Grand Hotel

Released Apr 12, 1932

1 hr. 55 min.

Drama

List

87%

54 Reviews

Tomatometer

77%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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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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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

Louisa E

I really enjoyed the look, sound, and performances of this movie. The plot was simple. There was nothing gripping, but I like character-driven stories, so it was up my alley. The ending was a bit shocking! There was some fantastic, witty dialogue too, that made me giggle. It's good when a plot has us empathise with 'the bad guy'. The actors were great, with one exception (I'll get to that). I loved the Barrymores so much, especially their scenes when they were together. I thought Joan Crawford and Wallace Beery were both incredible. I loved the exchanges between Joan Crawford and John Barrymore and felt some chemistry there. My biggest acting let-down? Garbo. Sorry! She might have been hamming it up deliberately, but with such strong acting performances all around her, she seemed like a fish out of water. There was a bit of a score in this movie (thank goodness!), so I enjoyed that. What I loved the most was some strong cinematography and superb design. The shots of the telephonists and the circular building were outstanding, and the way the camera moved was really nice and felt relatively modern. 8/10.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/08/23

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

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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

11/12/22

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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

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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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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

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

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

María Luz Morales (Felipe Centeno)

La Vanguardia (Spain)

It has presented a cast, difficult, if not impossible, to beat. Of a discreet and correct modesty, in form and substance. [Full Review in Spanish]

Jun 13, 2023

Full Review

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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
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
Sound Mix: Mono

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