Review of Grand Hotel (1932) by Alex M — 10 Feb 2004

[size=3]This 1932 Academy-Award winning drama has not aged particularly well, and is marred by melodramatic theatrics from the overpraised Greta Garbo and a generally dated script. The film tells the story of five tangentially-related characters who stay at a luxurious hotel in Berlin and who all have significant problems to overcome. Garbo is so over-the-top she seems to belong in an old D.W. Griffith movie, and as a result, her performance as a depressed ballerina is unintentionally funny when it should be moving and sympathetic. Far more successful are the two Barrymores, John and Lionel, in sharply differing roles. Lionel, in particular, shines as a factory worker who yearns to know what it feels like to be wealthy. Also a standout is Joan Crawford in one of her earliest performances, as an ambitious young starlet determined to make it as a movie star. [i]Grand Hotel [/i]is far more effective examining the plights of those who strive for success than it is when focusing on the self-pity and misery of those who have already attained wealth and fame. Dr. Otternschlag (Lewis Stone) is something of a caricature and now seems painfully unfunny in his "drunken" scenes. And Garbo, as mentioned before, consistently takes the audience out of the picture with her grandstanding. [i]Grand Hotel [/i]is not one of the better products of Hollywood's early sound age, and it succeeds more as an example of two differing acting styles than as a cohesive picture. But based on the occasionally witty banter and some solid lead performances, it may be a hotel worth checking into...if only for one night.[/size].

[size=3](BASIC)[/size].