At the International House Hotel in Wu Hu, China, scientist Dr. Wong (Edmund Breese) is accepting bids for his invention of a primitive television. Various interested people from around the world are staying at the hotel. Tommy Nash (Stuart Erwin) is from the US, accompanied by his fiancee Carol Fortescue (Sari Maritza) and he also spends time with celebrity Peggy Hopkins Joyce (herself).
General Nikolas Petronovic (Bela Lugosi) of the Moscow Power Company, Herr Von Baden (Harrison Greene) of Berlin, and Carol's father Sir Mortimer Fortescue (Lumsden Hare), are also guests. The hotel doctor is Dr. Burns (George Burns) and his assistant is Nurse Allen (Gracie Allen). Local authorities place the hotel under quarantine.
Nurse Allen: (on phone) No, the doctor isn't in just now. Oh, he won't be back for a long, long time. He went out on one of those eternity cases."
Meanwhile in the US, Professor Henry R. Quail (W. C. Fields) takes off in his autogyro and gets lost. Thinking he is in Kansas, the professor lands his weird helicopter on the roof-top garden of the International House during a musical performance. Because of the quarantine, he must stay at the hotel. Peggy asks him, "Won't you join me in a glass of wine?" Professor Quail replies, "You get in first, and if there's room enough I'll join you."
Dr. Wong demonstrates his Radioscope, which is able to tune in any event happening in the world. He attempts to show a bicycle race, but instead picks up mostly entertainment such as a comedy routine by Stoopnagle and Budd. Professor Quail becomes annoyed at Rudy Valee's singing and short-circuits the TV, ending the demonstration. The professor continues to be a nuisance by destroying the hotel's reception desk and staying in the same room with Miss Joyce.
Tommy: "Are you going to marry a millionaire ?"
Peggy: "I never marry anything else."
Manager: "I'm the manager of this hotel.
Quail: "I wouldn't brag about it if I were you."
Peggy: "I'm sitting on something!"
Quail: "I lost mine in the stock market."
(Peggy finds a litter of kittens on her seat)
Peggy: "I wonder what their parents were."
Quail: "Careless, my little dove cake, careless."
Professor Quail turns out to be somewhat of a charlatan and is chased through the hotel. Tommy Nash buys the rights to Dr. Wong's TV, and with the help of Dr. Burns and Nurse Allen is reconciled with Carol Fortescue. Tommy, Carol, Miss Joyce, and Professor Quail escape the hotel crowd in the autogyro.
INTERNATIONAL HOUSE is an offbeat screwball comedy starring W. C. Fields, my favorite comedian. Although he is not top billed, he completely dominates the film. He, Burns & Allen, Bela Lugosi, and many others make this a must-see movie. A funny scene with Fields and Gracie Allen was partly written by George Burns. Fields told Burns, "For a straight man, you're very funny".
The movie was made in the dying era of vaudeville, so there are many variety acts, including Rudy Valee and Sterling Holloway. Baby Rose Marie sings "My Bluebirds Are Singing The Blues" in a remarkable voice (for a young girl) that imitates a trumpet.
Cab Calloway performs his notorious "Reefer Man" with his band. He jumps around like he's on amphetamines, rather than the killer weed. Obviously this movie was made before the puritanical Hays Office controlled filmmaking in Tinseltown. Bela Lugosi is surprisingly good at comedy as the Russian (without fangs) and is somewhat of a villain. Franklin Panghorn is perfect as the hotel manager.
Others in the cast include: Lona Andre (China Teapot), F. Chase Taylor (Colonel Stoopnagle), Budd Hulick (Budd), Mary Jane Sloan (Sugar Bowl), Louis Vincenot (Mr. Brown), James Wong (Inspector Sun), Gwen Zetter (Tea Pot), Henry Sedley (Serge Borsky), Norman Ainsley, Clem Beauchamp, Bo Ching, Wong Chung, Carrie Daumery, Ethan Laidlaw, Etta Lee, Bo Ling, Frank O'Connor, Cyril Ring, Edwin Stanley, Ernest Wood, and others. Writing credits are Neil Brant, Walter DeLeon, Louis E. Heifetz, and Francis Martin. Music was composed by Ralph Rainger, Howard Jackson, and John Leipold. A. Edward Sutherland directed.
I don't understand how Fields gained a reputation for being mean-spirited. In real life he was a kind, generous, and charming man. He was initially the very best comic juggler in show biz, and therefore never drank alcohol until late in life.
When asked why he never drank water, Fields replied: "Fish f**k in it.
