Grand Hotel (1932)

[alistairw]

Just seen this for the first time. It struck me (though perhaps I'm wrong) that except for the acrimony which existed between John Gilbert and the studio he would have been an obvious choice for the baron opposite Garbo. Did MGM draft Barrymore in to avoid casting Gilbert in a premier film or was Barrymore an MGMr by that time?

p.s. I had always understood that Garbo never actually said "I vawnt to be alone" but she does quite clearly in this picture - twice.

[FrankFay]

I can picture Gilbert in the love scenes, but I'd miss Barrymore's slightly tipsy charm.

There is no dispute that Garbo said the line in the picture, but people claim she kept repeating it in real life.

[entredeuxguerres]

... I'd miss Barrymore's slightly tipsy charm.

So would I, but of course he'd perfected that persona in his private life. So had Gilbert, but I can't distinctly recall him portraying that aspect of his real life--alcoholism--on screen.

[Brooksie]

I could be wrong, but wasn't Garbo's line meant to be a bit of a wink to the audience? Kind of like dropping 'I'll be back!" into the script for an Arnold Schwarznegger movie?

[CoffeeDan]

... I'd miss Barrymore's slightly tipsy charm.

So would I, but of course he'd perfected that persona in his private life. So had Gilbert, but I can't distinctly recall him portraying that aspect of his real life--alcoholism--on screen.

Check out Gilbert's performance in WEST OF BROADWAY (recently released on DVD by the Warner Archive), where his character is going through the DTs. It's scary.

[Changsham]

... I'd miss Barrymore's slightly tipsy charm.

So would I, but of course he'd perfected that persona in his private life. So had Gilbert, but I can't distinctly recall him portraying that aspect of his real life--alcoholism--on screen.

Saw John Barrymore playing a declining alcoholic silent star in DINNER AT EIGHT. I thought it was one of his best performances I've seen. I liked Barrymore far better in the talkies. He was the kind of ham that helped make silents the object of ridicule later on.

[entredeuxguerres]

I liked Barrymore far better in the talkies. He was the kind of ham that helped make silents the object of ridicule later on.

So do I; acting without the advantage of his marvelous voice was comparable to a boxer fighting with one hand tied behind his back.

[entredeuxguerres]

Check out Gilbert's performance in WEST OF BROADWAY (recently released on DVD by the Warner Archive), where his character is going through the DTs. It's scary.

Monday morning finds me at my MD's seeking Aricept...because not only do I HAVE this picture (poor man's ed. from TCM), but it's my favorite Gilbert talkie. And forget a colleen cuter, even, than Nancy Carroll? I mean Lois Moran--unforgettable...except that I did forget, obviously, before rewatching it just now.

Gilbert's DT's were matchless, but constituted his only (and seemingly controllable) alcoholic symptom; great, but not as convincing, or as true to life, I think, as Barrymore's alcoholic desperation & despair.

[FrankFay]

Gilbert had great charm and was a very good actor, but Barrymore could be a Great actor.

[Mitch Farish]

I liked Barrymore far better in the talkies. He was the kind of ham that helped make silents the object of ridicule later on.

I don't know. A little ham is called for once in a while. Barrymore himself disparaged his performance in Beloved Rogue. But in a light-hearted romp like that one, it was a treat to see two hams like Barrymore and Conrad Veidt having fun with their roles. I'm positive Barrymore taught Veidt that crouched walk, which he used in Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.

As for Barrymore's screen persona, he had started to become a self-parody as early as Don Juan, and in Beloved Rogue leading lady Marceline Day has the line, "One must sorrow that a man of such genius should become a drunken clown." How true of Barrymore in later years.

[silentfilm]

Lionel & John Barrymore in Grand Hotel.

[dr.giraud]

I liked Barrymore far better in the talkies. He was the kind of ham that helped make silents the object of ridicule later on.

I don't know. A little ham is called for once in a while. Barrymore himself disparaged his performance in Beloved Rogue. But in a light-hearted romp like that one, it was a treat to see two hams like Barrymore and Conrad Veidt having fun with their roles. I'm positive Barrymore taught Veidt that crouched walk, which he used in Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.

As for Barrymore's screen persona, he had started to become a self-parody as early as Don Juan, and in Beloved Rogue leading lady Marceline Day has the line, "One must sorrow that a man of such genius should become a drunken clown." How true of Barrymore in later years.

I think he's excellent in BEAU BRUMMELL. He plays the character's decline without vanity.

[FrankFay]

I like him in WHEN A MAN LOVES - all of his tricks are on display but he shows he has a fine range

[sepiatone]

Gilbert had great charm and was a very good actor, but Barrymore could be a Great actor.

don't try it Eric, that line is from Joe Franklin's CLASSICS OF THE SILENT SCREEN. Joe went something like this in describing Gilbert, ..." Gilbert was a good actor, a very good actor , but he wasn't a great actor as was Barrymore. He couldn't as Barrymore did, shug off one role and slip into another".

[FrankFay]

Gilbert had great charm and was a very good actor, but Barrymore could be a Great actor.

don't try it Eric, that line is from Joe Franklin's CLASSICS OF THE SILENT SCREEN. Joe went something like this in describing Gilbert, ..." Gilbert was a good actor, a very good actor , but he wasn't a great actor as was Barrymore. He couldn't as Barrymore did, shug off one role and slip into another".

Jeannine Basinger got it right when she said that Gilbert's best role was A Man in Love. He can do other things very nicely, like playing a charming cad in DOWNSTAIRS, but at his best he inhabits the role of a lover in a way Barrymore can't quite match - even at Barrymore's finest I'm conscious that what I'm watching is a superb piece of acting that Barrymore can step out of at a moment's notice.

[entredeuxguerres]

Jeannine Basinger got it right when she said that Gilbert's best role was A Man in Love.

Can't find this one is his filmography. She wasn't referring to Love,'27?

[CoffeeDan]

Jeannine Basinger got it right when she said that Gilbert's best role was A Man in Love.

Can't find this one is his filmography. She wasn't referring to Love,'27?

No, she was referring to the type of role he played, not a specific film.

[gjohnson]

Just seen this for the first time. It struck me (though perhaps I'm wrong) that except for the acrimony which existed between John Gilbert and the studio he would have been an obvious choice for the baron opposite Garbo. Did MGM draft Barrymore in to avoid casting Gilbert in a premier film or was Barrymore an MGMr by that time?

By 1932 Gilbert was not being given a second thought by the MGM brass. There was no attempt at resurrecting his career to his former heights. Mayer had sent the word down to his producers to just bide their time until his contract expired. And so there was absolutely no consideration to put him into one of their premiere prestige productions like GRAND HOTEL. Barrymore had recently ended his Warner contract and had just finished Arsene Lupene for MGM - so he was the perfect, and obvious, choice for the role opposite Garbo. I've always found his performance very touching - especially his interactions between Crawford and his brother.

[entredeuxguerres]

No, she was referring to the type of role he played, not a specific film.

Pardon my non compos mentis. I dote on Bassinger"s Silent Stars, but much prefer, personally, to see Gilbert doing something--portraying a doughboy, heir to a throne, even something of a cad, as in Downstairs; the "in love" bit, not so much.

[alistairw]

Many thanks gjohnson - I was hoping someone would answer my original question eventually!

[didi-5]

I love Grand Hotel. And Garbo. And the Barrymores, especially The Profile (who was fantastic in one of his later film roles, in Midnight). And Gilbert, who showed himself to be potentially a good comedy talkie actor in Downstairs.

[Roseha]

I love Barrymore's voice but I also love his work in silent films. From what I've seen the farther back in time you go the better he is (quality of the film at hand notwithstanding - the craziness of The Sea Beast for example). I often feel that I can see him thinking in his silent roles.

[dr.giraud]

I love Barrymore's voice but I also love his work in silent films. From what I've seen the farther back in time you go the better he is (quality of the film at hand notwithstanding - the craziness of The Sea Beast for example). I often feel that I can see him thinking in his silent roles.

Barrymore was superb at playing any kind of spectacular transformation. In BEAU BRUMMELL, he goes from ardent lover to disdainful poseur to exile, the last stage featuring severe mental and physical decline. In WHEN A MAN LOVES, he goes from civilized to savage (on the slave ship) and back again. And then there's DR. JECKYL.

[alistairw]

In most of his films (not all) Gilbert visibly inhabited his role. Watching Barrymore, even in the Hamlet screen test, I always feel he is tipping a wink to the audience's idea of who he is. I enjoy both aporoaches - to me Gilbert and Barrymore are easily two of the best examples why moviegoing in the late 20s, particularly in the quality theatres, must have been a truly sensational experience.