Grand Hotel: 1932
"People come, people go, nothing ever happens." Number five in the Best Picture lineup is Grand Hotel , directed by Edmund Goulding and starring Greta Garbo, John and Lionel Barrymore, and Joan Crawford. The story follows a melancholy ballerina (Garbo), a bankrupt baron (John Barrymore), a dying accountant (Lionel Barrymore), and a beautiful stenographer (Crawford) whose lives all converge during their stay at the Grand Hotel in Berlin. For having as legendary a cast as Grand Hotel has, the only actor's work I had seen prior to watching this movie was Lionel Barrymore's, and only as Mr. Potter in It's A Wonderful Life . This was my first experience seeing Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, and Joan Crawford work, and I can only say that I wish I had seen any of their work sooner. Well, the Barrymore's and Joan Crawford's, at least; Garbo's performance left me a little confused. Her work seemed the least true; she moved around so awkwardly and always seeme...