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Grand Hotel

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Grand Hotel

Released Apr 12, 1932

1h 55m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

87%

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54 Reviews

77%

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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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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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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

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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

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Age Staff

The Age (Australia)

Grand Hotel is superbly acted and finely produced.

Jan 25, 2020

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

02/01/25

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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

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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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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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