Fabulous Scenes from the Set of 'Grand Hotel (1932)

Grand Hotel is a 1932 drama film starring Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, and Joan Crawford. The story was adapted from the 1929 novel ‘Menschen im Hotel by Vicki Baum.’

The story unfolds within the confines of the Grand Hotel, Berlin’s most prestigious hotel between the wars. There are five main characters in the story: the impeccable-mannered Baron (John Barrymore), the temperamental dancer Grusinskaya (Greta Garbo), the stenographer Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford), the corporate tyrant Preysing (Wallace Beery), and the sickly Otto Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore). It is the interaction between the characters that drive the narrative forward. The Baron, despite his air of sophistication, is bankrupt. His debts have forced him to enter into a compact with some gangsters to steal jewelry, but he cannot complete the deal. The sad, lonely Grusinskaya, whose unhappiness threatens her career, falls in love with him. The Baron’s love and support allow her to rediscover herself and reclaim her talent. Flaemmchen, a stenographer who works for Preysing, is attracted to the Baron. Likewise, she wants money, and in order to get it, she prostitutes herself to Preysing, whose financial future is tied to the success of a merger. Finally, Kringelein is an inoffensive individual who believes he has a terminal illness and has withdrawn his entire savings from the bank to give himself a grand sendoff. Kringelein is treated with kindness by the Baron and introduced to Flaemmchen, which will prove advantageous for both of them.

Grand Hotel is about characters and their interactions, recognizing that almost everyone has a secret and find out what those secrets are. By today’s standards, it’s a somewhat dry experience, but watching so many legendary actors nearby compensates for the stilted plot development. Grand Hotel has proven influential in the years since its original release. Greta Garbo’s famous line “I want to be alone” placed 30th in AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes. In 2007, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Here are some scenes and on-set photos from the movie ‘Grand Hotel (1932).

#1 Greta Garbo and John Barrymore in ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#2 Greta Garbo in ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932.

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#3 Grand hotel, 1932

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#4 Couple in the bar of the Grand Hotel, 1932

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#5 Joan Crawford poses in a pair of indoor red and white pajamas that she wore in her latest movie ‘Grand Hotel’ in 1932 in New York City.

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#6 Opening night of the movie ‘Grand Hotel’ on Times Square, 1932

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#7 The movie premiere of th 1932 film Grand Hotel.

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#8 Opening night of the movie ‘Grand Hotel’ on Times Square, 1932

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#9 Greta Garbo in Grand Hotel, 1932

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#10 Greta Garbo poses for a publicity still for the MGM film ‘Grand Hotel’ in 1932 in Los Angeles.

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#11 Greta Garbo and John Barrymore in love scene from ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#12 Greta Garbo poses for a publicity still for the MGM film ‘Grand Hotel’ in 1932.

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#13 Joan Crawford. John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, and Lewis Stone in the 1932 film Grand Hotel.

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#14 Greta Garbo and John Barrymore in ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#15 Joan Crawford and Wallace Beery in Grand Hotel, 1932

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#16 Lionel Barrymore, Joan Crawford and John Barrymore as in the 1932 film Grand Hotel.

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#17 Greta Garbo and Rafaela Ottiano in the 1932 film Grand Hotel.

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#18 ohn Barrymore and Greta Garbo in the 1932 film Grand Hotel.

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#19 John Barrymore and Greta Garbo in the 1932 film Grand Hotel.

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#20 Lewis Stone, Lionel Barrymore, Wallace Beery, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore and Jean Hersholt on the set of Grand Hotel, 1932

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#21 Greta Garbo on the set of ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932.

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#22 Greta Garbo on the set of ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932.

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#23 Greta Garbo and John Barrymore on the set of “Grand Hotel”, 1932

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#24 John Barrymore and Greta Garbo in ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#25 Joan Crawford in a scene from the movie ‘Grand Hotel’, 1923

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#26 Joan Crawford and Lionel Barrymore in a scene from the movie ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#27 A scene from ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#28 A scene from ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#29 A scene from ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#30 Greta Garbo and John Barrymore in ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932.

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#31 People in Hotel, 1932

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#32 Grand Hotel, 1932

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#33 Greta Barbo and John Barrymore in ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#34 Greta Barbo and John Barrymore in ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#35 Joan Crawford in ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#36 John Barrymore contrives to seduce the eccentric Greta Garbo in a scene from ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#37 John Barrymore contrives to seduce the eccentric Greta Garbo in a scene from ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#38 Joan Crawford and Lionel Barrymore star in ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#39 John Barrymore (and Greta Garbo chatting on the set of ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#40 Joan Crawford in ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#41 Greta Garbo wearing a coat with a fur collar and a small hat with a flat crown for her role as Grusinskaya in ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#42 Greta Garbo in the costume she wears in ‘Grand Hotel’.

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#43 Joan Crawford in costume for her role in ‘Grand Hotel’.

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#44 Crowds outside the Astor Theatre in New York for the premiere of ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#45 Joan Crawford sits with her head in her hand as a man reaches to take her champagne glass, ‘Grand Hotel’.

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#46 Greta Garbo embraces American actor John Barrymore ) in a still from the film, ‘Grand Hotel,’ 1932

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#47 American screen stars Joan Crawford and John Barrymore have a face off in the 1932 classic ‘Grand Hotel’.

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#48 Lionel Barrymore, left, appearing with his brother John Barrymore and Joan Crawford, centre, in the film ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932

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#49 John Barrymore and Greta Garbo appearing in the film ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932.

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#50 Greta Garbo and John Barrymore, 1932

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#51 Greta Garbo as John Barrymore is about to join her in a scene from the film ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932.

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#52 Greta Garbo with her chambermaid in a scene of the film ‘Grand Hotel’ in Hollywood in 1932.

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#53 Greta Garbo with her chambermaid in a scene of the film ‘Grand Hotel’ in Hollywood in 1932.

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#54 Joan Crawford and Wallace Beery during the filming of ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932.

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#55 Swedish actress Greta Garbo, 1932.

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#56 Greta Garbo and John Barrymore in ‘Grand Hotel’, 1932.

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