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 Absalom Drake (play) (as William A. Drake)

Stars:

Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Greta Garbo	...	Grusinskaya
John Barrymore	...	Baron Felix von Geigern
Joan Crawford	...	Flaemmchen
Wallace Beery	...	General Director Preysing
Lionel Barrymore	...	Otto Kringelein
Lewis Stone	...	Doctor Otternschlag
Jean Hersholt	...	Senf
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:

hotel | berlin germany | jewel thief | based on play | title spoken by character | 

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Taglines:

The Sensation of Our Generation!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

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)

Gross USA:

$1,235,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,359,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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

The only appearance in a Best Picture Oscar winning film of six out of seven of the main cast, with Lionel Barrymore the only exception as he also appears in Best Picture winner You Can't Take It with You (1938).

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Goofs

When Grusinskaya returns from her second performance, she and her entourage board the left elevator, and the porters carrying her flowers board the right. When they come off the elevator, the porters and flowers are on the same elevator as Grusinskaya.

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Quotes

Dr. Otternschlag: And what do you do in the Grand Hotel? Eat. Sleep. Loaf around. Flirt a little, dance a little. A hundred doors leading to one hall. No one knows anything about the person next to them. And when you leave, someone occupies your room, lies in your bed... that's the end.

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Connections

Referenced in Come to Dinner (1934)

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Soundtracks

Love's Dream after the Ball
(uncredited)
By Alfons Czibulka
[plays just after Wallace Beery and Lionel Barrymore have their argument at the bar]

User Reviews

A Grand Classic!

More than 70 years later and it stood the test of time. Edmund Goulding directs the movie which starts at a slower pace but towards as things proceed, pace picks up. Greta Garbo was definitely the star of the time but here she's quite a drama queen. It's Joan Crawford who gives the best performance (and has a more fleshed out role than Garbo). The actress indeed has a stronger presence than Garbo and she's simply terrific. Lionel Barrymore and John Barrymore are equally impressive. Lionel is particularly good in balancing his characters tragedy and comedy. The supporting cast is adequate.

The cinematography is amazing as it gives us a marvelous glare of the grandness of the Grand Hotel, the overhead shot of the operators who're connecting the incoming calls, and then focussing on the different characters who're all either desperate for money, happiness or nothing (as they are satisfied with what they have e.g. the head hotel clerk). Everyone is shown to be busy with their own individual life and this is further stressed on in the final scene.

In addition to that, the set designs are spectacular reflecting the indifferent atmosphere and the beauty of the hotel. The reference to the War is also put in a very subtle way (as the film was made in the 30s) through the Baron's story and the scar on the doctor's face. Some might be bored in the beginning (due to the slow pace) but just bear with it, the film does get better and one will indeed understand why it stood the test of time. A grand classic it is indeed!