Grand Hotel [Blu-ray]

Director: Edmund Goulding

Overview

Based on Vicki Baum's novel, this film is about the lavish Grand Hotel in Berlin, a place where "nothing ever happens." However, this episodic film proves that statement to be false, as it follows a number of stars.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/08/2013
UPC:	0883929265091
Original Release:	1932
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Home Video
Presentation:	[B&W, Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:53:00
Sales rank:	19,516

Special Features

Commentary by Jeffrey Vance and Mark A. Vieira; Making-of documentary Checking Out: Grand Hotel; Premiere newsreel; Just a Word of Warning theater announcement; Vitaphone musical short Nothing Ever Happens; Trailers of this and the 1945 remake Week-End at the Waldorf

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Greta Garbo	Grusinskaya
John Barrymore	Baron von Gaigern,Otto Kringelein
Joan Crawford	Flaemmchen
Wallace Beery	Preysing
Lewis Stone	Dr. Otternschlag
Jean Hersholt	Senf
Robert McWade	Meierheim
Purnell B. Pratt	Zinnowitz
Ferdinand Gottschalk	Pimenov
Rafaela Ottiano	Suzette
Morgan Wallace	Chauffeur
Tully Marshall	Gerstenkorn
Murray Kinnell	Schweimann
Edwin Maxwell	Dr. Waitz
Mary Carlisle	Honeymooner
John Davidson	Hotel Manager
Sam McDaniel	Bartender
Rolfe Sedan	Clerk
Herbert Evans	Clerk
Lee Phelps	Extra in Lobby
Frank Conroy	Rohna
Bodil Rosing	Nurse

Technical Credits

William A. Drake

William A. Drake	Screenwriter
Irving Thalberg	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Grand Hotel is the prototype for the all-star ensemble film and an excellent example of the rich and glamorous escapist entertainment, often from MGM, that took on enhanced prominence during the Depression. Produced by Irving Thalberg using top-end ingredients and state-of-the-art technology, it is yet another example of MGM's dominance during the 1930s for this type of film. The plot exists merely as a device to get star faces on the screen, particularly that of Greta Garbo. Though only moderately respected by the critics, Grand Hotel has proven itself of enduring influence, both for Garbo's performance and for creating star-heavy blockbusters that peaked in the 1950s with Around the World in 80 Days.