I mentioned in my profile that I love classic movies. I definitely got this love of classic movies from my Mom - she loves them and knows a ton about them. When she was in college she actually took a class (or more) on classic movies - cool, huh? I don't recall any type of cool class like that when I was going to school. So she recommends lots of actors, actresses and movies to me. We watched some classics growing up, and she always talked so fondly of these movies when we were kids it rubbed off on a few of us.
Now I love them, they're my favorite type of movie for sure. I used to just rent them when I could, but we've had cable for the past few years and I take full advantage of Turner Classic Movies and record lots of these movies on our DVR. I also have a few classic movie guides and books to refer to. I only have so much time to watch movies, so I try to do a little research to see if it's one worth seeing. Kind of like reading - I'm a slow reader so I put a little research into a book before choosing to read it.
Last night I watched Grand Hotel. It's my oldest movie on our DVR - recorded almost a year ago. I thought I'd seen it before, but after watching it I'm not sure that I have. It came out in 1932 and has one of my favorites in it - Joan Crawford. It also has Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore and Wallace Beery. This is the movie with Greta's famous line: "I vant to be alone".
It was super good. It's set at Berlin's Grand Hotel and revolves around the 4 main characters. Greta plays a ballerina, John Barrymore a jewel thief disguised as a baron, Joan Crawford is a stenographer, Lionel Barrymore is a terminally ill bookkeeper and Wallace Beery is a big industrial tycoon (domineering jerk).
Joan falls for John Barrymore's character, but she's working for Wallace Beery's character (who is lusting after Joan). John Barrymore falls for Greta's ballerina character while attempting to steal her pearls. Lionel just wants a friend after all the years spent toiling in Wallace Beery's factory as a bookkeeper. He's terminally ill and is living out his last few months in style (and aiming to spend all of his savings).
The story intertwines all of these characters in a very engaging way. It has some good suspense as well, especially in John Barrymore's scene where he breaks into Greta Garbo's character's hotel room to steal her pearls.
Plus you can't beat the amazing wardrobes and sets. I absolutely love to watch these movies to see the amazing architecture, furniture, clothes and jewelry of the era.
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