Chapter 102: Grand Hotel
May 2, 2023 Author: Yue Shang Xintou
"I want to be alone..."
On the theater's big screen, the hysterical ballerina spoke her inner monologue.
And in the days to come, this line would become Greta Garbo's signature.
1932 was the worst year for every sector of the American entertainment industry. Hollywood was hit the hardest. In that year, weekly movie attendance dropped to a low of 15 million. Just two years prior, in 1930 when the Great Depression began, weekly movie attendance had reached a record high of 80 million.
Movie tickets dropped from 30 cents the previous year to 20 cents. To make matters worse, as sound films became widespread, production costs began to soar, while the overseas market showed an inverse decline. During this period, the box office revenue for a blockbuster was around four to five hundred thousand dollars, but production costs ranged from three to eight hundred thousand. By this calculation, profits were close to zero. This situation left the film studios in Los Angeles groaning in misery.
The decline in audiences caused two-thirds of Broadway's theaters to close.
Circuses and vaudeville theaters were on the brink of collapse, with venues being forced to shut down every day.
In light of this, *Variety* magazine published a statement: "The adage that the cheap entertainment industry is impervious to any crisis has become a joke. Nothing is immune, not even government bonds!"
To survive this market winter, Hollywood seemed to reverse its strategy.
MGM was one of the few film studios that still maintained a slim profit during this period.
"Prestige pictures" also became a cinematic trend born from this era—big-budget films adapted from other art forms with pre-sold copyrights, starring each studio's top celebrities.
*Grand Hotel* was one such production.
The film's plot was adapted from Vicki Baum's best-selling novel, using a luxurious hotel in Berlin as the stage of life to portray the strange encounters of five main characters over the course of a single day.
This unique story structure was a first for Hollywood at the time.
Of course, what was even more eye-catching was that the film's five main characters were all played by major stars from the MGM studio. This all-star movie lineup attracted massive anticipation from fans as soon as it was announced.
In particular, *Grand Hotel*, being the first sound film starring the Silent Film Queen Greta Garbo, raised audience expectations to the absolute peak.
It wasn't easy to make a trip to Hollywood.
Colin certainly wasn't going to miss a viewing of such a classic film.
Therefore, after discussing the crossover plot details at Disney Studios, he took the initiative to express his desire to go see this movie.
Walt Disney and the others readily agreed.
Inside the movie theater, the audience quietly watched the content on the big screen.
Their emotions shifted along with the ballerina played by Greta Garbo.
With her dream-like eyes, feverish and rapid voice, and slender figure, Garbo created the character of a woman at the height of her fame, yet extremely lonely and insecure on the inside.
A classic does not fade with the passage of time, and *Grand Hotel* was clearly such a classic.
This all-star masterpiece, an Academy Award for Best Picture winner, confined its story to the Grand Hotel, yet through the bizarre encounters of five groups of characters on the same day, it staged various scenes of sorrow and joy, partings and reunions, with three intersecting storylines.
What was even more commendable was that such a major production, which brought together so many stars, concluded with a rather dark ending.
At the end of the film, with some dead, some arrested, and others having departed, all the actors had made their exits.
The hotel, as the backdrop, remained quietly in its place, welcoming new guests. People came and went, giving one a sense of the fleeting passage of time and transient lives.
This was an ending that would be unimaginable in the Hollywood of later years.
Perhaps it was for this very reason that the story of *Grand Hotel* was so highly acclaimed. Its source material, the novel "Menschen im Hotel" (People in a Hotel), was even adapted into a classic Broadway musical, ensuring its legacy would continue.
The film ended.
"A brilliant film."
As the credits rolled on the big screen, Colin let out a long breath and remarked with a sigh.
"A cruel film."
Beside him, Walt Disney offered a different opinion.
"A realistic film."
Roy Disney adjusted his hat and said in a low voice.
In *Grand Hotel*, there was no single, clear main plot, yet everything was a main plot—just like life.
"Poor John..."
This was the impression of Walt Disney's wife, Lillian Disney. The John she mentioned was the actor who played the male lead, Baron von Gaigern—a thief who, despite his gambling addiction and fall from grace, still maintained his aristocratic demeanor. The character's fate in the film was incredibly tragic.
Of course, regardless of their comments, they all agreed that *Grand Hotel* was an excellent work.
"It's been a long time since Hollywood has produced such a fine work. The last film that moved me this much was Charlie Chaplin's *City Lights*," Walt Disney couldn't help but say as he walked out of the theater and glanced back at the giant poster for *Grand Hotel* on the wall.
Although Disney Studios was also developing within Hollywood, due to its genre of film, its competition with these other film studios was not pronounced.
"That's because the film studios are all losing money. To cut costs, many have laid off over 20% of their employees. Paramount even shut down its Long Island sound stage, causing over 5,000 employees to face unemployment. The news of large numbers of penniless extras stranded in Los Angeles is on the verge of becoming a national scandal..."
Compared to Walt Disney, Roy Disney, who was in charge of Disney's business operations, seemed to have a better grasp of the current situation in Hollywood.
Going out to see a play or a film costs money, which was obviously an extravagant indulgence for people during the Great Depression. Therefore, they preferred to stay at home and listen to a free radio program rather than spend money on a movie ticket.
In the face of this initial shock, Hollywood's Eight Major Studios suffered losses one after another.
"The Hollywood of today has long lost its former glory. I heard that in less than half a year, Paramount alone has already lost over 10 million dollars, and they're still in the red. If this keeps up, I think the Eight Major Studios might become the 'Seven Majors' by next year..."
Hollywood's slump was also the reason why Disney was so frequently licensing out merchandise. Compared to live-action films, animated films had a longer production cycle but neatly avoided the problem of actor salaries. The only thing Disney needed to worry about in its films was how to make the story interesting.
Thanks to Yizhidoushiwode for the 1000 Qidian Coin donation.
(end of chapter)