Grand Hotel is a 1932 American drama film directed by Edmund Goulding. The screenplay by William A. Drake and Béla Balázs is based on the 1930 play of the same title by Drake, who had adapted it from the 1929 novel Menschen im Hotel by Vicki Baum. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture, the sole category in which it was nominated.
In 2007, Grand Hotel was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." The line "I want to be alone," famously delivered by Greta Garbo, placed #30 in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes.
The film was remade as Week-End at the Waldorf in 1945. It also served as the basis for the 1989 stage musical of the same title.
Plot
Doctor Otternschlag (Lewis Stone), a disfigured veteran of World War I and a permanent resident of the Grand Hotel in Berlin, wryly observes, "People come and go. Nothing ever happens," after which a great deal transpires. Baron Felix von Geigern (John Barrymore), who squandered his fortune and supports himself as a card player and occasional jewel thief, befriends Otto Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore), a meek accountant who, having discovered he is dying, has decided to spend his remaining days in the lap of luxury. Kringelein's former employer, industrialist General Director Preysing (Wallace Beery), is at the hotel to close an important deal, and he hires stenographer Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford) to assist him. She aspires to be an actress and shows Preysing some magazine photos for which she posed, implying she is willing to offer him more than typing if he is willing to help advance her career.
Greta Garbo and John Barrymore
Another guest is Russian ballerina Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo), whose career is on the wane. She unexpectedly returns from the theatre while the Baron is stealing her jewelry, and when she discovers him in her room she tells him, "I want to be alone." Disregarding her, the Baron stays and engages her in conversation, and Grusinskaya finds herself attracted to him.
The following morning, a repentant Baron returns Grusinskaya's jewels, but she is unfazed by his crime. Instead, she invites him to accompany her to Vienna, an offer he readily accepts.
The Baron joins Kringelein and Flaemmchen for afternoon tea, and she cajoles the ailing man into dancing with her. Preysing interrupts them and imperiously demands she join him in his suite. Irriated by his former employer's coarse behavior, Kringelein - who is aware of Preysing's many swindles - tells him what he thinks of him. Surprised by his uncharacteristic audacity, Preysing is about to strike Kringelein when the Baron intercedes and invites him to join him in a game of cards. Kringelein accepts, wins everything, and then becomes intoxicated. When he drops his wallet, the Baron - who desperately needs the money but has become very fond of Kringelein - finds it and returns it to him.
In need of new financing, Preysing must travel to London, and he asks Flaemmchen to accompany him. The two go to his suite, where they discover the Baron rifling through Preysing's belongings. The two struggle, and Preysing strikes the Baron in the head with the telephone, killing him. Flaemmchen confesses what she has witnessed to Kringelein, who confronts Preysing. He insists he acted in self-defense, but Kringelein summons the police and Preysing is arrested.
Grusinskaya departs for the train station, fully expecting to find the Baron waiting for her there. Meanwhile, Kringelein offers to take care of Flaemmchen, who suggests they go to Paris and seek a cure for his illness. As they leave the hotel, Doctor Otternschlag once again observes, "Grand Hotel. People come and go. Nothing ever happens," although a great deal has.
Production
Producer Irving Thalberg purchased the rights to Vicki Baum's novel Menschen im Hotel for $13,000 and then commissioned William A. Drake to adapt it for the stage. [1] It opened on Broadway at the National Theatre on November 13, 1930 and ran for 459 performances. [2] Pleased with its success, Thalberg had Drake and Béla Balázs write the screenplay and budgeted the project at $700,000. [1]
Cast
Critical reception
Alfred Rushford Greason of Variety said the film "may not entirely please the theatregoers who were fascinated by its deft stage direction and restrained acting, but it will attract and hold the wider public to which it is now addressed." He added, "The drama unfolds with a speed that never loses its grip, even for the extreme length of nearly two hours, and there is a captivating pattern of unexpected comedy that runs through it all, always fresh and always pat." [3]
In later years, Channel 4 said the film "was possibly the first of the portmanteau films and has a place in cinema history as a work that interweaves stories and characters like a tapestry to emerge eventually as a complete picture . . . Goulding, a master of camp, shepherds rather than directs his famous cast through the series of adventures and misadventures." [4] Blake Goble of the Michigan Daily called it "the original Ocean's Eleven for its star power" and compared it to Gosford Park "for its dense structure and stories." He added, "[T]he pacing is quick, the acting is eloquent and the stories are actually interesting. It’s pure theatricality. But Hotel lasted thanks to its simplicity, and the star power doesn't hurt either. This is grand, old Hollywood captured on film." [5]
DVD release
Warner Home Video released the first Region 1 DVD on February 3, 2004. The film is in fullscreen format with audio tracks in English and French and subtitles in English, French, and Spanish. Bonus features include Checking Out: Grand Hotel, a documentary about the making of the film; a 1932 newsreel with highlights of the Hollywood premiere; Nothing Ever Happens, a 1933 Vitaphone short film spoofing Grand Hotel; and theatrical trailers.
References
External links
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The films of Edmund Goulding |
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| Screenplays |
The Perfect Lover (1919) • A Regular Girl (1919) (with Frances Marion) • A Daughter of Two Worlds (1920) • Dangerous Toys (1921) • The Devil (film) (1921) • Tol'able David (1921) (with Henry King) • Peacock Alley (1922) (with Robert Z. Leonard) • The Seventh Day (1922) • Fascination (1922) • Broadway Rose (1922) • Till We Meet Again (1922) • Heroes of the Street (1922) (with Mildred Considine) • Fury • Dark Secrets (1923) • Jazzmania (1923) • The Bright Shawl (1923) • Bright Lights of Broadway (1923) • Tiger Rose (1923) • Dante's Inferno (1924) • Gerald Cranston's Lady (1924) • The Dancers (1925) • The Fool (1925) • Havoc (1925)
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