5. Grand Hotel

Grand Hotel Movie Poster

And so we turn to Grand Hotel. Ensemble movies like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Love Actually can trace their roots to this movie which was based on a play of the same name that based on a novel written  by Vicki Baum. This is the first film on the list that relied on characterization more than setting or events happening to the main characters. The actors in Grand Hotel truly stepped up to the plate, and watching it was like watching a virtual who's who of old Hollywood: Greta Garbo, Joan Collins, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore. These are all names that have lived through the years. Another name that I have heard over the years watching the Academy Awards is Jean Hersholt. The humanitarian award named after him is periodically given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to humanitarian causes. In this movie, he played the porter who's wife is in the hospital about to have a baby.

John Barrymore and Greta Garbo in Grand Hotel

Both Barrymore's played quite interesting roles. John was the main love interest of both leading ladies as the 'Baron' who is planning to steal from Garbo to pay off a debt he owes. Lionel played the dying working man who has decided to finally live life to the fullest. As he says, "For the first time in my life, I tasted life." I really enjoyed both their performances. It was hard to believe that the Lionel would someday play 'Old Man Potter' in It's a Wonderful Life.

Joan Crawford and John Barrymore in Grand Hotel

I have read that when they filmed the movie, they never wanted to have Garbo and Crawford in the same scene together because they'd be afraid they would overshadow each other. I could definitely see why after watching the film. While both played their roles well - Garbo as the long-suffering dancer and Crawford as the young stenographer trying to make her way in the world - I enjoyed Crawford's character more. Garbo utters her famous line, "I want to be alone," near the beginning of the film. She plays a diva with such gusto. But Crawford has a comic glint to her eye that brings humor to every scene she graces. Her lightness of touch is refreshing after all the overacting of the previous films. She and John Barrymore are closer to modern day actors than most of the others in the film. It's crazy to think that she is the same woman as portrayed in Mommy Dearest. I guess some people just aren't cut out to be parents.

SPOILERS AHEAD

The film starts and ends with the same sentiment stated by Dr. Otternschlag: "Grand Hotel . . . always the same. People come, people go. Nothing every happens." And then the movie goes on to prove otherwise. Yet at the same time, there is something unchanging about a hotel. While little dramas are occurring all around, these do not change the essence of the place.

One interesting thing that I found about the film was that it was able to combine a number of different elements into one cohesive plot. There was a thief, an unscrupulous businessman, an attempt at adultery, a love affair, a dying man, a drunkard doctor, and a murder, and all the stories worked.

The method for introducing the wide range of characters was quite unique: each was making a telephone call explaining their situation. From that point, the plot moved easily from humor to drama, from love to lust, from love of life to death by murder. There is much for a writer to learn from this early example, and I finished the movie feeling as if I had left a master class on ensemble films.


After only five films, I have to say that I am already seeing how films have begun to evolve and how they relate to the films of today. Blake Snyder says that when any good screenwriter in Hollywood decides to sit down and write a film, he goes back and watches the films in that genre to see how it was done before. So many scenes from later movies can be traced directly back to these early films.