and surrounded him with a worthy cast. See those for Mason at his best.Of four stars****, two and a half.

Robert Ward A modest but quite competently done spy-thriller set in 1939 France. The plot-line is strongly reminiscent of 1930s British drawing room detective thrillers - you expect Hercule Poirot to reveal himself at any moment. James Mason is an Austrian refugee from the Nazis who is accused of spying and then used as a decoy by the French authorities to flush out the real spy, who turns out to be Herbert Lom playing his usual sinister baddie. Mason and Lom turn in their usual workmanlike performances and give the whole thing credibility, winding up to a rousing finale in the best Hitchcock tradition.