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Grand Hotel Movie Review

Grand Hotel is a 1932 drama film directed by Edmund Goulding and starring the ensemble cast consisting of Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Lionel Barrymore, John Barrymore and Wallace Beery among others. It’s such a good, actually quite underrated Oscar winner.

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“Grand Hotel… always the same.

People come, people go.

Nothing ever happens“

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Yes, the film’s plot is very much an excuse to get all these celebrities from MGM in one location and make them act the hell out of this picture. And they exactly did that and I did not mind witnessing the full power of 1930s star system at display. And although most would disregard the film for being nothing more than an acting showcase and it’s seemingly like that, the movie actually has a surprising emotional levity to it, especially in the third act.

The first act is rather clumsy as they introduced us to all these characters in a rather forced, unappealing and rushed manner. And the plot is too simplistic and there simply wasn’t enough time for all these actors/characters to shine, but for the most part the most important ones did manage to make an impact and I actually found the film’s setting beautifully utilized. The hotel itself acts as a metaphor for life itself where nothing ever happens seemingly, but everything does happen and changes revolve constantly. That was so well conveyed thanks to that lovely quote that opens and closes the movie.

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This is a star picture so let’s comment upon these stars. First off, Greta Garbo. She plays a Russian recluse and thus the role fits her real persona like a glove. She would be constantly ridiculed in the years to come by Merry Melodies in particular owing to her famous line about wanting to be alone, but I still love that line and what it means in real life. She herself overacted the hell out of this role, but it fits her character pretty well so I did not mind that too much and she was always a very theatrical actress for sure.

Joan Crawford actually stole the show here along with Lionel Barrymore who should have won an Oscar for this performance instead of the more forgettable work he did in ‘A Free Soul’. He can seem like a caricature, but you can’t help but root for his poor, broken character and he should prove relatable to many people out there. Crawford herself is very nuanced, professional and intriguing in her performance and that she stole the show from in that year much more famous actors and actresses just goes to show what a talent she was from the start.

But Wallace Beery plays a caricature of a villain with a particularly odd accent and I really disliked his character which was the film’s intention, but I did not find him good as a villain too. And John Barrymore himself is so incredibly underutilized that the emotion surrounding his character was muted.

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Grand Hotel absolutely looks splendid owing to terrific cinematography, fantastic art direction and a good use of its score. The fact that it was nominated just for Best Picture and not for any technicalities is ludicrous and I also would have nominated Crawford and Lionel for supporting roles, but those categories weren’t yet invented in this year. Some of the emotion did not work, but some worked quite a bit. The first half is slowly paced, but the second half is very entertaining. I loved the ending in particular and the humor and dialogue are both very strong.

Grand Hotel is a rather underrated, very strong Best Picture winner which needs to be respected more. Yes, the first act is clunky and John Barrymore is underutilized whereas Wallace Beery is a caricature with a bad accent, but Greta Garbo is quite memorable even if she overacted the hell out of her role. Joan Crawford and Lionel Barrymore both stole the show here with their emotional, powerful performances. The movie is simplistic in plot, but it has a good metaphor, excellent art direction and it’s simply a very entertaining, lovely look into some of Hollywood’s biggest stars of this period.

My Rating – 4