Grand Hotel (1932) Review
Aug. 26th, 2019 07:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamesqOne of my long term projects is to watch every Oscar winning film. I picked up Grand Hotel a few years ago, as part of a boxed set of MGM Oscar winners. Last night, I sat down and watched it.
I enjoyed it, but I probably won't ever watch the movie again.
This one of the first all-star cast movies, and included Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, John & Lionel Barrymore and Wallace Beery. A lot of these stars I only knew by name, and had never actually seen perform, so from that perspective, it's certainly worth watching.
However, the movie was problematic in it's plot and pacing, and I think this is just because it is a very old movie. When it was made, film makers were still working out the nuts and bolts of creating motion pictures, or editing a narrative. This felt like a filmed stage play (a fair cop - it was adopted from one). If you're looking for the tight plots and pacing of a modern movie, this will bore you to tears.
Some observations (caution, spoilers for a 77-year old film):
Garbo is in it, and she uses the "I'm so tired" line, which became associated to her so strongly that 45 years later, Madelyn Kahn could parody it in a movie and people would get the reference. I almost laughed out loud when she said it because I immediately pictured a bunch of kaiser-dressed dancing boys exclaim "Don't you know she's pooped"!
A very young Joan Crawford is in it, young enough that I didn't recognize her (having only seen her in her middle-aged/older roles). She also plays a character that I thought was dealt with in a surprisingly mature and modern way. Looking the film up, I found out that was because this was a pre-Hay's Code film. She plays a stenographer to Wallace Beery's business man. In addition to some pretty obvious flirting with John Barrymore's character in the first act (I thought they were going to have a whirlwind affair in act 2, but the plot veered away from that), she ends up being propositioned by Beery's character, and making a fairly informed decision to be a prostitute. No term for sex worker is every used, but it's a) played absolutely straight, b) anyone not hopelessly naive in the audience would have understood all of this, c) Characters who learn of it were not in the least bit judge-y. A Hays-code era film would have either not done this at all, or would have made a point of shaming the character for it.
Now possibly this is because the whole film takes place in Germany, with Germany characters (notably, only Beery attempts a German accent, the audience is simply trusted to get that they're all Germans), so the audience could think "but no good American girl will do that. Or maybe the film makers just assumed everyone was a goddamned grownup and could handle a poor (as in, not rich) girl making an informed decision when someone offers her a lot of money.
The other thing I found noteworthy was that this film had a punk ending. That's a term I've been using for years (I got it out of an old Spider Robinson book) for stories that are heading for an obvious trope-filled happy ending, then go dark with little warning. Anyway, John Barrymore's gentlemen thief character (who in act two has fallen into mutual love with Garbo) get's beaten to death by Beery's character. I wouldn't have expected that in a modern film. Having it happen in a film from 1932 was just astonishing.
It was an interesting diversion. Film buffs will appreciate it.
I enjoyed it, but I probably won't ever watch the movie again.
This one of the first all-star cast movies, and included Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, John & Lionel Barrymore and Wallace Beery. A lot of these stars I only knew by name, and had never actually seen perform, so from that perspective, it's certainly worth watching.
However, the movie was problematic in it's plot and pacing, and I think this is just because it is a very old movie. When it was made, film makers were still working out the nuts and bolts of creating motion pictures, or editing a narrative. This felt like a filmed stage play (a fair cop - it was adopted from one). If you're looking for the tight plots and pacing of a modern movie, this will bore you to tears.
Some observations (caution, spoilers for a 77-year old film):
Garbo is in it, and she uses the "I'm so tired" line, which became associated to her so strongly that 45 years later, Madelyn Kahn could parody it in a movie and people would get the reference. I almost laughed out loud when she said it because I immediately pictured a bunch of kaiser-dressed dancing boys exclaim "Don't you know she's pooped"!
A very young Joan Crawford is in it, young enough that I didn't recognize her (having only seen her in her middle-aged/older roles). She also plays a character that I thought was dealt with in a surprisingly mature and modern way. Looking the film up, I found out that was because this was a pre-Hay's Code film. She plays a stenographer to Wallace Beery's business man. In addition to some pretty obvious flirting with John Barrymore's character in the first act (I thought they were going to have a whirlwind affair in act 2, but the plot veered away from that), she ends up being propositioned by Beery's character, and making a fairly informed decision to be a prostitute. No term for sex worker is every used, but it's a) played absolutely straight, b) anyone not hopelessly naive in the audience would have understood all of this, c) Characters who learn of it were not in the least bit judge-y. A Hays-code era film would have either not done this at all, or would have made a point of shaming the character for it.
Now possibly this is because the whole film takes place in Germany, with Germany characters (notably, only Beery attempts a German accent, the audience is simply trusted to get that they're all Germans), so the audience could think "but no good American girl will do that. Or maybe the film makers just assumed everyone was a goddamned grownup and could handle a poor (as in, not rich) girl making an informed decision when someone offers her a lot of money.
The other thing I found noteworthy was that this film had a punk ending. That's a term I've been using for years (I got it out of an old Spider Robinson book) for stories that are heading for an obvious trope-filled happy ending, then go dark with little warning. Anyway, John Barrymore's gentlemen thief character (who in act two has fallen into mutual love with Garbo) get's beaten to death by Beery's character. I wouldn't have expected that in a modern film. Having it happen in a film from 1932 was just astonishing.
It was an interesting diversion. Film buffs will appreciate it.
