Grand Hotel (1932)

VHS CASE/SIDE

Length of film: 112 Minutes

Rated: A

Genre: Drama, Romance

Director: Edmund Goulding

Starring: Great Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, Jean Hersholt, Robert McWade

IMDB Rank: 7.3 /10

******Originally released in roadshow format having an overture, intermission, and exit music. All subsequent releases have excluded the roadshow format.

Part 1 Time:  58 Minutes

Part 2 Time:  54 Minutes

Where does the first part end? In the morning, Grusinskaya, the dancer (Greta Garbo) speaks on the telephone to Baron Felix von Gaigern (John Barrymore).

Final line of dialogue on the first part: “Just to tell you I’m happy,” Grusinskaya states into the phone to Baron Felix von Gaigern.

First line of dialogue on the second part: It is now 5:00 pm in the Grand Hotel’s yellow room. Otto Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore) asks the bartender, “I’ll have something sweet and cold please.” Dr.  Otternschlag (Lewis Stone) sits with Otto.

How jarring is it when the first part ends? Minimal, Baron Felix von Gaigern and Grusinskaya have shared mutual feelings with one another and have agreed to leave the Grand Hotel together. Will Baron Felix von Gaigern be able to collect enough money to leave with Grusinskaya.

Which part is better? The film centers around a diverse group of people staying at the luxurious Grand Hotel in Berlin. Part two, is significantly better as each of the main protagonists become more intertwined with each other, resulting in humour, drama, and tragedy.

Academy Awards: 1933; Best Picture

National Film Registry: 2007