Grand Hotel (1932)
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 30
Fresh: 26 | Rotten: 4
Perhaps less a true film than a series of star-studded vignettes, Grand Hotel still remains an entertaining look back at a bygone Hollywood era.
Average Rating: 6.8/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 1
Perhaps less a true film than a series of star-studded vignettes, Grand Hotel still remains an entertaining look back at a bygone Hollywood era.
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Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 6,529
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Movie Info
Based on Vicki Baum's novel and produced by Irving Thalberg, this film is about the lavish Grand Hotel in Berlin, a place where "nothing ever happens." That statement proves to be false, however, as the story follows an intertwining cast of characters over the course of one tumultuous day. Greta Garbo is Grusinskaya, a ballerina whose jewels are coveted by Baron von Geigern (John Barrymore), a thief who fancies Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford), a stenographer and the mistress of Preysing (Wallace
Jan 1, 1932 Limited
Feb 3, 2004
MGM Home Entertainment
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Cast
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Greta Garbo
Grusinskaya -
John Barrymore
Baron Felix von Geigern -
Joan Crawford
Flaemmchen -
Wallace Beery
General Director Preysi... -
Lionel Barrymore
Otto Kringelein -
Jean Hersholt
Senf -
Robert McWade
Meierheim -
Purnell Pratt
Zinnowitz -
Ferdinand Gottschalk
Pimenov -
Rafaela Ottiano
Suzette -
Morgan Wallace
Chauffeur -
Tully Marshall
Gerstenkorn -
Frank Conroy
Rohna -
Murray Kinnell
Schweimann -
Mary Carlisle
Honeymooner -
Herbert Evans
Clerks -
Edwin Maxwell
Dr. Waitz -
Sam McDaniel
Bartender -
Lee Phelps
Extra in Lobby -
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Lewis Stone
Dr. Otternschlag -
John Davidson
Hotel Manager
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Grand Hotel Trailer & Photos
All Critics (30) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (28) | Rotten (6) | DVD (17)
As it is, the hotel is well filled.
Top CriticA commercial picture of high box office potential, first by assembling the most impressive aggregation so far of strictly Bradstreet screen names, and then by filming the play practically unaltered in form.
Less effective as a movie than as a dazzling parade of star iconography.
The Nashville of its day, Grand Hotel's reputation has outgrown its actual quality
It is a production thoroughly worthy of all the talk it has created and the several motion-picture luminaries deserve to feel very proud of their performances, particularly Greta Garbo and Lionel Barrymore.
It hasn't aged as well as some Oscar-winners, but neither is it as dated as, for example, Cimarron.
This is Golden Era Hollywood-studio style at its most opulent.
Warner Home Video's release of Edmund Goulding's milestone, multifaceted entertainment offers strong packaging, an excellent visual transfer, but arguably comes up short in the audio department.
How thoroughly does Joan Crawford own Grand Hotel? She makes Greta Garbo superfluous.
Grand Hotel was the first Garbo film I ever saw, and she enchanted me effortlessly, despite the presence of the rest of the powerful ensemble cast.
Creaky, aged and utterly enchanting.
An all-star cast give varying shades of good performances to highlight a fun and interesting story about the sordid affairs of the rich and not-so-famous.
It comes with a grand reputation but by today's standards is outdated.
MGM at its glossiest and most melodramatic, with a an all-star cast that includes Garbo, John and Lionel Barrymore, Joan Crawford, and Lewis Stone--the kind of pictures they don't make anymore.
It's a Hollywood legend, a big, brassy melodrama overflowing with top stars.
Supplements include a documentary on the making of the movie, a premiere newsreel, trailers for this and the 1945 remake.
A lesson on just how far motion pictures have come, and thank heavens for 1970s independent filmmaking or Hollywood might still resemble Louis Mayer's fantasy world.
Movie stars existed before Grand Hotel, and yet this picture seems to reinvent the whole concept right before your dazzled eyes.
Sometimes moving, sometimes funny, and almost always entertaining.
What may come as a surprise is that, among this illustrious cast, it is Crawford who stands out.
Audience Reviews for Grand Hotel
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Grusinskaya: I want to be alone.
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- Dr. Otternschlag: Grand Hotel. Always the same. People come, people go. Nothing ever happens. [end of film]
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- Otto Kringelein: [on the phone] It's pretty bad, he says I haven't long to live. [louder] I say he says I won't live much longer. No, it isn't nice to be told things like that. You plague, bother, and save, and all of a sudden you're dead.
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- Grusinskaya: I want to b alone.
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Foreign Titles
- Menschen im Hotel (DE)
- Grand Hotel (1932) (CA)
when the story begins ,some of the people caught up in events going on include a destitue Baron (John Barrymore) who spends his time gambling and occasionally thieving jewels, a meek accountant (Lionel Barrymore) who, after learning he is dying decides to spend his remaining days living a life of luxury, his former employer (Wallace Beery) an industrialist at the hotel trying to close an important deal, a stenographer (Joan Crawford) who aspires ot be an actress, and a Russian Ballerina (Greta Garbo) on the verge of a complete meltdown.
Here's some notable bits of info about the movie: it is so far the only film to win the Oscar for Best Picture that wasn't nominated for any other award. Also, Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford (the two biggest stars at the time)never share any screen time together as it was believed having them do so would disasterously reult in each one trying to outshine the other.
If you wanna see what a classic Old Hollywood picture (and Old Hollywood royalty) look like, then give this a watch. It's a pretty good little yarn and a fine example of Class A filmmaking from that era.