MGM. 112 minutes.
US release: 4/12/32. VHS release: 3/18/03. DVD release:
2/3/04. Encyclopedia Entry • Films Main
Grand Hotel
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Click here to see photos from the film.
MGM. 112 minutes.
US release: 4/12/32. VHS release: 3/18/03. DVD release:
2/3/04.
Cast: Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford (as "Flaemmchen"), Wallace Beery, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, Jean Hersholt, Robert McWade, Purnell Pratt, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Rafaela Ottiano, Morgan Wallace, Tully Marshall, Frank Conroy, Murray Kinnell, Edwin Maxwell.
Credits: From the novel and play by Vicki Baum. Continuity: William A. Drake. Director: Edmund Goulding. Camera: William Daniels. Costumes: Adrian. Editor: Blanche Sewell.
Awards: 1932 Oscar for Best Picture. (Trivia: The only Best Picture winner not to be nominated in any other categories. And Joan's only film to win Best Picture.)
James R. Quirk in Photoplay (1932):
The story is not all Garbo. Joan Crawford gives excellent competition and moves up along her ladder of successes...You may argue about who deserves the most praise and not get anywhere, for the picture, as a whole, steals the show.
film-forward.com (2004):
What may come as a surprise is that, among this illustrious cast, it is Crawford who stands out. Her acting style is much more understated than Garbo’s swooning. Her charisma even upstages the Great Profile. It’s no wonder John Barrymore playfully asks her in their pre-Code banter, “I don’t suppose you’d take some dictation from me sometime?”
Glenn Erickson on dvdtalk.com (2004):
Topic number two for Grand Hotel has always been Joan Crawford, with critics and fans getting excited about the ambitious star earning respect by 'upstaging' the Swedish legend. Thalberg was wise to keep the women completely separate. The difference in their acting styles makes comparisons pointless - Garbo is all poetry and grand gestures, while Crawford is a Berlin edition of her standard 'working girl willing to put out' persona. Complete review.
If you've seen Grand Hotel and would like to share your review here, please e-mail me. Feel free to include a star rating (with 5 stars the best), as well as any of your favorite lines from the film.
Brad
(December 2005)
A major movie for MGM and a Joan Crawford standout. Joan's third place billing in a movie of this stature shows her prominence at MGM. She gave an outstanding performance and truly holds her own among the MGM mighty. Joan's role of the stenographer
puts her in her so called shop girl mode, and while she does indeed
play a poor girl who is willing to compromise her virtue (to a certain
extent) to move forward, she really is playing a young woman who dreams
of the good life and wishes to achieve happiness, success and most
important someone to love and be loved in return.
I
find Joan's performance in this movie a vital step forward towards her
stardom. One must remember that at this time MGM was THE movie studio
in the USA. She was given a role that countless women at MGM would have
wanted to play, and Joan played it perfect. Greta Garbo seems to have
gone to the Norma Shearer school of overacting in this movie - with her
wide eyes and exaggerated expressions, Wallace Beery works over a
dreadful German accent; the Barrymore brothers perform well and Louis
Stone does a fine job as the Doctor. Interesting point in this movie,
Joan's character has a scene with every major actor in the movie except
Garbo. Wisely enough MGM didn't put the two actresses together in the
movie, with Joan outperforming Greta. |
See the Books page for more info.
