Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Not part of a collection.
Grand Hotel
Thank the stars for a great entertainment!
Guests at a posh Berlin hotel struggle through worry, scandal, and heartache.
- Original title
- Grand Hotel
- Language
- EN
- Country
- US
- Budget
- —
- Revenue
- —
CinemaSerf
Sep 4, 2025 · via TMDB
This starts with a rather downbeat description of life in the Grand Hotel where “…nothing ever happens”. Well maybe it is supposed to look like that, like the swan gliding effortlessly whilst it’s legs paddle like hell, but in reality it is a potpourri of the actually wealthy, the pretend wealthy, the aspirational, the petulant and one thoroughly decent old gent called “Kringelein”. He (Lionel Barrymore) has been given a terminal diagnosis by his doctor and so has decided to push the boat out and spend his remaining time, and money, enjoying caviar and champagne amongst those whom he hopes are a better class of individual. What he gets, though, is his erstwhile employer “Preysing” (Wallace Beery) who is up to no good with his investors; the charming “Baron” (John Barrymore) who hasn’t two pfennigs to rub together so has designs initially just on the pearls of dancer “Grusinskaya” (Greya Garbo) before falling hook line and sinker. Also, on the loved up front, is under appreciated secretary “Flaemmchen” (the charming Joan Crawford) who has taken a bit of a shine to the otherwise occupied “Baron” and then, just to top off this glittering array of profligacy and betrayal, we have the permanently sozzled “Dr. Otterschneig” (Lewis Stone). With the maître d’ expecting a baby; the cleaning staff unsure which rooms to clean or to avoid and card games proving make or break, it’s a maelstrom of activity and emotions that makes you realise exactly why Miss Garbo just wants to be alone! Director Edmund Goulding juggles the plates well here as his stars gel convincingly for almost two hours of gently simmering melodrama. In the end, will anyone get any fulfilment from their stay in this opulent Berlin facility? Aside from the engaging rapport between the two Barrymore brothers, Garbo hams up marvellously and as Stone stands beside that revolving door at the end, I wondered if it could all be about to happen again, only with different players. Which half dozen could equal these, though? Classy and stylish throughout, it’s a cleverly interwoven story that exposes humanity none too favourably sometimes, and is well worth two hours.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Fandango At Home
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Greta Garbo
Grusinskaya
John Barrymore
Baron Felix von Gaigern
Joan Crawford
Flämmchen
Wallace Beery
General Director Preysing
Lionel Barrymore
Otto Kringelein
Lewis Stone
Doctor Otternschlag
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
Edwin Maxwell
Dr. Waitz
John Davidson
Hotel Manager (uncredited)
Allen Jenkins
Hotel Meat Packer (uncredited)
Eric Mayne
Gambler (uncredited)
Philo McCullough
Hotel Guest / Gambler (uncredited)
Greta Meyer
Housekeeper in Room 174 (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse
Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Sarah Padden
Chambermaid in Room 174 (uncredited)
Bodil Rosing
Nurse Helping Old Lady Into Elevator (uncredited)
Leo White
Hotel Porter (uncredited)
Joan Barclay
Young Girl in Lobby (uncredited)
Max Barwyn
Hotel Guest / Gambler (uncredited)
Mary Carlisle
Mrs. Hoffman - Young Honeymooner (uncredited)
Bess Flowers
Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Herbert Evans
Clerk (uncredited)
Milton Holmes
Mr. Hoffman - Young Honeymooner (uncredited)
Sydney Jarvis
Police Officer (uncredited)
Ruby Lafayette
Old Lady (uncredited)
Sam McDaniel
Bartender (uncredited)
Lee Phelps
Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Rolfe Sedan
Hotel Guest in Bar (uncredited)
Harry Wilson
Worker (uncredited)
Florence Wix
Hotel Guest (uncredited)
Cedric Gibbons
Art Direction
William H. Daniels
Director of Photography
Adrian
Costume Design
Cecil Holland
Makeup Department Head
Eugene Joseff
Other
Edmund Goulding
Director
Irving Thalberg
Producer
Herbert Stothart
Music Director
Douglas Shearer
Sound Director
Vicki Baum
Novel
Béla Balázs
Writer
Edgar Allan Woolf
Writer
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Apr 12, 1932
New York
Sep 11, 1932
Feb 3, 2004
DVD
Jan 8, 2013
Blu-ray
