Grand Hotel (Snap case)
by Edmund Goulding, Roy Mack
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Clarence Rock, Greta Garbo, Jack Lionel Bohn, Joan Crawford, John BarrymoreDirector: Edmund Goulding, Roy Mack
Cinematographer: Edwin B. DuPar
Producer: Irving Thalberg
Writer: Burnet Hershey
Writer: Béla Balázs
Writer: Vicki Baum
Writer: William A. Drake
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 112 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-02-03
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Grand Hotel (Snap case)
Movie Review: Excellent Classic Film on DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
I absolutely adore this movie! The cast is exceptional.
I instantly fell in love with Joan Crawford; I liked that she was beautiful, witty, and yet coyly aware of living outside the box. Her clothes were beautiful and complimented the art deco hotel. I really wish she would have stuck with the thin eyebrows; she was so much prettier in the 30s.
I also fell in love with Lionel Barrymore who I have never seen in a film since that topped his performance as Kringelein. It was so easy to feel sorry for him, to love him, and to want to take care of him. He was wonderful and I really feel like the story is almost about him, not everyone together. He was sort of tied to everyone except Grusinskaya.
Wally Beery was good as Preysing. I don't believe he was so dislikable as he thought the character to be. His scenes are actually somewhat boring. I can sympathize with Preysing though. I heard he was the only character allowed to have a German accent which was a stipulation to getting him to stay on the project.
I hated Greta Garbo and her over-acting in the film. As a ballerina, she was somewhat believable because she was so tall, but she DID look awkward in the dress. I think that a lot of the reason why her scenes seemed so dramatic and overly played was because of the way the film was edited. There are scenes of her that begin with her violently spinning around and blurting out a dramatic line. She also cradles the phone and talks to it. And what kills me is the way she constantly furrows her forehead and those eyebrows! Egad!
I read the book by Vikki Baum, the translation into English of course, and I really think that it is a great novel that was adapted well but stands on its own. There are so many pieces of it that cannot be translated into film. I think that maybe Garbo knowing the motives behind her character had a right to overact but because the audience did not know her thoughts did not understand her portrayal of Grusinkaya.
I thought that John Barrymore was good enough was the Baron von Geigern although the character itself does not stand out much. It was cool to see that brothers played in the same film together.
It seems crazy to me now that Garbo and Crawford were so childish about each other but stories about their fights make me laugh. Supposedly, Garbo hated Marlene Dietrich and tardiness about the same amount so Crawford came late to the set just to bug Garbo (which I find somewhat hard to believe because Crawford was so efficient about everything) and she also played Dietrich records loudly. The pranks they played on each other just make me laugh horribly. They were like junior high school kids.
I do like that so many big name stars were cast together to create sort of a phenomenon. I don't like the way the system is used today because it is like people who are not famous cannot get good roles, but back then, it sort of refreshed the screen to occasionally see a film that featured many stars. The only other film I can really think of besides Grand Hotel that is noted for using this is Dinner at Eight which is sort of the answer to the success of Grand Hotel.
The DVD is awesome; it included footage of stars attending the premiere. For an older film, any extra features are exciting. The DVD also includes a parody of the movie which was well made.
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