FilmSnobReviews

Title: Grand Hotel

Year: 1932

Starring: John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Greta Grabo

Director: Edmund Goulding

Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins

Is It Any Good?: Not too shabby. While some of dialogue seems overly melodramatic, and it looses some steam in parts because everything is super rushed. How is it that John Barrymore’s Baron Felix von Geigern becomes infatuated by Joan Crawford’s Fleamm, only to then move on the Herr Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo) this dialogue just didn’t make any sense in the run of the film. Perhaps that sort of thing worked then, but contemporary audiences would see through such a veil. It’s star-studded cast is a landmark for cinema which was still acclaiming itself to the advent of sound

Memorable Quote: Doctor Otternschlag: Grand Hotel…always the same. People come, people go. Nothing ever happens!

Competition: This was a year packed with good movies that never went on to be true classic. And while no one will complain about Grand Hotel winning having two classic Maurice Chevalier performances in The Smiling Lieutenant, and One Hour With You is always tough going. The former also feature thirties darling (and fellow French person) Claudette Colbert. Mix those in with the Marlene Dietrich’s trip through the far east and you have a gaggle of good gettins’ whether or not any of these deserve the trophy over is really about what genre you enjoy most.

Next up is an intimate look into pre and post World War I, and is based on a novel released just a few short years before this feature.

Keep letting us know whether you like this series or not! We’re getting there hopefully not too soon.