Grand Hotel: 1932 Best Picture
1932’s Best Picture winner was Grand Hotel, produced by Irving Thalberg and directed by Edmund Goulding.
It was the first film to feature an all-star cast:
- Greta Garbo, as Grusinskaya, an aging, suicidal Russian ballerina named Grusinskaya;
- John Barrymore, as the dashing Baron Felix von Gaigern, a gentleman jewel thief;
- Joan Crawford, as Flaemmchen, a beautiful and ambitious stenographer who wants to be a movie star;
- Lionel Barrymore, as Otto Kringelein, a terminally-ill bookkeeper and factory clerk who wants to experience luxury before he dies; and
- Wallace Beery as the ruthless industrial magnate, General Director Preysing.
Lewis Stone played the role of Dr. Otternschlag and would later play Judge Hardy in 15 Andy Hardy films. In Grand Hotel, his character delivers the famous closing line: “Grand Hotel. People come. People go. Nothing ever happens”.
Jean Hersholt played Senf, the porter. In 1936, he starred as the doctor in charge of the Dionne Quintuplets in “The Country Doctor”. In 1937, he became well-known as Shirley Temple’s grandfather in “Heidi”. He also helped to form the Motion Picture Relief Fund to provide support to industry employees with medical care when they were down on their luck. Today, the Academy Awards periodically bestows the prestigious Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award upon those considered worthy: a total of 34 individuals to date and a great honor within the film community. The last 4 were: Jerry Lewis, Oprah Winfrey, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Angelina Jolie.
You would think that with all those big stars in it, Jeopardy! would have a bunch of clues on “Grand Hotel.” They did have this Daily Double in Dec. 1985 in Game #327, but the player who got it could only come up with one actress who was not even in the film:
1932 $500 (Daily Double): 2 of the starring guests registered at MGM’s “Grand Hotel”
These three other Grand Hotel clues only require you to know Garbo and her famous line in this video clip:
DO TELL THE HOTEL $600: It’s the 1932 film in which Greta Garbo uttered the immortal line “I want to be alone”
“G” FORCE $800: In the Oscar-winning 1932 film “Grand Hotel”, she delivers her famous line “I want to be alone”
’30S FILM FACTS $1000: Garbo spoke the immortal words “I want to be alone” in this 1932 film that became a 1989 Broadway musical.
Jeopardy clues on other 1932 films:
SCIENCE FICTION $800: The 1932 film “Island of Lost Souls” was based on this 1896 novel by H.G. Wells
VIVA ITALIA $800: The world’s first major film festival was held in this city in 1932; today it awards the prestigious Golden Lion
EGYPTIAN CINEMA $1200: Boris Karloff was under wraps as this title Egyptian in a 1932 film
BE A “HEP” CAT $400: Her first film was 1932’s “A Bill of Divorcement”
JOHNNY COME LATELY $200: In a 1932 film what this actor actually says is “Jane! — Tarzan! Jane! — Tarzan!”
HORSE TALK $200: In the 1932 film “Horse Feathers”, he remarked, “I’d horsewhip you if I had a horse”
CIRCUS & CARNIVAL CINEMA $2000: This 1932 MGM film was later re-released as “Nature’s Mistakes”
DEAR JEAN* LETTERS $600: I thought the U.S. remake of your 1932 film “Boudu Saved From Drowning” was faithful to your work (*Jean as in French for John)
BLONDIE $1000: This German’s skinny-dipping scene is often cut from TV showings of her 1932 film
“Blonde Venus”
EARLY IN THEIR CAREERS $400: George Cukor directed Meg Ryan’s 1981 film debut & this actress’ 1932 debut, “A Bill of Divorcement”
OLD MOVIES $800: In 1932 Cary Grant played Lt. Pinkerton in a non-musical film based on this Puccini opera
OLD MOVIES $400: Marlene Dietrich played Shanghai Lily in this 1932 film named for a Chinese train
MOVIE MAKERS & REMAKERS: Howard Hawks directed this film with Paul Muni as Tony Camonte; Brian De Palma remade it
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