Room 36 [DVD]

Room 36 took eleven years to reach the screen and now, at last, there is a DVD too, with a plethora of special features from trailers, commentaries, documentaries and deleted scenes. Not to mention a special bonus offering; a 9-minute promo reel for Groom's earlier film, the cult classic "Revenge of Billy the Kid" - about a Randy farmer's liason with his broody goat - including previously censored footage.

In a dilapidated, sleazy Paddington hotel where the rooms are infested with cockroaches and the residents are as unsavoury as the staff, a hired hit-man with a fetish for obsessive cleanliness awaits a rendezvous with a lady MP and a roll of microfilm in room 38. Meanwhile, in room 36 an obese travelling salesman and part time transvestite is expecting a prostitute. When the number on the door of room 38 is damaged by feuding newlyweds (the husband portrayed by Jim Groom, in a Hitchcock-like director's cameo) the prostitute goes to the wrong room and confusion ensues.

Though its low budget origins are clearly obvious, Room 36, has humour, charm, intelligence and laughs aplenty. As you'd expect from the writers of Revenge of Billy the Kid there is plenty of lavatorial humour and filthy fun.

Visually, the movie is a pastiche/tribute to Hithcockian noir thrillers of the 40's and David Read's black and white cinematography does an excellent job of recreating the gritty, moody look of the period and emphasises the squalor of the hotel and its characters. There's also an original score, by Scott Benzie, which echoes the atmospheric movie music of the era and adds to the tension.

Paul Herzerg is a sexily menacing presence as Connor, the hit-man, and Portia Boorof, as Helen Woods MP, undergoes a gripping transformation from naive victim to violent avenger. The supporting cast includes such British film veterans as Brian Murphy, John Forbes-Robertson, the sadly missed John Cater and the late Norman Mitchell (to whom the film is dedicated). But, special mention must go to Frank Scantori as the grotesque yet ultimately lovable travelling salesman Richard "call me Dick" Armstrong. With a penchant for wearing women's undies and the personal habits of a farmyard animal, Dick is hardly an appealing character yet Scantori manages to imbue the repulsive individual with warmth, humanity and subtlety. His denouement is a comic triumph and, the night I saw the movie, received a round of applause.

Director and co-writer, Jim Groom understands how to bring a story to life making the most of the cinematic form. It's a highly visual film. There is, in fact, not a lot of dialogue and much of the plot is moved along by what we see rather than what the characters say. He does an excellent job of conveying the atmosphere of the Midlothian hotel with its walls so thin that you can hear a fart two floors away and creaking bed springs announce who's sleeping with who. There's a fabulous use of off-screen noises - traffic sounds from the street, overheard music, TV from neighbouring rooms, guests singing in the bath - and it all adds to the atmosphere of claustrophobia and squalor.

It might not be the most polished film you've ever seen but it offers plenty to entertain and amuse and, in spite of its budget it does so with originality skill and style.

Jim Groom's -'Room 36', 2002, UK, Thriller, 35mm B/W, 89mins, with Frank Scantori, Portia Booroff, Paul Herzberg, written by Tim Dennison, Jim Groom & David Read, produced by Tim Dennison & Jim Groom, was seen at the Odeon, Panton Street, London in the week of 27/9/05

At last I get around to watching the much written about 'Suite 31' and I have to admit being confused. I know I was in a road off one of the lower corners off Leicester Square, in London, but maybe it was just the light but I saw an unusually amusing and interesting little flick, ( maybe I was in a time warp) which did not seem to have lost very much style even though Kodak only allowed the producers about 300 foot of their best graded, top notch, colour 35mm thus forcing the use of black and white - supplied from their allotment in LA!

Remembering it was an illusion( and I only saw it once), it all started with a shady blackmail deal being set up, ( looked like a between-the-wars crime flick) involving large sums of dough and dodgy dealing in even dodgier lodgings in, looked like, drab Paddington/Victoria, except there were mobile phones so, can't be between the wars -( d'you see why I am confused?). There was also a splendid receptionist( Jackie D Broad) operating a switch board, the kind of which is only seen in the darkest back streets of India and the bottom of glens in Scotland - where the promoter of this film resides - and she sets up all manner of seamy meetings and soon enough, the body count starts to rise.

It's all downhill from here - for the bodies!

The really squelchy underwear salesman Dick( Frank) is the first to bite the dust - his assailant( Portia) finishes him off with a broken bottle( just as well this film is b/w!) but she needs to get out of the room and cannot find the key - meantime the call girl Kate( Nicola Branson) meets her end at the hands of Portia's nemesis Connor( Paul Herzberg), it's all downhill from here - for the bodies! Most of the film is set on the 3rd(?) floor of the Eastlothian Hotel - which still exists and if you suffer from agoraphobia this is a film for you but if you wear long black macs and flat hats and don't like guns or are haematophobic - this isn't for you.

The Hotel Manager( Brian Murphy) fails to take much notice of the gunshots and there's a laid back detective, wearing his trilby, not very hot on the trail. Who have I missed? As for production values, the budget, apparently, was not enormous, though you could argue - Kodak did the DOP, David Read, a great favour for, of course, picture composition is harder in b/w and the sound track is full of moody tunes composed, written and conducted by Scott Benzie( there were echoes of 'North by north west', Paddington is NW of Victoria) - oh, and with a script by the already mentioned good guys Jim, Tim and David - all in all it was time well spent.

simon

My Gran, who's curiously familiar with this part of London, said recently that even though it all started in 1994 - she wonders what the similarly named film can have that is different( but could add) to all of the foregoing.