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Grand Hotel

Play trailer Poster for Grand Hotel Released Apr 12, 1932 1h 55m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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87% Tomatometer 54 Reviews 77% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
At a luxurious Berlin hotel between the wars, the once-wealthy Baron Felix von Gaigern (John Barrymore) supports himself as a thief and gambler. In this lavish adaptation of the successful Broadway play, the baron romances one of his marks, the aging ballerina Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo), and teams with dying accountant Otto Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore) against his former boss, crooked industrialist Preysing (Wallace Beery), and his ambitious stenographer, Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford).
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Grand Hotel

Grand Hotel

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Critics Consensus

Perhaps less a true film than a series of star-studded vignettes, Grand Hotel still remains an entertaining look back at a bygone Hollywood era.

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Critics Reviews

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Ernest Betts London Evening Standard Grand Hotel, from many points of view, is a masterpiece of melodrama. It is not one film, but several, and it is certainly one of the most brilliant talkies which Hollywood has yet sent us. Jun 13, 2023 Full Review Times (UK) Staff The Times (UK) Even all this brilliance of acting and even the remarkable ingenuity of the production cannot disguise the simple artifice of the whole construction, which seems all the more obvious in a plotless story designed to show a section of life. Feb 28, 2020 Full Review Age Staff The Age (Australia) Grand Hotel is superbly acted and finely produced. Jan 25, 2020 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Creaky in spots, the film still triumphs due to its neatly interwoven plotlines, strong characterizations by the leads, and the expected MGM gloss. Rated: 3.5/4 Feb 22, 2025 Full Review Mark Johnson Awards Daily One of the first star-studded episodic dramas, Grand Hotel is headlined by silver screen legends Greta Garbo and John Barrymore. Jun 27, 2023 Full Review Reg Whitley Daily Mirror (UK) Grand Hotel is a film which will do a lot of good to the prestige of the cinema industry. Jun 13, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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ChrisCSH H Grand Hotel is grand in scale with production and cast along with superb acting. The film might be lacking in plot, but makes up for it with the great production and the great chemistry that each of the characters have with each other. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/17/25 Full Review Alec B Like all the best ensemble films, this one utilizes its star studded cast perfectly. Crawford and Lionel Barrymore in particular give strong and often quite moving performances. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/05/24 Full Review Mark A The granddaddy of the all-star cast movies. A peak into the 1930's. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 12/20/22 Full Review Zachary V This was the first movie I think I've ever seen starring Greta Garbo - she is suitably glorious as the slightly-over-the-hill ballerina (shades of Gloria Swanson's future performance in Sunset Boulevard, I think). Interesting also to see the Barrymore brothers both here, particularly since I mainly know Lionel Barrymore from being the heavy-set villain Henry Potter in It's a Wonderful Life. He's barely recognizable here (I know, he is quite a bit younger) as the harmless, goodhearted if bland accountant Otto Kringelein. An engaging story with an all star cast, not entirely predictable either. Well worth the watch. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/01/25 Full Review Russ G Admittedly dated but a Must See for any fan of Hollywood's Golden Age. This was a staple of the weekend TV Late Show for decades. They didn't make 'em any better back in the Thirties. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/27/22 Full Review Audience Member It is the only film to win Best Picture without being nominated in any other category. The line, "i want to be alone," by Greta Garbo is considered one of the great lines of all time. Grand Hotel remains an entertaining look back at a bygone Hollywood era. I look at it as the original Ocean's Eleven for its star power, also similar to Gosford Park for its dense structure and stories. The pacing is quick, the acting is eloquent and the stories are actually interesting. It's pure theater. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Grand Hotel

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Cast & Crew

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Edmund Goulding

Director

Greta Garbo

Grusinskaya

Joan Crawford

Flaemmchen

John Barrymore

Baron Felix von Geigern

Wallace Beery

Preysing

Lionel Barrymore

Otto Kringelein

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Grand Hotel

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Movie Info

Synopsis At a luxurious Berlin hotel between the wars, the once-wealthy Baron Felix von Gaigern (John Barrymore) supports himself as a thief and gambler. In this lavish adaptation of the successful Broadway play, the baron romances one of his marks, the aging ballerina Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo), and teams with dying accountant Otto Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore) against his former boss, crooked industrialist Preysing (Wallace Beery), and his ambitious stenographer, Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford).
Director
Edmund Goulding
Producer
Paul Bern, Irving Thalberg
Distributor
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co
Metro Goldwyn Mayer
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 12, 1932, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 18, 2010
Runtime
1h 55m
Sound Mix
Mono
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