Screenwriter William A. Drake adapted his 1930 play, which was adapted from Vicki Baum’s 1929 novel Menschen im Hotel for Grand Hotel, the name of a Berlin establishment where a handful of characters cross paths over a couple nights. As the film opens, Doctor Otternschlag (Lewis Stone), a resident of the hotel states, “People coming, going. Nothing ever happens.” Viewers will soon see how wrong he is when a new wave of guests arrive.
Buy Grand Hotel DVDBaron Felix von Gaigern (John Barrymore) is a charming man whose title currently means very little as he gambles and steals to make ends meet. He needs to make money fast to pay off a debt to a criminal gang and hopes guests at the hotel will unknowingly help him. Otto Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore) is dying and wants to spend his remaining days in the lap of luxury. Otto’s former employer, General Director Preysing (Wallace Beery) is at the hotel to make a business deal. He hires Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford) as a stenographer for his meetings. When Preysing sees how attractive she is, he has other ideas on what he would like to do with her, which may be better received if he wasn’t so rude to her. Flaemmchen is also indifferent to Felix at first, until she learns he is a baron, and then ignores Preysing whenever Felix is around.
The fifth member of the group is Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo), a Russian ballerina not satisfied with her career or her life, leading her to leave a performance early and return to her hotel room where she famously “want[s] to be alone.” Of the other main characters, she only encounters Felix, who steps out of the shadows because her talk of suicide was a greater concern to him than the jewels he was seeking. They spend the night together and he cures what ails her, so much so, that she’s invites to go on tour with her which she accepts.
The script is well written. The characters are intriguing as is the way they interact with one another, which the cast also deserve credit for. The plotting is not predictable. Surprises abound in the various ways the characters exit the hotel and all outcomes are believable.
Grand Hotel is notable for a number of reasons. It was the first time a studio assembled five of its top stars to create an all-star cast. The idea came from MGM’s head of production Irving Thalberg, and its success led to the formula being copied by other studios. It was the first time brothers Lionel and John Barrymore appeared in a film together. It is also the only Best Picture Oscar-winner that was not nominated in any other category.
