Hotel (1967) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

The St. Gregory Hotel is located in New Orleans' French Quarter. It is a fictional, grand hotel that serves as a microcosm of the city's bustle, romance, and power plays, featuring a central lobby, a fountain, and aging but storied charm.

• st gregory hotel
• new orleans
• french quarter
• setting
• location

The story unfolds in the late 1960s, a period marked by civil rights debates and urban redevelopment. This era shapes the film's themes of modernization and social change.

• 1960s
• time period
• era
• late 1960s
• historic setting

A plan to overhaul the St. Gregory replaces historic spaces with conveyor belts, newsstands, and smaller rooms. The proposal prioritizes efficiency and profit over atmosphere, threatening employees' jobs and the guest experience. The film explores how progress can erode tradition and community.

• modernization
• tradition
• progress
• urban redevelopment
• hotel changes

Curtis O'Keefe's bid is driven by money and control, offering bribes to McDermott and manipulating Warren Trent. The narrative shows that integrity can override lucrative schemes, even at personal cost, as Trent ultimately rejects unscrupulous deals to preserve the hotel's legacy.

• greed
• integrity
• corruption
• bribes
• corporate greed
• trent
• mcdermott

The denial of black guests and the NAACP intervention place civil rights concerns at the heart of the hotel drama. Dr. Elmo Adams, a Black physician, and his wife are denied a room, reflecting systemic prejudice in business decisions. Resisting discrimination becomes integral to the hotel's fate.

• racial tension
• civil rights
• discrimination
• naacp
• segregation
• hotel

Peter McDermott is the hotel manager who champions staff welfare and guests' experience while navigating pressure from owner Warren Trent and bidder Curtis O'Keefe. His integrity is tested as corporate power struggles and political games unfold throughout the film.

• peter mcdermott
• manager
• hotel manager
• character role

Warren Trent owns the St. Gregory Hotel. He is protective of the hotel's legacy and workforce, balancing business pressures, union concerns, and social optics while weighing offers that would reshape the property.

• warren trent
• owner
• hotel owner
• proprietor

Keycase Milne is a professional thief working at the St. Gregory, using clever ruses to steal guests' money as the world moves toward cashless transactions. He becomes bolder as luck shifts and the elevator sabotage threatens his escape.

• keycase milne
• thief
• stealing
• burglar
• character

Curtis O'Keefe is the unscrupulous bidder who imagines a future hotel stripped of its charm and converted into a modern, profitable machine. He tries to bribe McDermott and manipulate Trent, embodying corporate greed at the expense of history.

• curtis okeefe
• bidder
• corporate
• antagonist
• greedy businessman

The main conflict centers on a bidding war for the St. Gregory Hotel between developers wanting to modernize it and owner Warren Trent trying to preserve its historic character. The drama intensifies with a thief operating in the hotel, a VIP diplomat harboring secrets, and a racial discrimination scandal.

• conflict
• bidding war
• corporate takeover
• power struggle
• hotel fate

Geoffrey, Duke of Lanbourne, is a wealthy nobleman hiding after a car accident, staging appearances while the Duchess is with him. Duchess Caroline Lanbourne uses wit and social status to navigate the hotel's crises. Their actions complicate detective Dupere's investigations and the hotel's larger fate.

• duke
• duchess
• lanbourne
• nobleman
• vip
• guest

New Orleans serves as more than a backdrop, the city's French Quarter provides the perfect setting for a microcosm of power plays, romance, and social tensions. The St. Gregory Hotel becomes a battleground where developers, thieves, and guests collide over its fate, reflecting the broader urban tensions of the 1960s.

• new orleans significance
• french quarter importance
• setting meaning
• city role