Inside the Hotel Martinezs starring role in Cannes during the French Resistance of WWII

Each May, Hollywood glitterati descend upon Cannes for its annual Film Festival, which features — along with actors, directors and models — the Hotel Martinez at the center of the opulent affair.Film festival jury members snag luxurious rooms and suites within this historic Art Deco palace, the crown jewel of the French Riviera, which overlooks the glittering Mediterranean Sea. Since opening in 1929, the Martinez has played host to some of the world’s most-celebrated actors — from Rita Hayworth and Charlie Chaplin to Sophia Loren, Liz Taylor and Sean Connery. But beneath its cinematic glitz lies a harrowing history that haunts the Hotel Martinez to this day.Its founder, Emmanuel Michel Martinez, a courageous activist in the French Resistance movement, helped Jews, refugees and spies escape Nazi terror during World War II — all while oblivious German officers were stationed mere floors away. “The story has never been told — it’s a saga that runs 100 years,” Danny Rosner, filmmaker and co-author of Phillip M.

Kenny’s new book, “The Hotel Martinez,” out now, told The Post. “The drama started the day it opened its doors in 1929 when the Hotel Martinez ran into financial difficulties compounded by the stock market crash,” Rosner said. Palermo-born Martinez, the son of a Sicilian harbor master, worked his way up the hotel trade across France before saving enough francs to finance his dream of becoming a hotelier. When he opened the Hotel Martinez in 1929 it instantly became one of the poshest vacation spots along the Côte d’Azur — embodying the spirit of the artsy Années folles, the “crazy years” — amid the roaring 20’s in Europe.Then, six months after its debut, the US stock market crashed, decimating tourism. Martinez clamored to keep his hotel afloat, ensuring his staff remained employed despite the financial strain.

He juggled paying his creditors and managed, somehow, to avoid the auction block that befell many othe...