“GRAND HOTEL.”

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 661, 14 January 1933, Page 25 (Supplement)

“GRAND HOTEL.”

Special Arrangements for Opening Night. Distinctly novel arrangements will be a. feature of the gala presentation of " Grand Hotel,” the greatest talking picture yet made, at the Regent Theatre next Saturday night. A description of the patrons arriving will be broadcast over the air from a microphone installed in the foyer of the Regent, between 7 and 8 o’clock, and, in addition, motion pictures of the flrst-night patrons will be taken in the lounge. These pictures will be exhibited at the Regent Theatre at a later date.

Produced by’ M.G.M. on a scale that pales the stage presentation to insignificance by comparison, the film version of the famous Vicki Baum story marks a new milestone in screen achievement. *' Grand Hotel ” is not just another picture. It is a distirct accomplishment. Of course, of paramount interest to the picture-going public is the tremendous cast. Think of Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, Wallace Beery, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone, Jean Hersholt, and a host of other wellknown players in a single cast! They're all there, but you are scarcely conscious of the unusualness of it. They belong there, and, having witnessed their superb characterisations, you cannot imagine the picture being made without them. That is ample justification for M.G.M.’s unprecedented daring in placing so many golden eggs in one basket, so to speak. Greta Garbo is Gruslnskaya, the temperamental ballerina. John Barrymore is the titled thief who steals her gems—and love as well. Joan Crawford is the stenographer whose, charms cause the downfall of Preysing, Industrial magnate, played by Wallace Beery. Lionel Barrymore is the sick little factory clerk who goes to the Grand Hotel to spend his last days in splendour. Stone is the doctor, and Hersholt the chief porter. Others in the pretentious cast include Robert M’Wade, Purnell B. Pratt, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Rafaela Ottiano, Morgan Wallace, Tully Marshall, Frank Conroy, Murray Kinnell and Edwin Maxwell. Edmund Goulding’s camera treatment Is unique and impressive. Instead of bringing the drama to the audience, he takes the audience into the hotel and allows it to see and hear what is going on, quite as though it were part of the cosmopolitan throng Itself. The settings are extraordinarily imposing, and lend a distinctive character to the backgrounds. Of course it is the drama itself that occupies the greatest interest, but the appeal of the cast cannot be denied.

The box plan will c pen on Monday at The Bristol.