Dead Mountaineer's Hotel (film)

Dead Mountaineer's Hotel
Directed by	Grigori Kromanov
Written by	Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
Starring	Uldis Pūcītis Jüri Järvet Lembit Peterson Mikk Mikiver Kārlis Sebris I. Kriauzaite
Music by	Sven Grünberg
Cinematography	Jüri Sillart
Edited by	Sirje Haagel
Production company	Tallinnfilm
Release date	1979 (1979)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	Soviet Union
Language	Estonian

Dead Mountaineer's Hotel (Estonian: "Hukkunud Alpinisti" hotell) is a 1979 Estonian film directed by Grigori Kromanov and based on the novel Dead Mountaineer's Hotel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky.

Inspector Glebsky arrives at the hotel "Dead Mountaineer's" because of an anonymous call. This hotel is located in a remote area in a valley, hidden among the mountains in some European country. The very name of the hotel - "Dead Mountaineer's" can be explained quite simply: one climber died here who fell off a cliff. He left only his faithful dog behind - a St. Bernard Lel. In the hotel there is a rather bleak portrait of the climber near which faithful Lel likes to sleep.

Almost all of the lodgers are rather strange, especially Mr. and Mrs. Moses and Olaf Andvarafors. Later another strange individual materializes; Luarvik, who can not even utter a couple of words. Mr. Moses and Luarvik turn out to be aliens and Mrs. Moses and Olaf are their robots, although they look like ordinary people. And in the mountains they suffer a calamity.

After a heavy snowfall, when the hotel is cut off from the outside world, a body appears at one point. Inspector Glebsky initiates an investigation, using all of his standard skills. However the investigation of the pseudo-murder of Olaf comes to a standstill. And when seemingly all intricacies of the plot unravel and the aliens can safely leave the Earth a military helicopter appears.

The inspector has a chance to do great service to the aliens, but Glebsky behaves like a typical cop, subordinate only to common sense and official instructions which leads to the tragic outcome.

At the end of the film the inspector is plagued by doubts whether he did everything he could ...