Week-End at the Waldorf (1945)

The misadventures of a group of diverse guests at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan.

Director:

Robert Z. Leonard

Writers:

Sam Spewack (screen play), Bella Spewack (screen play)

Stars:

Ginger Rogers, Lana Turner, Walter Pidgeon

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ginger Rogers	...	Irene Malvern
Lana Turner	...	Bunny Smith
Walter Pidgeon	...	Chip Collyer
Van Johnson	...	Captain James Hollis
Edward Arnold	...	Martin X. Edley
Keenan Wynn	...	Oliver Webson
Robert Benchley	...	Randy Morton
Phyllis Thaxter	...	Cynthia Drew
Leon Ames	...	Henry Burton
Lina Romay	...	Juanita
Samuel S. Hinds	...	Mr. Jessup
Porter Hall	...	Stevens
George Zucco	...	Bey of Aribajan
Miles Mander	...	British Secretary
Frank Puglia	...	Emile

Storyline

Anything can happen during a weekend at New York's Waldorf-Astoria: a glamorous movie star meets a world-weary war correspondent and mistakes him for a jewel thief; a soldier learns that without an operation he'll die and so looks for one last romance with a beautiful but ambitious stenographer; a cub reporter tries to get the goods on a shady man's dealing with a foreign potentate. And it all happens in the opulent, grandiose New York landmark hotel as a sort of tongue-in-cheek take-off on the classic movie Grand Hotel.

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Plot Keywords:

waldorf astoria hotel | new york city | based on play | 

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Taglines:

It's always exciting and Romantic!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

October 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Weekend at the Waldorf

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,561,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$9,513,520

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,437,520

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bunny reads a newspaper ad for a Park Avenue apartment renting for $14,000 per year. That would equate to about $190,000 per year in 2017 (or about $15,830/month).

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Goofs

While Chip and Irene argue at the breakfast table in her room, Chip is shown putting butter or jam on his toast with a knife in his right hand. In the next shot, Chip has his right hand in his pocket.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Randy Morton: Yes. That's the Waldorf Astoria. Big place, isn't it? But, it's home to me, because I happen to live there.

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Crazy Credits

During the opening credits the prinipal roles were credited as the character's name and occupation.

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Connections

Referenced in The Great Morgan (1946)

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Soundtracks

Guadalajara
(1937)
Written by Pepe Guízar (as Pepe Guizar)
Performed by Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra (uncredited) and sung by Lina Romay (uncredited)

User Reviews

And there you are.

It's interesting to see MGM remake its own pre-code classic, Grand Hotel, a sophisticated, somewhat dark, romantic multi-story film that was the first to feature an all-star cast. The difference between Grand Hotel and Weekend At The Waldorf isn't just the difference between a film set in Weimar Berlin and one set in WWII Manhattan. It's the difference between how MGM approached filmmaking in the early 1930's vs. the mid-1940s.

While you can sense in Grand Hotel that the filmmakers were trying for a great film (whether or not they succeeded is open for debate), this was clearly not the case with Weekend At The Waldorf. It's meant to be a crowd-pleaser. Light entertainment, with some heavier moments, but no real depth. A confection, with all the gloss the studio can muster. And it delivers.

Maybe I'm quibbling when I say the screenplay isn't as witty as it might be, and a few of the situations seem trite, or a little too drawn out. But it's a very clever rewrite of the earlier film, with a first-rate cast. There are even a few moments when a couple of the characters talk about Grand Hotel, itself, and compare their situation to one in the film.

There are four big stars, and a few more medium-sized stars. There's Robert Benchley to narrate, and Xavier Cugat and his orchestra (featuring Lina Romay) to play some musical numbers. There's the Waldorf itself, featured in some stunning shots of 1945 New York City.

While watching the film, I kept feeling the two pairs of stars were somewhat mis-matched. Ginger Rogers and Walter Pidgeon don't seem quite right together. Likewise, Lana Turner and Van Johson seem slightly ill at ease as romantic partners.

Various subplots feature Keenan Wynn, Edward Arnold, Phyllis Thaxter, Warner Anderson, Rosemary DeCamp, and Samuel S. Hinds.

Weekend At The Waldorf is a professional job of the highest quality and if you're looking for some escapist fare with glamor, music, romance, and humor, and a bit of drama, you could do worse.