Grand Hotel (1932)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Edmund Goulding

Writers:

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

Release Date:

11 September 1932 (USA)

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:

Baron | Hotel | Dancer | Doctor | Bookkeeper

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

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

Runtime:

112 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Portugal:17 (original rating) | South Korea:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) | Norway:16 (1933) | Sweden:15 | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | New Zealand:PG | Australia:PG | Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating) | USA:Approved (PCA #2276-R: 13 May 1936 for re-release)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Buster Keaton was first choice to play the Lionel Barrymore part

Goofs:

Continuity: As Grusinskaya is on the phone (while the Baron is watching), she holds the receiver with different hands between shots.

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?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Some of the Best (1949)

Soundtrack:

An der schönen, blauen Donau (On the Beautiful Blue Danube), Op.314

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.