Separate Tables (1958)

In the opening shot of the film: a young woman (Deborah Kerr, who is wonderful in this film) walks out of a hotel and sits on a park bench down the street. She appears lonely as if expecting to meet someone - or escape from somewhere. Her doting mother (Gladys Cooper, a permanent resident of the hotel) disapproves her associating with David Niven's character, also a resident of the hotel. Miss Cooper also disapproves of Burt Lancaster, another guest, and calls him "boorish". Meanwhile a pair of young guests (Rod Taylor and Audrey Dalton) keep their distance from the older folks.

I like when Rita Hayworth arrives at the hotel. She plays an actress and a "woman of the world". Guests of the hotel can't help but stare at her as she walks in dressed in her fur coat. It turns out she has an interesting history with Burt's character.

Wendy Hiller plays the manager of the hotel, Miss Cooper.

When the dinner bell sounds, all of the guests come down to eat, but sit at separate, assigned tables.

A good movie, filled with great performances by legendary actors. Directed by Delbert Mann (Marty).

I feel this is a movie that could be remade today. Maybe with a more diverse cast as well.

Travels With My Aunt (1972) and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)

Over the weekend I went with my aunt to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a new ensemble dramedy about British tourists in India. The stellar cast includes Judi Dench and - in a less-prominent storyline - Maggie Smith as a stubborn guest. Five minutes before the end of the film, Dame Judi says to Maggie, "We haven't talked much, have we?" Nope, they sure didn't, and I wished Maggie was in more of the film.  She's so good you'll want to see her star in a sequel.

I watched another of Maggie Smith's travel-themed movies where she shines in the lead: Travels With My Aunt from 1972.

Travels  is a quirky comedy from director George Cukor that has a screwball tone. Dame Maggie plays an eccentric socialite whose affair with a mysterious lover forces her to travel the world. She brings along her only relative, her nephew Henry, played by Alex McCowen, a perfect straight-man to her more high-spirited personality.

The movie unfolds to reveal more of the mysterious reason for her world travels, and it all comes together in a silly, memorable way.

Co-star Louis Gossett Jr. (who plays a fellow travel companion) shares some of the neat experiences he had filming the Travels in London in his autobiography, An Actor and A Gentleman. He recalls with fondness meeting the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, all the good food he enjoyed, and how gracious and encouraging Dame Maggie was.

Just a Cineaste blog post on Travels With My Aunt