Jerry Mason inherits the Hotel Splendide at Speymouth but is disappointed when he sees it is a quiet place with few permanent residents. Gentleman Charlie, a jewel thief arrives after a long spell in prison expecting to be able to dig up the pearls he had buried - only to find the hotel has been built on the site.
Made for £4,000 for Gaumont-British, the film features one of the earliest cinematic uses of Gounod's "Funeral March of the Marionettes", better known as the theme music for Alfred Hitchcock Presents.[2]
Critical reception
In contemporary reviews, Picturegoer Weekly wrote, "Jerry Verno is an efficient and funny comedian...What laughter there is is easily accounted for but the scenes that are supposed to be thrilling miss the mark";[3]Kine Weekly wrote, "Comedy and thrills are adequately blended in a somewhat far-fetched crook story. Acting is quite good, presentation fair. A light second feature, of which cheeriness is the keynote, is indicated";[4] and The Bioscope wrote, "Here is one of those unostentatiously produced British pot-boilers, made with an eye on the cash-box, which may be expected to hold its own in the family house, chiefly as a second feature. Its light comedy and mystery atmosphere will get it past an unsophisticated audience."[5]
