Small Hotel

This film is, of course, based on a stage play – one that is to all extent virtually forgotten now. It is a comedy of manners and it works quite well all in all.

The ‘action’ takes place in a small hotel called THE JOLLY FIDDLER apparently 50 miles from the coast, hence the fiddle-diddle soundtrack we are subjected to throughout. There isn’t really much of a plot to speak of. Most of the action centres around crafty and scheming old head waiter Albert (an ageing Gordon Harker) and the shenanigans and goings-on at the hotel in question. Young waitress Elfie (Janet Munro) is caught imbibing by Mrs. Samson-Fox (Marie Lohr), a high-ranking lady magistrate. Samson-Fox threatens legal action, seeing how Elfie is underage. However, this being a comedy we can guess that this is a case that will never go to court.

At the hotel and posing as a guest, is a certain Mr. Finch (John Loder) who is in reality a representative of the hotel chain. Finch wants to get rid of ‘old’ Albert and replace him with the young, bossy and interfering Caroline “You call me Miss” Mallet (Billie Whitelaw) who in no time is at loggerheads with the redoubtable cook Mrs. Gammon (Irene Handl) who takes no nonsense from no one! It doesn’t take the wily Albert long to come up with a scheme in cohorts with the formidable Samson-Fox to get rid of the odious Caroline and keep his job in the process.

This is an amusing little offbeat piece which features some neat performances. Harker (in his early seventies at the time) is perhaps a little too old for the part anyway but brings all his years of stagecraft to the role. We also have the benefit of performances from Ms. Lohr (a favourite of the great George Bernard Shaw) and the absolutely hilarious Irene Handl (a favourite of the great Peter Sellers) as the cook who has more than just a little bit to say for herself. Janet Munro is pert and pleasing in her film debut, and Billie Whitelaw is spot-on as the nasty new head waitress.

With a running time of a measly 59 minutes, one wonders just how long – or short for that matter – the actual stage play of Small Hotel was!