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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Greta Garbo wanted John Gilbert to play her lover but his recent lackluster box office record precluded that.

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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.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Senf: [talking on the phone in a phonebooth at the Grand Hotel after a brief scene of operators at the switchboard] Hello? Hello? Hello, is that the clinic? Uh this is Senf; the head porter, Grand Hotel. How's my wife? Is she in pain? Isn't the child coming soon?... Patience? Would you have patience?
Otto Kringelein: [in the next phonebooth] Uh this is Otto Kringelein. I-i-is that you Heinrich? Oh Heinrich listen, I've got to talk very quickly - with every minute costs two Marks ninety. Y-ya know that will ...
[...]

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Connections

Edited into Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972)

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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

Check Into This Establishment

A world-weary prima ballerina, desperate for love. A noble cat thief, desperate for money. A dying clerk, out on a last fling. His industrialist boss, passionate & brutal. A pretty young stenographer, willing to do almost anything to get ahead. A hotel bell captain, anxious to hear about his pregnant wife. And a cynical, war-scarred doctor. Destiny awaits them all in one of Europe's most renowned establishments - Berlin's GRAND HOTEL.

This is considered to be the first `all star' movie. It was certainly MGM's most opulent film up to that time. The studio loaded it with an A List of star performers:

Greta Garbo, uttering her trademark phrase, `I want to be alone.' Radiant in love, one can only imagine the despair that awaits her after the film ends.

John Barrymore, suave, sophisticated & ultimately tragic.

Lionel Barrymore, in a performance that will stay in your memory, slowly dying.

Wallace Beery in a heavy role, all bullying bluff & bluster.

Joan Crawford, tough as nails & good as gold.

Lewis Stone, Jean Hersholt, Rafaela Ottiano & Ferdinand Gottschalk all lend sterling support.

There was concern that putting so much talent into one film, instead of spreading the stars out over 4 or 5 films, would lose the studio money. Not to worry. It was a great success, financially & critically. Watch how the plot weaves the threads of the characters' lives into a finished tapestry. One of the great movies. Tremendously satisfying.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

11 September 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Grand 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 (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1