LeonLouisRicci Experimental Extravagance from a Studio that was Most Noted for the Latter and Not the Former, MGM Found Great Financial Success Despite Conventional Wisdom to the Contrary. That is, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket.", to be Flip.The Film Features Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Lionel Barrymore, and Wallace Berry. All Are Given Approximately Equal Screen Time to Satisfy Egos and Fan Anticipation. Garbo's Performance, While Seen as Over the Top and Embarrassing Today, was Met with Rave Reviews from the Major Press At the Time.The Rest of the Cast are All Professionally Competent with Joan Crawford Frequently Pointed Out as Stealing the Show, or At Least Almost. Taste Will Determine Your Favorite and Your Foil. Aside from Acting, the Story is Melodramatic and Soap Opera Ish, the Sound and Camera Work are Above Average for the Time, and the Production Design is Art Deco Glorious. Some of the Characters and Situations are Dated as is Some of the Dialog. But as an Early Sound Hollywood Artifact it Stands as an MGM Statement that Bigger is Better, and it is the Studio Saying in No Uncertain Terms (when it was not that certain), "We are the King of the Hollywood Jungle!".

carljessieson Not super impressed with this one. It had its moments but ultimately I can't honestly say that I enjoyed the film.I guess the importance of this film is that it was the first film to have many main characters with their stories intersecting (seemingly Garry Marshall's recent obsession, with a holiday twist). I absolutely adore that type of filmmaking, so long as the connections make sense and aren't predictable. It worked for this film and I liked that a lot. Another major accomplishment of this film was how it was so star-studded, with a bunch of big actors working together. These two characteristics that made the film a classic were somewhat lost on me because I'm used to them in modern cinema, and better executed at that.Good subtle character development in the beginning. Less subtle later, but still good. The dialog was very good. Good writing. The performances were great. Still, the story moved too slowly for me and I do need to be at least a little bit invested in the characters to actually care what they do or what happens to them, and I was not invested. I didn't find anyone particularly likable, with maybe a couple exceptions, but overall, I was turned off by how manipulative everything was. The motive behind nearly every action was personal gain at another's expense, and that's gross. Not a fun watch for me, to be honest. I was bored and I was just waiting for it to be over about halfway through. I don't want to watch it again and I don't want to own it ever.5/10 Bye love you

SnoopyStyle The Grand Hotel in Berlin is the setting for the interconnected stories of the various characters. Baron Felix von Geigern (John Barrymore) lost his wealth over the years while still maintaining a facade by playing cards and thievery. He tries to steal flamboyant fragile Russian ballerina Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo)'s pearls. He befriends meek bookkeeper Otto Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore) trying to live it up at the hotel. German businessman Preysing (Wallace Beery) is trying to complete an important deal and hires stenographer Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford) although she's looking to be more than a typist. Otto is one of Preysing's insignificant workers who may hold the key to his deal.The stars are out in style in this hotel. Garbo is at her melodramatic best. Joan Crawford is the belle of the ball. The Barrymores are superb. Wallace Beery is his usual brute. I'm sure it was more compelling for its time. Many others have followed the formula of disparate people intermingling at a specific place. This is probably done better than most of its kind at its time. Two hours is a bit too long to keep up the pace.

The_Film_Cricket Without a good story to tell, Grand Hotel might be just an overwrought gathering of some of the greatest stars in the early days of Hollywood, a kind of revue of great faces without any real purpose. Yet, because this there is multiple stories, multiple characters, multiple points of interest, the movie is infinitely watchable, even today. What we get is a movable soap opera that surprisingly hasn't dated, and that may have something to do with the fact that the cast features actors who are given good material.Based on a mostly forgotten play "Menschen im Hotel" by William A. Drake from the book by Vicki Baum (who wrote the book based on her own experiences working in a hotel), Grand Hotel tells a multi-tiered story about the various goings-on at a swank Berlin hotel. The disfigured World War I veteran and permanent resident Dr. Otternschlag (Lewis Stone) describes it as "People come and go. Nothing ever happens." Actually, he's being ironic. There's plenty going on, and as the patrons gather we meet them and get involved in their various stories.We meet a Baron, Felix von Geigern (John Barrymore), once a millionaire who has now squandered his fortune and makes a living by day as a card player and at night as a jewel thief. He befriends a sickly former accountant Otto Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore) who believes he is dying and is spending his last days at the hotel.We meet an industrialist called Preysing (Wallace Beery) who is about to close a sink-or-swim business deal that, if unsuccessful, could ruin him and his family. He hires a beautiful stenographer and aspiring actress named Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford) and during a conversation she suggests that she is willing to help him if he is willing to help her out of the typing pool.Then there is Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo) a Russian ballet dancer whose career is fading. Her station in life is taking its toll and she becomes depressed, stating "I want to be alone." One night the Baron is robbing her room when she returns from an engagement and he overhears her, thinking that she is considering suicide. He confronts her, she is startled, but as they talk, they fall in love. This union does not go where we expect.All of these stories interconnect in a way that is not only clever but really quite compelling. The characters act, basically, according to their nature and their stories don't go where we expect. The most interesting is Flaemmchen, a beautiful young woman who has a mind behind her looks. There is a suggestion that she is willing to bed down with Preysing to further her career but she's no mere floozy. She also falls a little bit in love after a slight flirtation with the Baron. This is a different Joan Crawford then we're use to, young and happy and flirtatious. Crawford's legacy has been tainted by her reputation as a bitch-on-wheels and tarnished by trash like Mommie Dearest, but here we see the young Crawford. She is confident, easy-going and easy to fall in love with.Also interesting is Kringelein whom we meet as a man who seems to be nothing less than a self-pitying hypochondriac, but whose association with the Baron fuels his last days on earth with a profound sense of joy. He has an associated with Preysing. He was once under his employ and we discover, in a stunning moment, just what a rat his former employer was. This is a very dialogue driven picture taking place within confined spaces. The hotel itself is tall and circular and somewhat confined by the scope of what the camera is able to capture. Many of the rooms are lit at low levels so as to suggest the dark secrets hiding in the shadows. What is amazing is that none of this seems dry or dated. Everyone has a story to tell, and all seem to have a story that began before the camera found them.That's the true test of good writing. This could easily have been a tapestry of movie stars with nothing to do, but it's much more compelling than that. Many may see it as dated but I see a movie that peeks into a time gone by, with stars long gone. It is a timestamp on a world and on attitudes that we are never likely to see again.***1/2 (of four)