Grand Hotel (1932)

Director:

Edmund Goulding

Writers:

Vicki Baum (play)
William A. Drake (play)

Release Date:

15 July 1932 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Thank The Stars For A Great Entertainment !

Plot:

Berlin's plushest, most expensive hotel is the setting where in the words of Dr. Otternschlag "People come...

Plot Keywords:

Cigarette | Dance | Dachshund | Burglar | Porter

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Greta Garbo	...	Grusinskaya
John Barrymore	...	Baron Felix von Geigern
Joan Crawford	...	Flaemmchen
Wallace Beery	...	Preysing
Lionel Barrymore	...	Otto Kringelein
Lewis Stone	...	Dr. Otternschlag
Jean Hersholt	...	Senf
Robert McWade	...	Meierheim
Purnell Pratt	...	Zinnowitz
Ferdinand Gottschalk	...	Pimenov
Rafaela Ottiano	...	Suzette
Morgan Wallace	...	Chauffeur
Tully Marshall	...	Gerstenkorn
Frank Conroy	...	Rohna
Murray Kinnell	...	Schweimann

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Norway:16 (1933) | Portugal:17 (original rating) | Australia:PG | Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating) | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Greta Garbo requested the stage be lit in red to create a more romantic atmosphere for rehearsals.

Goofs:

Although correctly signed with licence plates starting with an "I" for Berlin, all the cars are right-steered. In Germany they drive on the right (and ever did so), so the wheels should be on the left.

Quotes:

Dr. Otternschlag: Grand Hotel... always the same. People come, people go. Nothing ever happens.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Mannequin (1987)

Soundtrack:

Grand Hotel

Dated, melodramatic...and MAGNIFICENT

I've seen "Grand Hotel" at least fifteen times -- more than any other '30s film with the possible exception of two other classics: "King Kong" and Astaire and Rogers' "The Gay Divorcee."

Quite a few others reviewers here have commented negatively on this "creaky" old film. They are correct -- it is -- and yet, who cares? It's utterly wonderful!

The whole cast is superb -- charming, desperate, vulnerable John Barrymore; cynical, sad, appealing Joan Crawford; pathetic, whining, irrepressible Lionel Barrymore; coarse, selfish, all-too-humanly cruel Wallace Beery; and of course, the great Greta Garbo. The supporting cast, led by Lewis Stone and Jean Hersholt, are equally good.

Those who criticize Garbo as over-the-top in her portrayal of the prima ballerina are right. She IS over-the-top, AND she is absolutely glorious, whether wallowing in self-pitying, suicidal despair or radiant as the spring with a new love which astonishes and transports her. What a unique, unforgettable screen presence! What a Goddess!

"Grand Hotel" holds this viewer, anyway, entranced from beginning to end. In addition to the superlative acting, the art deco design is stunning and the music always appropriate.

Creaky? You bet. Do they make movies like this anymore? Nope. Do I wish they did? I sure do.