Set in the fictional St. Gregory Hotel in New Orleans, the property is owned by Melvyn Douglas as Warren Trent, a man whose hotel is clearly financially strapped. The story follows the staff as they juggle three would‑be buyers while trying to keep the operation running, and it opens a window on the hotel’s routine problems—down to a stubborn elevator that keeps malfunctioning just when it’s most inconvenient.
Hotel manager Rod Taylor as Peter McDermott tries to balance the bidders’ interests with the personal chemistry blooming between him and Jeanne Rochefort, the beautiful French mistress of one of the bidders, whose portrait is painted with both charm and tension. He navigates the delicate web of loyalties and incentives, aware that every choice could tilt the fate of the St. Gregory.
One bidder, Curtis O’Keefe [Kevin McCarthy], envisions a high‑gloss, automated future for the hotel. His plan includes luggage conveyors that loop around the building as if it were a giant airport terminal, and a belated bill delivered on a conveyor belt. His broader renovation agenda would strip the lobby’s comfortable seating, convert the mezzanine into a string of shops, and subdivide the grand suites into smaller rooms. O’Keefe’s immediate ambitions, however, clash with the workers’ unions and the hotel’s existing traditions, setting up a tense power struggle over the property.
Among the guests are Geoffrey, Duke of Lanbourne [Michael Rennie] and his wife, the Duchess Caroline [Merle Oberon], who arrive with secrets after a fateful car accident. A hotel detective, Dupere [Richard Conte], tries to leverage the Duke and Duchess into paying him for information, but the couple pushes back in a dangerous game of bluff and counter‑bluff.
Keycase Milne [Karl Malden], a professional thief, works the hotel under a veil of suave confidence. He moves from pocketing small sums to chasing larger gains, aided by a network of accomplices, until the hotel’s shifting dynamics—now shaped by credit cards and changing guest behavior—force him to adapt once more.
Tension intensifies when Dr. Elmo Adams and his wife attempt to check in, only to be blocked by Trent who fears they might threaten the favorable bid. The Adamses disappear, only to be followed by a man with a camera. McDermott confronts Trent, accusing him of risking the hotel’s future and the union’s support for personal vendettas. After calling the NAACP, the couple reveals they hadn’t planned a major push for black guests, but the incident nonetheless becomes a public relations headache that jeopardizes both O’Keefe’s deal and the alternate one backed by the union.
O’Keefe makes a final offer, and Trent invites McDermott along to hear it. In the meeting, McDermott uncovers that “Dr.” Elmo Adams is not a doctor and actually works for an O’Keefe hotel in Philadelphia. He also reveals that O’Keefe offered him money to sway Trent in his favor, and suggests that Rochefort slept with him to keep him away during the critical arrival of the black guests. Faced with the audacity of the scheme, Trent rejects the bid and chooses to sell to the party whose plan would demolish the St. Gregory and build an office tower instead.
Keycase’s luck turns when he carelessly talks his way into trouble and grabs an ordinary‑looking attaché case, hoping it contains easy cash for payoffs to Dupere. He opens the case to count the money, only to find it is real and substantial. Heading for the elevator with the case, he finds himself sharing the ride with the Duke and other guests as the car’s control systems fail. McDermott and his assistant take the neighboring elevator, moving guests through the roof to safety. The last two in the failing car are Keycase and the Duke; Keycase refuses to relinquish the case, which contains the stolen funds. The Duke wrestles the case away and helps Keycase escape, but the brakes fail, sending the Duke to his death along with the briefcase.
The Duchess confesses that she was responsible for the car incident to protect her husband’s reputation and saves Dupere by corroborating his claim that he did not know the car had been involved in a hit‑and‑run. The police, not fooled by the ruse, decide not to press charges. With the elevator disaster triggering an exodus, McDermott rounds up the remaining guests—including Jeanne—for a final toast to the St. Gregory, a bittersweet closing moment that underscores the hotel’s long, complicated life.
