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Yesterday evening we decided to watch another of the classic films we were given recently by a friend. We knew nothing about ‘Grand Hotel’, although I gather it was very highly regarded in 1933 when it was released. And as an early example of a full-length movie (it’s nearly two hours) it’s quite impressive in its cast and some of the filming. It's in black-and-white, rather than colour, but that doesn't worry us.
Even we had heard of both John and Lionel Barrymore, who play important characters in this film, and of course we knew of Greta Garbo by repute, although I don’t think either of us had seen her in action before. Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery and Lewis Stone are the other main characters, although we had not heard of any of them before, as far as we know.
There are a lot of extras too, and other people who appear in minor roles, and the opening of the film is quite confusing. The entire film is set in a large, luxurious and very expensive hotel in Germany. We first see a row of girls from the back, operating what I assume is a telephone switchboard.
Then we see several characters on the phone: a man awaiting news of his new baby, a businessman hoping for information about an upcoming deal, someone else concerned that a temperamental dancer is not happy. None of these seem to be connected - people come and go, and it took me at least twenty minutes to realise which stories were ongoing, and which were minor.
‘Grand Hotel’ does not have a coherent storyline; it consists of several ongoing interactions between different people. The pace is good - it’s nearly two hours long, but it didn’t drag. On the other hand, it didn’t grip me at all. The only likeable character is that played by John Barrymore, known as ‘Baron’. He’s desperate for money and we quickly learn that he’s being employed to steal an expensive necklace from the temperamental dancer (Greta Garbo).
Joan Crawford’s character is, I learned when researching afterwards, called Flaemmchen, known as Flaemm . Unfortunately it sounded like ‘phlegm’ when she or anyone else said it. She’s a ‘stenographer’ (a fast typist, possibly using shorthand). But she’s entirely willing to do other things for money, including spending the night with her married employer.
And I think that epitomises what I disliked about this film. It’s basically quite sordid. The Baron has a kind heart, and doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but towards the end of the film something shocking and unexpected happens to him. Joan Crawford’s employer (Wallace Beery) is a sleazy bully. Lionel Barrymore’s character, the rather naive Mr Kringelein, is staying in the hotel because he has been told that he is dying, so he wants to use up the money he has saved. As for the dancer played by Greta Garbo, she’s over-dramatic, self-centred and greedy for adulation.
Acting in the 1930s was always somewhat overdone and artificial, and that didn’t worry us over-much, although it was hard to identify with any of the characters. And frankly, the more we watched, the more I disliked it. I kept hoping there would be some redemption - something positive for at least some of the people. But for most of them (other than one minor character) the outcome is essentially either sordid or quite depressing.
I gather some of this film was considered amusing, but we thought it was all rather sad, given the scenarios. Not in a weepy way, though; we didn’t care enough for (or believe in) anyone sufficiently to feel moved. However, I did appreciate the irony of the comment at the end of the film (repeating one said at the beginning) that nothing ever happened in the Grand Hotel.
There’s nothing explicit shown, of course, although there are plenty of implications of intimacies and affairs. And there’s no bad language and very little violence. There’s one disturbing scene which is implied rather than actually shown. So the rating originally was A (now PG). The subject matter wouldn’t be of the least interest to children or young teenagers anyway - and frankly, we disliked it so much we wouldn’t show it to anyone. It’s not a DVD that we plan to keep on our shelves.
Not recommended. But having said that, this film won awards and is highly regarded by many, so don't necessarily take my word for it. Perhaps it’s worth seeing once as a bit of cultural education, and an example of a different genre of film.
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