Grand Hotel (1932)

A group of very different individuals staying at a luxurious hotel in Berlin deal with each of their respective dramas.

Director:

Edmund Goulding

Writers:

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

Stars:

Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Greta Garbo	...	Grusinskaya - the Dancer
John Barrymore	...	The Baron
Joan Crawford	...	Flaemmchen - the Stenographer
Wallace Beery	...	General Director Preysing
Lionel Barrymore	...	Otto Kringelein
Lewis Stone	...	Doctor Otternschlag
Jean Hersholt	...	Senf - the Porter
Robert McWade	...	Meierheim (as Robert Mc Wade)
Purnell Pratt	...	Zinnowitz (as Purnell B. Pratt)
Ferdinand Gottschalk	...	Pimenov
Rafaela Ottiano	...	Suzette
Morgan Wallace	...	Chauffeur
Tully Marshall	...	Gerstenkorn
Frank Conroy	...	Rohna
Murray Kinnell	...	Schweimann

Storyline

Berlin's plushest, most expensive hotel is the setting where in the words of Dr. Otternschlag "People come, people go. Nothing ever happens.". The doctor is usually drunk so he missed the fact that Baron von Geigern is broke and trying to steal eccentric dancer Grusinskaya's pearls. He ends up stealing her heart instead. Powerful German businessman Preysing brow beats Kringelein, one of his company's lowly bookkeepers but it is the terminally ill Kringelein who holds all the cards in the end. Meanwhile, the Baron also steals the heart of Preysing's mistress, Flaemmchen, but she doesn't end up with either one of them in the end...

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Plot Keywords:

baron | hotel | doctor | bookkeeper | dancer | 

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Taglines:

Thank The Stars For A Great Entertainment !

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

11 September 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Menschen im Hotel

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$700,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min 112 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Depite them not having any scenes together, Joan Crawford often tried to talk to Greta Garbo, and would say "Hello, Miss Garbo" whenever the two would pass each other in the hall. Garbo never responded, so Crawford gave up and stopped saying anything. This led to Garbo stopping Crawford as she walked silently past her, and asking, "Aren't you going to say something to me?"

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Goofs

When Mr. Kringelein drunkenly slams his door shut, the wall visibly shakes.

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Quotes

[to Preysing, after he tries to get 'familiar' with her by asking her to call him by his first name]
Flaemmchen: You know I always say that nothing should be left hanging over. And names are like that. Suppose I met you next year and said, 'How do you do Mr. Preysing?' And you said, 'That's the young lady who was my secretary in Manchester.' That's all quite propper. But supposing I saw you and yelled 'Hi baby. Remember Manchester.'
[he laughs]
Flaemmchen: Yeah, and you were with your wife. How would you like that?

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Connections

Version of Week-End at the Waldorf (1945)

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Soundtracks

"An der schönen, blauen Donau (On the Beautiful Blue Danube), Op. 314"
(1867) (uncredited)
Music by Johann Strauß
Played during the opening scene in the lobby and at the end

User Reviews

Lavish Early-Era Oscar-Winning Soap Opera

A drunk doctor, an eccentric dancer, a high-class thief, a businessman, his mistress and a terminally-ill bookkeeper cross paths in "Grand Hotel", the Best Picture Oscar winner from 1932. One of the first true soap operas ever produced by Hollywood follows an array of colorful characters as they all stay at a luxury hotel in 1930s Germany. Sub-stories, amazing performances and a clever screenplay keep this very large film above water. The film is also a strange footnote in Oscar history as it was only nominated for Best Picture and won that honor. Edmund Goulding became only the second of three people to direct a Best Picture winner and not be nominated himself (William A. Wellman for "Wings" in 1928 and Bruce Beresford for "Driving Miss Daisy" in 1989 are the only other two). The all-star cast acts as an ensemble with John and Lionel Barrymore making the biggest impressions on the audience. 4.5 out of 5 stars.