This Modern Age (1931)

I love watching old films if you did not ever notice that pretty much all of the films I have written about are old. Since I began to like classic films six years ago I have seen all kinds. I have seen the big blockbusters from 1939, a whole bunch of the films listed on the American Film Institute’s list of greatest films, I have seen a handful of Hitchcock’s films, a whole bunch of Pre-Code films, silent comedies and dramas and almost every type of film from classic Hollywood with very few exceptions. One of the only things I cannot stand when I watch an old Hollywood drama is when the upper and the lower classes clash. Usually it is the girl who is poor and the man she loves is rich. He loves her too but his parents forbid the marriage. Ugh, those stories they bore. Unfortunately I sat through one of them called This Modern Age with Joan Crawford and I was bored beyond measure.

            A woman named Diane receives a letter from her daughter Valentine (Crawford). Val will be in Paris and wants to see her. Diane has not seen her daughter in years all this time Valentine has lived with her father. Diane thinks Val will hate her. When Val arrives and meets her mother she is calm and asks for a hug. Diane is happy to see her daughter.

            Diane allows Val to go out without a chaperone. She goes out with a young man named Tony Girard. Tony’s father is Andre and he is the one who allows Diane to maintain her comfortable lifestyle. Within no time Val starts hitting the high life. She goes out with Tony he was driving home drunk one night and crashes the car. Tony almost crashed into another car. The owner of the other car is Bob Blake (Neil Hamilton). Bob helps both victims out of the car and brings Tony home. Val and Bob walk around Paris all night just talking without drinking. She had a great time with Bob. Not long after their walk Bob wants to marry Val.

            Andre asks Diane to marry him since they have known each other for seven years. Diane does not want to yet she is worried about Val. Diane lied to her daughter about why they have not seen each other over the years.

            Val goes to meet Bob’s parents. They are not too sure about. Val invites Bob and his parents to come over to her place. The evening starts off nicely until Tony comes home with a large crowd who are all drunk and loud. Bob kisses Val on the forehead in front of Bob’s parents. After his parents leave Bob wants to marry her right away because he wants to take her away from people like Tony and her mother. He tells her the truth that the house is not her mother’s is belongs to Andre. Val gets upset with Bob and does not want to marry him anymore. Diane comes into the room she figures out that Bob and his family do not like her because of what she is. Val tells her that Bob told her about the house belonging to Andre.

            Val gets Diane to move out of the house away from the corruption. Diane breaks her promise to Val to never see Andre again. She goes out and calls on Andre she could not take the way she and Val were living in a small apartment and barely getting by. Val is upset because Diane had told her she loved her and would die for her. When Diane leaves Val calls Tony to come over with some champagne and to have some fun.

            Diane eventually goes to Bob’s house to speak to him and his parents. They all respect her now because of what she was willing to sacrifice just for a short time for her daughter. She tells them to not blame Val for what she (Diane) has done. Val is with Tony. Bob tracks her down and takes her away with him along with Diane.

            Seriously This Modern Age was one of the most boring films I have ever seen. Nothing about it was good. Well, maybe the acting was alright but other than that it was not good. Joan Crawford was good and I liked her and Neil Hamilton together. Unless you are a fan of Joan Crawford skip this film it is not worth the time.

 

They All Kissed the Bride (1942)

Sadie McKee (1934)

“I'm kind of sick of men.”

“Oh, you're crazy. They've got what we want, all of it. And every gal has her price. Yours ought to be high.”

            Sadie McKee is the name of a woman who did everything in this film out of concern for the men she loved. She knew what was right and what was wrong. Her heart was often broken by the men she loved but she never gave up on them.

            Sadie (Joan Crawford) grew up in the Alderson house. Her mother is the cook for the rich family. Growing up Sadie was best friends with the Alderson Michael (Franchot Tone). Michael returns home for the first time in two years and Sadie comes home to help her mother since there are extra guests at the house to welcome Michael home. Normally Sadie works in a shop.

            Sadie and Michael’s friend Tommy Wallace is in trouble again. Michael wants Tommy to go to jail instead of his father giving Tommy a job. Sadie gets mad at Michael and says something about the situation in front of the other guests. Tommy leaves for New York City and tells Sadie he will call for her once he gets there. She is so upset at him leaving without her she gets on the train to the city with him. At the train station they meet someone that knows where they can rent rooms. At the boarding house their neighbor is a woman named Dolly Merrick. Dolly is a performer in a show. She hears Tommy singing and playing his ukulele and tells him she can get him a spot in the show. Tommy was supposed to meet Sadie at the courthouse to get married. He never shows and she does not hear from him.

            Sadie gets a job dancing at a night club. One night Michael goes there with his boss Jack Brennan (Edward Arnold). Jack wants to see Sadie again. She walks over to the table and she sees Michael. They talk about what has happened since she left the night of the party. Michael tries to get Sadie away from Jack but it is too late they are all stuck at the night club until very early in the morning. Jack brings Sadie and Michael back to his place. He is completely drunk and keeps asking Sadie to marry him. Michael is furious with her for thinking about marrying him just for his money. She does marry Jack and on that day he buys her clothes and a ring. He is completely unaware of what is going on. At the end of the day they both go back to the house drunk.

            Tommy’s act with Dolly is very successful. Sadie keeps track of him in Variety and goes to see one of his shows. He sees her in the crowd from the balcony where he performs and he sings to her. When Sadie arrives home Michael is there with a doctor. The doctor says that the way Jack keeps drinking he will be dead within six months. The problem is Jack has been everywhere to try to sober up in the past and nothing has worked. Sadie really does love him and wants to help Jack. She wants Michael to help him as well but he does not want to. Sadie takes thinking into her own hands. Michael thinks Sadie is going to kill Jack and take his money and run off somewhere with Tommy. The next morning she finds a bottle the butler Finnegan brought up to Jack. Sadie is furious with him and fires him. Finnegan calls Michael to come over. She overhears Finnegan call her a tramp to the other servants and fires them all. She tells them all she wants to do is help Jack she does not want him to die so she can get his money she does not care about the money. Jack comes out of his room and falls down the stairs hurting his neck.

            After some time Jack is much better and sober. They go out to a night club where Dolly happens to be performing. Sadie notices Tommy is no longer with her. Dolly has no idea where Tommy is she dumped him in New Orleans. Jack had planned on taking Sadie to Europe. Now that Tommy cannot be found she does not want to go. She tells her husband about Tommy and how she still loves him. She still loves Jack and he knows that but he also knows that Sadie loves Tommy more. He offers to help her.

            Michael finds a very sick Tommy in a bar. He tells his friend that Sadie still loves him. Tommy is brought to a hospital and is not doing well at all. With Sadie and Michael by his side Tommy dies.

            A few months later Sadie has a job and her own apartment and her mother living with her. Michael comes over often for visits.

            The cast was very good. This was my favorite performance of Joan Crawford’s I have seen so far. Sadie was a strong, emotional, good willed person and Crawford did a great job balancing all those characteristics. Poor Franchot Tone, it seems like he never gets the girl in the films I have seen him in so far. I would have rather to have seen him in Gene Raymond’s role where he gets the girl’s love and affection. Gene Raymond was alright he does nothing for me as an actor. He does his own singing and he sings “All I Do is Dream of You”. Yes, it is one of the songs from Singin’ in the Rain. I love this version of the song Raymond sounds fantastic. Edward Arnold actually plays a nice guy. In the films I have seen him in he is always playing a mean person. His character was a nice man. Arnold played the part so well you could see that Jack really loved Sadie.

            Sadie McKee was a typical 1930s drama. The story was decent but boring. It was nice to see the issue of alcoholism taken seriously rather than it being used as a comedic device. Sadie McKee is available on DVD in a pack of Joan Crawford’s films. It is not available on Youtube. I caught the film when it was on TCM some time ago.  

Dancing Lady (1930)

“I've got good legs, Mr. Gallagher.”
“Yes, so I've noticed, but don't let them run away with you.” 

            When I think of Pre-code films I often think of gangster films or films where there are tough woman working their way through life like Barbara Stanwyck in Baby Face or Loretta Young in Born to be Bad. There are plenty of good Pre-code musicals but the one that sticks in my mind best is Gold Diggers of 1933 which is so excellent. When I went to watch Dancing Lady I did not even realize it was made in 1933 making it a Pre-code. I found it to be a very good example of a Pre-code not so much with its story but with some of the actions and things that are said.

            Janie Barlow (Joan Crawford) is a Burlesque dancer. The show gets raided one night on charges of indecency (good lord can you imagine what people would get picked up on today! Can you imagine their shock and horror of some of the rated R films today?!) and unfortunately Janie gets picked. But before she can spend the night in jail her bail is made by a rich man with nothing better to do named Tod Newton (Franchot Tone). Tod frequents the burlesque where Janie worked and liked her and basically wanted to get with her. He takes her out to dinner after she is released and he says he can help her get to Broadway. Janie says thank you but wants to get there by herself not with his money and help. When she gets home that night she opens a letter from Tod that says what words and sayings she should not use and what types of close to wear along with fifty dollars. Janie is mortified especially because he gave her money, she goes to tear up the money but her roommate stops her since that can buy a lot of groceries. The roommate mentions before they go to bed that a stage director named Patch Gallagher (Clark Gable) is putting on a new show and also to keep dreaming because he will never see.

            Determined more than ever, Janie goes to Patch’s office the next day. In the office a woman walks out who has a part and Janie notices the woman has a southern accents so she tries it too when she is walked over to Patch. As soon as she is literally pushed out the door by the stage manager Steve Janie drops the accent and gives the guy a great attitude. For days Janie follows Patch around like a stalker just trying to talk to him.

            Tod sees how bad Janie wants a job so he writes a letter to his producer friend Jasper Bradley. Bradley immediately takes Janie into his office and sends her down to Patch for an audition. As soon as Steve finds out she is coming to them through a friend of Bradley’s they put her through the ringer and do not plan on letting her into the show. Janie says out loud she knows she is getting the brush off but they are not going to lick her and she tries harder than ever. Steve sees that Janie does have real talent so he calls Patch over. Patch gives in and gives Janie a spot in the show. He asks her if she really loves dancing and is willing to work long hours and she says she is.

            The chorus girls are not paid but Tod makes a deal with Bradley to have Janie get paid through him with her knowing about since she does not want his help. One weekend Tod takes Janie to his grandmother’s house. While out for a swim, he asks her to marry him. At first Janie is reluctant because she wants to be part of the show it is something she really wants to do. Tod asks her if the show fails then will she marry him and she says yes. In a selfish act Tod has Bradley close the show down so Janie will be free to marry him. Patch is devastated at the news but with some money he has saved up and with some help from Steve they keep the show going.

            After the news about the show and Tod selfishly closing it down, Patch goes out and gets drunk. Janie and Tod are in the same restaurant and he drunkenly tells her what happened to the show. That night Janie goes to Patch’s apartment to smooth things over. She wants the show to be a success but she wants to help it be a success she wants to be in the show again.

            Patch puts Janie back in the show and the audience raves about it when it ends. Tod asks her if she still wants to marry him. Janie says no she loves what she does too much to give it up and she does not want to change the way she is.

            What I really liked this film was how Pre-code it was. I was in heaven with all the innuendo and the sort of seductive touching. In the scene when Patch asks if Janie really wants to be a dancer in the show he tells her to get going and slaps her behind! There is a really good scene with Clark Gable and Joan Crawford where they are working out. He throws the medicine ball too hard at her and hurts her hand. They like the touch so he plays it rough with her again so he can rub another hurt out of her arm. He tries it a third time this time hitting her in the behind thinking he could touch it but she is on to him and says no and sits down. LOVED IT!! Jasper Bradley’s son works with him and the only reason the kid works with him is because of all the girls. The kid is a hound he is constantly chasing and looking seductively at them or like they are a piece of meat. The raciest part of the whole film was at the beginning when Tod spots Janie at the burlesque. The main singer lets her dress slip off her shoulder revealing a bra strap and then the whole company strips down to skimpy outfit. I in doubt can believe that this one of a handful of films that enraged the Breen office and caused there to be a push in censorship.

            I really like Joan Crawford in her early films. Her acting was great and she looked fabulous. There were scenes here and there that her acting was not the greatest but for the most part she did a good job. Her dancing… I do not even know what to say. She had rhythm but she looked so sloppy and too big. To me she looked like an awkward cow (**darting flying objects**)  Clark Gable was Clark Gable he was a rough guy with a soft inside. He (literally) played rough with Janie at first to scare her off and then fell for her hard. Crawford and Gable’s chemistry was great. I know they had a little affair going on outside the studio so I am sure that sexual chemistry carried over onto the screen. What I want to know is what one earth did women see in Clark Gable. I think he was a very good actor but there is no way in hell that I think he was handsome. Franchot Tone I really do not have an opinion of. I have seen him in two other films besides this and really has not and does not leave an impression on me. 

            Fred Astaire makes his screen debut. He plays himself just a dancer in a Broadway show. So if the question ever comes up who was Fred Astaire’s first dance partner it was not Ginger it was Joan Crawford. I think Crawford besides Joan Fontaine in Damsel in Distress is his worst dancing partner. Eve Arden makes a very small appearance as the actress who walks out of Bradley’s office with a southern accent. I love this woman so much I love her attitude and her voice.

            Dancing Lady is a very good example of what a Pre-code film consists of. The story was lackluster and unoriginal even for 1933 but the racy scenes were pretty racy and well done. Dancing Lady is a not a film I would rush out to find unless you are a fan of Joan Crawford or Clark Gable.

 

Reunion in France (1942)

“I’m not at war with anyone. I’m in love.”

            Never have Americans been more patriotic than they were during World War II. Films from the time scream American ideals and morals. In Joan Crawford’s 1942 film Reunion in Paris, American ideals and morals are shouted even though the story takes place in France and is about a French woman who loves her country very much.  

            Michele de la Becque (Crawford) is a rich Frenchwoman who is used to having all the luxuries in the world. She has a very handsome fiancée named Robert Cortot (Philip Dorn). On the eve of the Nazis taking over Paris, Michele refuses to believe the Nazis will invade because she feels France is strong enough to keep them out. Against the wishes of Robert and others she leaves for vacation in the south.

            While Michele is on vacation the Nazis invade. She becomes a refugee trying to make it back to her home in Paris. After days of struggle she arrives at her home to see it has been taken over by the Nazis as an office. They let her stay in the house downstairs in the servant’s quarters. When Michele finally sees Robert she finds him to be in cahoots with the Nazis. He has been manufacturing bombs and cars for them. Robert wants Michele to stay at a hotel where she will be taken care of. A man takes her up to her room where she can see the Louvre from her window. The man tells Michele mentions that the grand museum is being sacked and the Nazis have been causing so much destruction. After hearing this Michele would rather stay in her small living space under her home.

            The next day Michele goes to her former dress maker seeking employment since she does not have access to her money anymore. The designer’s maison has been taken over by big fat German women who all the girls make of. On the way home her first night of work a man jumps out from a doorway and wraps his arms around her. He tells her not to worry he needs to pretend that they are together to throw suspicion off of him. They get back to her place, at first Michele does not want to let him in but he collapses from exhaustion and hunger then she finally brings him. The man’s name is Pat Talbot (John Wayne). His plane was shot down, he was thrown in a concentration camp, and he escaped and is now trying to get back to England. Pat passes out on her bed. As Michele takes off his shoes she finds a medal saying that Pat is an American working in the RAF.

            In order to help Pat Michele goes to see Robert. She tells him that she wants papers to leave for Lisbon and that Pat is an American student who has now become her chauffer. Robert offers her passage so she can see her parents and possibly head for America herself but all she cares about is helping Pat escape. Pat becomes her chauffer. He asks her why she is helping him out and not thinking of herself. She replies that he can do more to help save France than she can.

            Unfortunately the Gestapo figure out who Pat is and they take him into custody. When Michele leaves she refuses to go without Pat. Robert betrays Michele and has her taken by the Gestapo. They drive into the country where a checkpoint is. On the radio comes an announcement saying that three English soldiers have beaten up Nazis and are now in disguise. The men who took Michele are the Englishmen. They get Michele and Pat away from the Nazis. Michele learns from one of the soldiers that Robert is a good man he is part of the underground helping to try to destroy the Nazis manufacturing system. She comes to the plane where Pat is leaving for England. Michele does not get on plane but goes back to Paris to be with Robert and to help fight for her beloved France.

            Joan Crawford was excellent. This was the first film that I have seen of hers where she is not a shop girl or the other woman. She was the strong determined female lead who had everything her heart could desire then when she lost it all she found her true patriotism. Crawford was so good that it is hard to imagine any other actress giving a better performance in the role. John Wayne was really good as well. Sometimes his acting can seem really stiff and mechanic but here he was very good. Wayne and Crawford in their scenes together had great chemistry. Philip Dorn played the perfect French gentleman even when he was made to seem like a traitor.

            Although she is uncredited, look for Ava Gardner playing a shop girl when Joan Crawford goes for a job at the designer’s maison. Gardner only has one line and not that much screen time but she is not hard to miss.

            I really enjoyed Reunion in France. At the time the film was made interest in France and their occupation was high. The story is good all around, the characters were very well written and the acting was very good by the entire cast.  Reunion in France is a great rousing, patriotic film even if it is not dealing with Americans. 

Letty Lynton (1932)

Unless you are a diehard Joan Crawford or Robert Montgomery fan or know your MGM history you may never have heard of their film Letty Lynton. Letty Lynton has been unavailable to view since 1936 because of copyright issues and it is not to be released until 2025 (geez that is really long!). How, you may ask, did I happen to find a copy? Let’s just say I have my ways. When I found the film I did not even know it was so hard to find. I just went looking for it because of Crawford and Montgomery.

            Letty Lynton (Crawford) has been living in South America with a very controlling man named Emile Renaul (Nils Asther). They have a very addictive relationship they simply cannot live without the other. Every time Letty has tried to leave Renaul she never gets very far and goes back to him. Letty finally has enough and truly leaves to return home to Long Island.

            On the ship she meets Hale (or Jerry, he is called Jerry by his parents and Letty) Darrow. Their rooms are right across from each other. They both think the other looks familiar but they have never met before. Letty sends her maid to make sure she and Jerry are sitting next to each other at dinner and Jerry does the same thing. They have a great time together that night and for the two weeks they are on the ship. On the last night Jerry proposes to Letty and she says yes. For the first time in her life she is truly in love and is willing to change her ways for Jerry.

            When the ship docks, Letty is shocked to see Renaul has gotten to New York before her and waiting for her. Letty’s shock and fear is captured by a newspaper photographer. Renaul will not leave her alone. He even follows her back to her apartment. He tells Letty to meet him at his hotel or he will publish some of her letters to him which are desperate and say how she cannot live without him.

            Letty does not want these letters to get out and ruin her life with Jerry. She just goes to talk to him she had no intention of hurting him. She brought poison to kill herself if things did not go well. She poured it in a glass but Renaul picked it up and drank it.

            The next day Jerry takes Letty up to Boston to his parents’ home. They immediately like her and she them since she does not have a good relationship with her mother. A detective from New York arrives at the house to bring Letty back to New York because the Distric Attorney wants to talk to her about Renaul’s death. Letty, Jerry, and her mother go to the DA’s office. He vehemently attacks Letty based off her letters and even reads one. Jerry defends her saying that he knew about her relationship with Renaul (although she never told him anything about it) and knew about the letters. He says that they were nowhere near Renaul’s hotel they were at a hotel together. The mother sees that Jerry and Letty really love each other so she tells the DA that she had followed them to the hotel to stop them that they should not start their lives together that way and that she had heard Renaul tell her daughter that if she did not come to his apartment that night he would kill himself. The DA believes the mother and also Letty’s maid who backs up the mother and he drops everything.

            After all this Letty thinks Jerry does not want to be with her but he stays.

            Not the most thrilling story ever. I just love that Letty literally gets away with murder… this is a Pre-Code after all. I read some reviews from people who have seen the film and they make it out to be one of those great lost gems of the cinema and that it is a really good film. The story was alright as was the acting it was nothing too great.

            Joan Crawford was gorgeous. Her acting was not too bad her phony British accent was terrible. Whenever I look at Crawford though all I can think of is her being a loose woman not a wealthy society girl. I do not know why I see her in that way I am not saying that to be mean but for some reason I just see her that way I see her as a wild woman so when I see her play these wealthy ladies in nice clothing she just seems weird. Robert Montgomery did not really do anything for the story it felt like he was just there for decoration. I adore him I have yet to see him in a bad role. Before this film I had only ever heard of Nils Asther or seen him in a picture. He was so handsome. Asther was not in the film long for me to really gauge his acting but what I saw he was not bad.

            Adrian designed Joan Crawford’s clothing. Her one white dress caused a sensation. It was so huge that it was copied and sold in clothing departments all over the US. Adrian’s clothes were beautiful, Crawford looked gorgeous in them. I really liked her last outfit in the film; it was a skirt and jacket ensemble with a hat. The outfit is nothing fancy but I just really liked it.

            Letty Lynton is a film that I am glad I was able to find since it is not even available for TCM to run. As I said it is not a fantastic film but I have a feeling in thirteen years when the copyright has expired there will be a big deal about it being released. If you have your ways of finding movies like I do try to see Letty Lynton just to say you saw it. 

Grand Hotel (1932)

“Grand Hotel… always the same. People come, people go. Nothing ever happens.”

            Grand Hotel is one of the best films to have been made in the 1930s and to me one of the best acted and casted of the decade. It took me a while to watch this film but I am glad I did because I can appreciate all the actors’ performances since I have seen each of them in other films. Stories of each of the characters mix and come together in touching as well as funny ways.

            Berlin’s Grand Hotel is one of the best places in the whole city. People of wealth and status come and go every day. The latest of the upper class to arrives are General Director Preysing (Wallace Beery) head of a large company looking to expand to Manchester, England; Baron Felix von Gaigern (John Barrymore)who despite his title does not have that much money; and the elusive and moody ballerina Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo).

            Otto Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore) is one guest who does not come wealth and has no status in society. He is a book keeper looking for some rest. All his life he has worked and now he has a terminal illness and for once he wants to stay at the Grand Hotel. Felix sees that the hotel staff is giving Kringelein a hard time about staying in a room so he kindly offers the man his own sweet and takes another room. Felix is able to get a room nearer to Grusinskaya which works in his advantage.

            Presying has requested the services of a stenographer to dictate some notes to. A young fresh faced woman named Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford) has been sent to help him. The first person she meets is not the General but the baron. Felix sees the young girl standing by herself outside of Preysing’s door and decides to talk to her. He thinks she is a girl for hire but she immediately sets things straight. There is an attraction between the two but it is not a lust attraction is an attraction stemming from their mutual loneliness. Kringelein comes out of his room wanting to go dancing and have Felix come with him for a drink. He wants Flaem to come along as well after she is done working with Preysing.

            Down the hall the ballerina is depressed. She does not want to go to the theater and perform she just wants to be alone. Grusinskaya is forced to go by her maid and (possibly) her agent. While the ballerina is gone Felix sees his chance to get into her room. Felix may be a Baron but he is flat broke. His family will not give him money so he became a con artist and thief. Felix climbs across his balcony and Preysing’s to get to Grusinskaya’s room to steal her expensive pearls. Unfortunately Grusinskaya has ran away from the theater and returned before Felix could leave the room. He could not leave the way he entered through the balconies because Preysing was standing out on his. When Grusinskaya comes in he pretends to be an admirer and he will not leave. He spends the night in her room and the next day she is incredibly happy in love. Felix promises he will go with her to the next country she is set to perform him although he needs money. She tells him she can pay for his train ticket but he refuses saying he needs to get the money himself.

            Felix tries to get money by gambling and takes Kringelein along with him. The book keeper winds up winning more money than he has ever seen in his life. Felix tries to steal the money but he sees how upset the man is over the missing money he gives it back. He then tries Preysing’s room but it does not go well.

            When Preysing completed his business he presents Flaem with a proposition: he is going to be spending quite some time in Manchester now that his new deal went through and he wants her to go with him as his personal secretary. Flaem reads between the lines and knows that he just wants her around his mistress. She wants to see the world and experience new things and how could she pass up the opportunity when he has promised to buy her new clothes and pay her whatever she wants.

            In the end everyone’s loneliness or wealth or their not being wealthy leads to either their down fall or to their realization they are no longer lonely.

            This is one of the best casted films I have ever seen; everyone was perfect in their roles. Lionel and John Barrymore’s characters were my favorites. Lionel was wonderfully comedic and light as Kringelein. He was a man everyone could relate to: he worked hard all his life and just wanted some enjoyment out of it he wanted to spend his money the way he wanted and be comfortable. John was so romantic and charming. Some of my favorite scenes are between the two brothers, especially where John kisses Lionel on the head after Kringelein has won his money.  John’s scenes with Greta Garbo were amazing. Garbo was incredible. I can truly see why she is considered one of Hollywood’s greatest actresses. She was gorgeous when she was happy and so believable. Joan Crawford never looked or acted better. Her last scene with Lionel Barrymore was so touching so sincere. I have never seen Wallace Beery in a film before but he was great as Preysing.

            The cinematography adds greatly to the allure and beauty of the hotel. I like we are given glimpses of all the guests coming and going in the beginning and the next day we are given glimpses of the new arrivals. Both beginning and ending shots are excellent to give us the feeling that this is just a fleeting night in a busy hotel. The shadows in this film are great.

            MGM was incredibly smart putting this cast of famous actors into one film. Grand Hotel was a huge success and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1932. The stories of these characters are relatable even to this day which is one of the reasons this film has held up so well over so many decades. Often times a film that tells the individual stories of so many characters then they come together at the end does not work or it comes off slow and boring but with Grand Hotel it works out wonderfully and beautifully. Grand Hotel is a great film and one that all classic film lovers will enjoy.