Grand Hotel (I) (1932)

Joan Crawford: Flaemmchen

Photos 

Quotes 

• Baron Felix von Geigern : Oh, you're a little stenographess?

  Flaemmchen : Yes, I'm a little stenographess.

  Baron Felix von Geigern : Fascinating. I don't suppose you'd, uh, take some dictation from me sometime, would you?

• Otto Kringelein : Mr. Preysing, I am not taking orders from you here.

  Preysing : What is this insolence? Please go away.

  Otto Kringelein : You think you have free license to be insulting? Believe me, you have not. You think you're superior, but you're quite an ordinary man. Even if you did marry money, and people like me have got to slave for you for 320 marks a month!

  Preysing : Will you go away, please! You are annoying!

  Flaemmchen : Mr. Preysing, please!

  Otto Kringelein : You don't like to see me enjoying myself. When a man's working himself to death, that's what he's paid for. You don't care if a man can live on his wages or not.

  Preysing : You have a very regular scale of wages, and there's the sick fund for you.

  Otto Kringelein : [sarcastically]  Oh, what a scale, and what a fund. When I was sick for four weeks, you wrote me a letter, telling me I'd be discharged if I was sick any longer. Did you write me that letter, or did you not?

  Preysing : I have no idea of the letters that I write, Mr. Kringelein. I know that you're here in the Grand Hotel, living like a lord. You are probably an embezzler.

  Otto Kringelein : [shocked]  An embezzler?

  Preysing : Yes, an embezzler!

  Otto Kringelein : You will take that back, right here in the presence of this young lady! Who do you think you're talking to? You think I'm dirt? Well, if I'm dirt, you're a lot dirtier, Mr. Industrial Magnate Preysing!

  Preysing : You're discharged! Get out!

  Flaemmchen : You can't do that to him...

  Preysing : Oh, I don't know the man. I don't know what he wants. I never saw him before.

  Otto Kringelein : I know you! I've kept your books for you and I know all about you! If one of your employees was half as stupid in a small way as you are in a big way...

  Preysing : [lunges for Kringelein]  What do you mean

  [tries to strangle him. When several people try to break them up, he finally lets go] 

  Preysing : You're discharged! You're discharged, you hear?

  Otto Kringelein : Wait! You can't discharge me. I am my own master for the first time in my life. You can't discharge me. I'm sick. I'm going to die, you understand? I'm going to die, and nobady can do anything to me anymore. Nothing can happen to me anymore. Before I can be discharged, I'll be dead!

  [laughs proudly] 

• Baron Felix von Geigern : [looking down from the sixth-floor balcony over the front desk]  You know, I've often wondered what'd happen to that old porter if somebody jumped on him from here.

  Flaemmchen : I'm sure I don't know. Why don't you try it and find out?

• [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 proper. 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?

• Preysing : You know, you are entirely different from what I expected.

  Flaemmchen : Different? How?

  Preysing : I don't know. I thought you were more of a coquette. Not so ladylike.

  Flaemmchen : What did you expect?

  Preysing : Wouldn't you like to call me by the first name?