International House (1933)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

A. Edward Sutherland

Writers:

Neil Brant (story)
Walter DeLeon (writer)

Release Date:

27 May 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Grand Hotel of comedy

Plot:

Assorted wacky characters converge on a Chinese hotel to bid on a new invention...television.

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | Professor | Television | China | Autogyro

Cast

Peggy Hopkins Joyce	...	Herself
W.C. Fields	...	Prof. Henry R. Quail
Rudy Vallee	...	Himself
Stuart Erwin	...	Tommy Nash
George Burns	...	Doctor Burns
Gracie Allen	...	Nurse Allen
Sari Maritza	...	Carol Fortescue
F. Chase Taylor	...	Colonel Stoopnagle (as Colonel Stoopnagle)
Budd Hulick	...	Budd (as Budd)
Cab Calloway	...	Himself
Bela Lugosi	...	Gen. Nicholas Petronovich
Rose Marie	...	Herself (as Baby Rose Marie)
Franklin Pangborn	...	Hotel Manager
Edmund Breese	...	Doctor Wong
Lumsden Hare	...	Sir Mortimer Fortescue

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

In the sequence with the midget car, W.C. Fields remarks that it had belonged to the Postmaster General. This was a shot at Will H. Hays, the former Postmaster General who was then putting together Hollywood's Production Code.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: During the scene where Prof. Henry R. Quail is by his auto gyro talking to Doctor Wong and Peggy Hopkins Joyce, you can see the shadow of the boom mic moving above their heads. The boom mic then hits something, presumably the auto gyro, making a noise which makes Prof. Henry R. Quail and Peggy Joyce look up.

Quotes:

Professor Quail: Hey! Where am I?
Woman: Wu-Hu.
Professor Quail: Woo-Hoo to you sweetheart. Hey Charlie, where am I?
Hotel Manager: WU-HU!
[Professor Quail removes the flower from his lapel]
Professor Quail: Don't let the posey fool you!

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

My Bluebird's Singing the Blues

A "must see" film!

This film has something for everyone: George Burns & Gracie Allen in top form, a bumbling Stu Erwin, a harrased hotel manager (Franklin Pangborn), and a new invention: Television!

Even WC Fields (whom I've never much cared for) is excellent in this film! It also contains Bela Lugosi in a rare, comedic role!

It also contains musical production numbers by Rudy Valle, Sterling Holloway (his parts were edited in after the film was made), and try to get the complete version of this film, so you can see Cab Calloway's classic rendition of "Reefer Man"!

There is something for everyone in this highly entertaining film! (Trivia: There is a film clip that shows an earthquake occuring on the set of this film, taken during a scene with WC Fields; this has recently been exposed as a hoax).