Grand Hotel (1932) + Extras

Grand Hotel

Director: Edmund Goulding

USA 1932

112 min

I just re-watched this pre-code masterpiece as the sky opens and releases an Atlantic Ocean outside. A not too inconvenient experience - especially when I'm accompanied by the newly purchased Mick Lasalle book "Complicated Women - Sex and Power in Pre-Code Hollywood" on my cigarette breaks.

So anyway. Besides having five of MGM's greatest stars in the leads, having an ingenious script by William A. Drake (original novel by Vicki Baum), Grand Hotel also offers a feast for the eye by the enchanting cinematography of William H. Daniels (having photographed other Garbo vehicles such as Anna Christie, Mata Hari, Queen Christina, Anna Karenina and Camille).

Scene: The Baron's (John Barrymore) first encounter with Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford) is a perfect example of the magnificent camera work in Grand Hotel. Look how she constantly blows smoke in the Baron's face - not too respectable!

I won't go into the plot too much, for two reasons, being; just a few words about it wouldn't do it justice, and you don't need to know more than that Grand Hotel is a witty drama taking place in (what else?) the fancy Grand Hotel.

Hollywood veteran Lewis Stone, as doctor Otternschlag, couldn't be more wrong (and yet strangely accurate...) when he as both an introduction and a final statement to the film states:

"Grand Hotel... always the same. People come, people go. Nothing ever happens."

And I must say that I am quite impressed by the extra material on the Warner Bros DVD edition of the film. Aside from a short documentary on the film, there are amazing film documents from the Grauman's Chinese Theatre premiere of Grand Hotel - with Conrad Nagel responsible for all the movie stars checking in at the film theatre!

And there aren't quite a few of the stars, neither. Aside from Crawford (with husband Douglas Fairbanks Jr), Lionel Barrymore and Wallace Beery from the cast, "Mr. and Mrs. Irving Thalberg" appear, in the company of Clark Gable. Also Jean Harlow, who states that she can't write with gloves on, handsome Robert Montgomery and the film industry mogul Louis B. Mayer, among others.

Well, what's the use of me telling you about it? Take a look for yourself here:

Another funny special feature is the 18 minute long Grand Hotel parody Nothing Ever Happens (1933), which is as hilarious as it seems hallucinogen inspired. Witty spoken songs mashed with Busby Berkeley girls, who simultaneously throw their legs in the air whether they are at the hotel desk or the busy kitchen.

The actors are no famous, and most of them only made about three or four pictures in total, but that only adds to the refinement of the famous actor/actress mockery. Greta Garbo's ballerina Grusinskaya is simply called "Madam", and the baron is simply "The Baron", while the other characters are wittingly re-named as Scramchen (Flaemmchen), Prizering (Beery's Preysing), and my favourite; Waistline (Lionel's Kringelein).

In short, it's a comical little gem! And have I been so nice as to let you watch it? Of course! It's totally bizarre:

Quotes

Grusinskaya: I want to be alone. I think I have never been so tired in my life.

Otto Kringelein: Wait! You can't discharge me. I am my own master for the first time in my life. You can't discharge me. I'm sick. I'm going to die, you understand? I'm going to die, and nobady can do anything to me anymore. Nothing can happen to me anymore. Before I can be discharged, I'll be dead!

Dr. Otternschlag: Believe me, Mr. Kringelein, a man who is not with a woman is a dead man.

Preysing: I don't know much about women. I've been married for 28 years, you know.

Grusinskaya: I don't even know your name.
Baron Felix von Geigern: [laughs] I am Felix Benvenuto Freihern von Geigern. My mother called me "Flix".
Grusinskaya: [joyously] No! Flix! Oh, that's sweet. And how do you live? And what kind of a person are you?
Baron Felix von Geigern: I'm a prodigal son, the black sheep of a white flock. I shall die on the gallows.

Time to let you enjoy some colorized work of mine - I've been a little cheap on them lately!

Secrets (1933)

Secrets
Director: Frank Borzage
USA 1933
83 min


Spoiler warning.
My movie reviews are more of the synopsis-type, so if you will hate me for spoiling the film for you, save the reading until after you've seen it. Or read carefully!


Back to the plot in Secrets. This film is Mary Pickford's last as an actress (she continued to produce some other films), and possibly her greatest. Opposite her is the perfect gentleman Leslie Howard in one of his first major roles.
The film was at first supposed to be directed by Marshall Neilan (director of Pickford's Daddy-Long-Legs (1919), among others), but was fired by producer Mary Pickford for showing up drunk at work. The director's chair was therefore given to Frank Borzage, who made a fantastic job on this film.

Some people say that this film is a little uneven. I wouldn't agree. There are bits and parts were the cutting could have been done less than half a second earlier or later, and stuff like that, but there is nothing that messes with the continuity in the film.
The plot is divided into four parts:

1. The first part were John and Mary meet and fall in love. This part is quite farcical, but funny and sweet.
2. The second part begins when John and Mary has run away together and star a-new in The West. Here the film makes a more dramatic turn, and develops into pure tragedy.
3. The third part begins after a leap of about twenty years. John and Mary has a great family, and John runs for governor. The film takes up a lighter tone, but reveals the seriousness underneath.
4. The fourth part takes place when the couple is in their seventies. It's a short chapter, funny and intelligent. We get to know what the title of the film is all about.

Of course, this dividing of the film might be the source of the "uneven" opinions, but I still don't agree. Every time we take a leap in the story, the different parts are linked together with meaningful, telling collages of short film clips and matching music. The story of John and Mary's lives couldn't have been told better.
Now, over to the pictures and the texts underneath them, that will tell you more about the details.

Publicity still, with Howard trying to undress Pickford.

Part one:

Mary Marlow (Mary Pickford) is the daughter of an upper class family. John Carlton (Leslie Howard) works for her father. Her father plans to get her daughter to marry another high society man, Lord Hurley, but she resists.

The first scene. John rides a bicycle next to Mary and her mother's carriage.
Their eyes open for each other.

Mary receives a note from her admirer.

Mary saves John from drowning himself by meeting him in the garden.

Scene: The escape from the upper class! And a lot of kerfuffle with the under skirts.

Part two:

Mary and John has run away, wanting to start a-new in The West.

A long journey with horse and carriage.

A happy family and proud parents to a son in a small cottage.

Cattle thieves surprise Mary when she's alone with her son.

They threaten her and her baby to get some food.

"When I'm hungry my finger ain't as steady as it outta be..."

When John comes home and finds out about the incident he decides upon revenge.

People hang, the war has started.

Scene: John and Mary Carlton are attacked by cattle rustlers. Their friend Sunshine is helping out, but there's also a baby that needs to be protected.
This must be Mary Pickford's finest acting in her whole career.

Heart-breaking scene.

Part three:

A collage of film clips tells us that more babies are set to the world. We end up with the Carlton family in Monterey, California, where John runs a campaign to become a governor. The Carlton family, having climbed the social ladder, throws a party where some secrets are uncovered.

A montage of children leading up to the governor campaign, with the proud family of John Carlton waves at him from the balcony of their mansion.

A woman named Señora Lolita Martinez (Mona Maris) arrives uninvited at the party, accompanied by some invited guests.

Señora Martinez steals a dance with John from his wife.

Mary Carlton, a lady in distress.

Señora Martinez interrupts Mary for a revealing talk.

John and Mary have a marital talk, and more secrets (or are they?) are revealed.

The newspapers catches up the story.

Part four:

John and Mary's now grown up children are furious when their parents have locked themselves into a room. Why? They want to go away on their own. Pick up their relationship were it was interrupted by the arrival of their children, as they so beautifully put it.

A loving couple having grown old together.

And here is the end of my plot summary.
As you can see from the screen shots the camera work was mighty fine, experimenting with shadows, angles and pictorial language. I'm amazed. But of course, this is a pre-code film. Censorship and "guidelines" can ruin art in an unrepairable way.

Leslie Howard, Mary Pickford and Lionel Barrymore attends a party at Gary Cooper's mansion in 1933. Possibly in connection to Secrets.

And here's two gorgeous pictures of actress Mona Maris (click on them for higher resolution).
This beautiful and intelligent Argentine actress (at the age of 19 she knew four languages) never made the great success on screen that she deserved. Her foreign accent prevented a career in Hollywood, and instead she appeared in a lot of Spanish talking films.
But even though her part in Secrets was a small one, it is without a doubt memorable. I think they could have made something with her, they could have gone with the "exotic image" that Valentino had. But everyone can't be Mary Pickford, I guess.

Sadie Thompson (1928)

Sadie Thompson
Director: Raoul Walsh
USA 1928
97 min


Sadie Thompson is a film adaption of W. Somerset Maugham's short story Miss Thompson (later renamed Rain) from 1921.
The story takes place on the island Pago Pago, where the "fallen" woman Sadie Thompson (Gloria Swanson, of course) arrives in hope to start her life anew. However, on the island there is also a reactionary missionary named Mr. Davidson (Lionel Barrymore) who won't leave her past alone.

An argument between Mr. Davidson and Sadie Thompson.

Davidson causes Sadie Thompson a lot of inconvenience, especially since she finds interest Sergeant Tim O'Hara (charmingly played by director Raoul Walsh, in his last appearance in front of the camera). After Sadie's refusal of Davidson's salvation, he consults the governor of Pago Pago of deporting her back to San Francisco.

When scene after scene with intesive arguments and wild emotions have passed, the viewer starts to wonder - Why is Sadie so afraid of going back to San Francisco? Is O'Hara really the nice guy? And does Mr. Davidson have other intentions than Sadie's salvation?


Scene: Miss Sadie Thompson arrives at Pago Pago, and soon catches the eyes of the men there.




Another clip from the film is uploaded in my previous post about Gloria Swanson here.

A lovely scene and a beautiful screenshot of Sadie Thomson and Tim O'Hara.

This infamous film Gloria Swanson produced in 1928 with herself in the title role, challenging the Hays Code by portraying a former prostitute in a sympathetic light, not to mention the doubtful intentions of the missionary Barrymore plays so intensively.
The story behind the production is very interesting - it was not easy for Gloria Swanson to get the rights to film this story since the short story was blacklisted. Read more about it here.

Lionel Barrymore as the missionary who won't mind his own business.

Gloria Swanson is not only one of the greatest actresses throughout history - she is simply a fascinating and admirable. This film could as well have been a one-way ticket to a crushed film career for her- but intstead it became "her Gold Rush" as she had hoped for and deserved.

Unfortunately this film has been forgotten more and more nowadays. But I'm happy that I got to see this restored version, where the last eight-minute reel (lost when the nitrate decayed in storage) has been put together with stills from the original shoot. The last scene is so intensive and... shocking, that I just sat with my mouth open for the last five minutes.
See it, if you can get over a copy!

Mixed emotions when caught in the trap.

(Yes! I can take screenshots now!)

Quotes:

[Writing in a notebook]
Sadie Thompson: Smile, Bozo, smile, for no matter how tough it is today it's bound to be worse tomorrow.


Sergeant Tim O'Hara: Where do you hail from Sadie?
Sadie Thompson: San Francisco.
Sergeant Tim O'Hara: That's funny - - my best pal married a girl from San Francisco.
Sadie Thompson: What part of San Francisco?
Sergeant Tim O'Hara: Where they hang out the red lanterns.
Sadie Thompson: [thoughtfully] Are they happy?
Sergeant Tim O'Hara: Sure! 'Sfunny but them that kicks the highest often settles down the hardest.

[Screaming at Mr. Davidson]
Sadie Thompson: Who gave you the right to pass judgement on me? You psalm-singing louse! You'd tear out you own mother's heart, if she didn't agree with you, and call it saving her soul!


Sadie Thompson: [to Mr. Davidson] You've got the power to hang me but I've got the power to tell you - HANG ME AND BE DAMNED!
Mr. Davidson: [to his wife, wiping his forhead] That girl is possessed with devils!