Film Review: Grand Hotel (1932)
Filmmaking is a collective effort, but it’s difficult notice that when watching Hollywood films, often built around one or two major stars. However, Irving Thalberg, legendary producer and one of the architects of MGM, powerhouse of Classic Hollywood, decided to experiment with having number of big stars playing relatively small roles. The result of this experiment was Grand Hotel, 1932 drama directed by Edmund Goulding, box office hit that introduced "all-star vehicle" as viable concept for Hollywood.
The film is based on the 1929 novel Menschen in Hotel by Austrian writer Vicki Baum, adapted in 1930 into popular Broadway play. The plot is set in a luxurious four-star hotel in Berlin, where the lives of five characters intertwine over the course of few days. Gruisinskay (played by Greta Garbo) is famous Russian ballerina whose career is on downward trajectory, which makes her capricious and depressed. Baron Felix von Gaigern (played by John Barrymore) is suave aristocrat whose gambling habit left him penniless and forced him to solve this problem by becoming a thief, with Grusinskaya’s pearls becoming his next target. Preysing (played by Wallace Beery) is general director of financially troubled textile company who tries to salvage it by tricking potential partners into merger. Flaemchenn (played by Joan Crawford) is stenographer hired to assist Preysing, soon learning that he might be interested in other kind of services. Otto Kringelein (played by Lionel Barrymore) is former clerk in Preysing’s company who was just diagnosed with terminal illness and decided to spend all of his life’s savings to spend few remaining time in luxury.
The setting is depicted in a very modern way, despite the limitations of the single set and the fact that the film was made only a few years after the introduction of sound. Director Edmund Goulding was never considered top tier talent, but he was among the more dependable filmmakers of Classic Hollywood. He made sure that the two-hour running time passed quickly by using tracking shots, unusual perspectives, and a large Art Deco setting. The cinematography by William H. Daniels, who was famous for his work with Greta Garbo, also contributed to the modern look of the film. However, the lack of music in the film, with the exception of a few classic waltzes, makes it both dated and modern to the contemporary audience.
The cast of Grand Hotel is one of its strongest points, with Greta Garbo being the most iconic member and delivering famous line “I want to be alone”. However, her acting in the film is somewhat overdramatic and too theatrical, which could be explained by the one-dimensional way her character was written. John Barrymore, on the other hand, delivers a convincing performance as a suave gentleman and seducer, despite being fifty years old at the time.Wallace Beery plays an interesting role as a crooked capitalist and bully, but his decision to talk with a heavy German accent, despite everyone else in the film speaking with their native accents, is a peculiar choice. Young Joan Crawford shines in the role of a working-class stenographer who recognizes her own body as her main asset in the struggle to survive and get ahead. Her immorality and ease with which she plays with the attention of different men is matched with her vampish looks, making her more interesting than Garbo's character. John's brother Lionel Barrymore, best known for playing elderly characters in Frank Capra’s films, is another pleasant surprise among the cast, delivering a strong performance as a kind-hearted character who is doomed from the start.
The film also represents one of the rare Hollywood depictions of Weimar Germany while Weimar Germany still existed, although it does not make any references to politics or economic turmoil. Grand Hotel was released during the Great Depression, and its depiction of the upper class suffering just like ordinary people proved to be beneficial to the film, making it popular among impoverished masses. It won the Oscar for Best Film, becoming the only film in history to win the award without any other nominations.
As one of the biggest hits in MGM's history, the film received a very special honour from the company when it re-oriented towards the hotel business and had its prime establishment in Las Vegas named Grand Hotel, designed based on the film's sets. However, plans to have a big-budget remake set there were scrapped following a catastrophic fire in 1980, and the property was sold in 1986.
Although Grand Hotel might seem dated in some of its aspect, it is sufficiently modern and well-made film, and deserves recommendation even for viewers not interested in Hollywood history.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
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