Do you want to see ‘Grand Hotel’?

Grand Hotel (1932)

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All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 7.4/10
Reviews Counted: 28
Fresh: 24 | 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.

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Average Rating: 7.6/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 0

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: 6,151

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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

Unrated, 1 hr. 52 min.

Drama, Romance, Classics

Directed By: Edmund Goulding

Written By: Vicki Baum, William A. Drake

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1932 Limited

On DVD: Feb 3, 2004

MGM Home Entertainment

Grand Hotel Trailer & Photos

Cast

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
Rolfe Sedan
Lewis Stone
Dr. Otternschlag
John Davidson
Hotel Manager

Critic Reviews for Grand Hotel

All Critics (28) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (25) | Rotten (6) | DVD (16)

As it is, the hotel is well filled.

February 17, 2009 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine

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TIME Magazine

Top Critic

A 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.

January 29, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety

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Alfred Rushford Greason

Variety

Top Critic

Less effective as a movie than as a dazzling parade of star iconography.

December 12, 2006 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

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.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times

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Mordaunt Hall

New York Times

Top Critic

It hasn't aged as well as some Oscar-winners, but neither is it as dated as, for example, Cimarron.

January 1, 1932 Full Review Source: ReelViews

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James Berardinelli

ReelViews

Top Critic

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.

May 9, 2008 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid

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Jeffrey M. Anderson

Combustible Celluloid

Creaky, aged and utterly enchanting.

February 20, 2008 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine

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David Parkinson

Empire Magazine

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.

October 5, 2006 Full Review Source: Oscar Guy

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Wesley Lovell

Oscar Guy

The Nashville of its day, Grand Hotel's reputation has outgrown its actual quality

June 24, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out

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Derek Adams

Time Out

It comes with a grand reputation but by today's standards is outdated.

September 26, 2005 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

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Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

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.

June 6, 2005 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com Source: EmanuelLevy.Com

It's a Hollywood legend, a big, brassy melodrama overflowing with top stars.

February 27, 2005 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com

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David Cornelius

eFilmCritic.com

Supplements include a documentary on the making of the movie, a premiere newsreel, trailers for this and the 1945 remake.

August 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide

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Jamie Gillies

Apollo Guide

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.

August 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Apollo Guide

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Jamie Gillies

Apollo Guide

Movie stars existed before Grand Hotel, and yet this picture seems to reinvent the whole concept right before your dazzled eyes.

July 30, 2004 Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks

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Nick Davis

Nick's Flick Picks

Sometimes moving, sometimes funny, and almost always entertaining.

July 11, 2004 Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies

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Michael W. Phillips, Jr.

Goatdog's Movies Source: Goatdog's Movies

What may come as a surprise is that, among this illustrious cast, it is Crawford who stands out.

April 20, 2004 Full Review Source: Film-Forward.com

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Kent Turner

Film-Forward.com

The plot framework is quite ingenious, actually, and the tales themselves hold up remarkably well for their age.

February 2, 2004 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

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John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

...perhaps just a tad too much swooning and preening from its two principal stars to make it an absolute personal favorite. But entertaining? You bet.

February 2, 2004 Full Review Source: Movie Metropolis

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John J. Puccio

Movie Metropolis

If you're in the mood for a sentimental look back, by all means check in.

January 11, 2004 Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com

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Jake Euker

Filmcritic.com

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Grand Hotel

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If I'm not mistaken, this is like the grandaddy of all star-studded ensemble films that features intersecting characters and storylines. The story takes place in the present day (early 1930s) at the Grand Hotel in Berlin. It's a lavish place, and, despite someone saying that is a place where "nothing ever happens"

March 14, 2011

Chris Weber

Super Reviewer

"Grand Hotel" is an iconic relic. It's an important film because it was the first of it's kind in terms of multiple, interconnected, existential story lines and the first film to gather together a large, star studded ensemble. Since the structure of the film was completely new, the various threads can be derivative and

July 25, 2011