PRINCESS, TIVOLI AND EVERYBODY’S

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 73, 17 June 1927, Page 15

PRINCESS, TIVOLI AND EVERYBODY’S

“THE HOTEL IMPERIAL” The public hears so much nowadays about stupendous thrills, heart-throbs and super all-sorts-of-things on the screen that when a picture that is really deserving of such description comes along, such terms, even with their attendant superlatives, fail to give an adequate impression of what it i 3 really like. It is necessary to see “Hotel Imperial,” which was screened simultaneously at the Princess, Tivoli and Everybody’s for the first time last night, to appreciate what has been achieved in its production. It. has all the dramatic intensity that goes to make a powerful and convincing picture, without the needless emphasis on the “sob-stuff,” which characterises so many American films. “Variety,” then “The Waltz Dream.” and now "Hotel Imperial”—surely a trio of which the producer, Maritz Stiller, may well be proud. The story deals with the war in 1915, on the eastern front, when the Russians invaded Austria. In an attempt to penetrate the enemy lines, a party of Austrians, with the exception of their lieutenant, are shot down. The young officer throws off his pursuers by a clever ruse and finds his way into a bedroom at the “Hotel Imperial,”, where the strain of riding for days through country in the hands of the enemy proves too much for him, and he sleeps the sleep of utter exhaustion. His discovery next morning by the maid (Bebe Daniels) and how, by her strategy, his presence remains undiscovered even after the general commanding the invading Russians makes the hotel his headquarters, and the appalling risks she runs, when only a woman’s wit stands between the young officer and instant death, make “Hotel Imperial” seem more a reality than a picture.

The supporting picture at the Princess and Tivoli, “Hands Across the Border” must have made Douglas Fairbanks envious, if he ever saw it. It is essentially a* “stunt” picture, with enough of a story about Mexican villains, hard riding, flying bullets—and, of course, a pretty girl—to carry the exploits of Fred Thompson and his famous horse “Silver King.” The supporting picture to “Hotel Imperial” at Everybody’s is “Looking for Trouble,” in which the popular cowboy star, Jack Hoxie, has the leading role.