Search - Grand Hotel on DVD

An elegant snapshot of Weimar Germany, and of early '30's Ho

M. S. Driver | Woodside, NY United States | 09/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have a particular affinity for films from the pre-code era, and "Grand Hotel" is by far my favorite of this genre. After numerous viewings, I began to understand this wonderful film as a portrayal of the tremendous struggle life must have been for Germans of the Weimar period, even for the entrepreneurial and aristocratic classes, especially in this critical year before power was handed over to Hitler. In this movie, everyone is broke except the mousy little clerk played by Lionel Barrymore, and every character is trying in his or her own way to achieve or hold on to the dream-world lifestyle they remembered from the days before the Great War. The hotel decor is very trendy (the bar seats its patrons practically above the heads of standees) and the rooms are large, plush and satiny.

The high point of "Grand Hotel", for me, is the central love scene between John Barrymore and Greta Garbo, which is probably the most gorgeous ever filmed -- enchanted, poignant and steeped in doom. The actors were also demonstrably attracted to each other, adding depth and authenticity.

I have to disagree with another reviewer here: I find John Barrymore's performance quite restrained, even staid at times, and Garbo's very mannered (and -- listen carefully -- she says "I ouant to be alone", not "I vant..."). Barrymore did plenty of "over the top" performances, but this isn't one of them. Compare "Twentieth Century", "Midnight", or his last film, "Playmates". (Actually, "Playmates", an embarrassing stinker made the year before his death, is valuable for an amazing 30-second jewel in its center -- a tearful impromptu rendering of as much of the Hamlet "To Be" soliloquy as the poor man can remember, in which he seems to grieve the own slings and arrows of his own life and to beg for release.)

Lionel is absolutely priceless, as skillful a comic actor as he is a dramatic one (it is said that comedy is much more difficult). Young Joan Crawford is breezy and delightful, with no evidence of the harridan she was to become later in her career. Wallace Beery is, as expected, wonderfully gross and heavy-handed, but the director forgot to tell him to lose the thick accent, since his character is supposed to be a native German speaker like everyone else (except, perhaps, Jean Hersholt's).

People say that this movie is dated. Of course it is! So are "It's a Wonderful Life", "Casablanca" and "The Wizard of Oz". Every movie, even a classic, carries the style and ambience -- as well as the limited technology -- of the era in which it was made. A film's date should not be a criticism but an invitation to a treat for latter-day viewers: time-travel into a universe their own older loved ones may have inhabited."

You have to see this one!

M. S. Driver | 02/22/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a classic film that will no doubt hold your attention the entire time it is on the screen. With stars like the devastatingly gorgeous Greta Garbo and the suave John Barrymore, how could it not? The film also stars Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery and Joan Crawford. It's all about the goings-on at a swanky Berlin hotel, where nothing ever happens. But by watching this film one can clearly see that that is quite the opposite. This is a fantastic film that provides not only "grand" entertainment but also allows us to really get to know the characters as if we were staying at the hotel ourselves and observing them."