Editing Grand Hotel (1932 film) (section)

==Production==
[[File:Leontovich-Grand-Hotel-1930-2.jpg|thumb|[[Eugenie Leontovich]] as Grusinskaya in the original Broadway production of ''Grand Hotel'' (1930)]]
Producer [[Irving Thalberg]] purchased the rights to Vicki Baum's novel ''Menschen im Hotel'' for $13,000 and then commissioned William A. Drake to adapt it for the stage.<ref name=Chandler>Chandler, Charlotte, ''Not the Girl Next Door: Joan Crawford, A Personal Biography''. New York: Simon & Schuster 2008. {{ISBN|1-4165-4751-7}}, p. 100</ref>
It opened on Broadway at the [[Nederlander Theatre|National Theatre]] on November 13, 1930, and ran for 459 performances.<ref>[http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=11262 ''Grand Hotel'' at the Internet Broadway Database]</ref> Pleased with its success, Thalberg had Drake and [[Béla Balázs]] write the screenplay, and had a budget at $700,000.<ref name=Chandler />
There was some controversy about Greta Garbo, with her strong Swedish accent, playing a Russian.<ref>Matthews, Herbert L. "The Cinema in Paris; To Dub or Not to Dub Films--Successful Original American Pictures." ''The New York Times''. June 4, 1933: 9D.</ref>

The film was seen as an artistic achievement in its art direction and production design. The lobby scenes were extremely well done, portraying a 360° front desk. This set allowed audiences to watch the hotel action from all around the characters. It changed the way sets were made from that point onward.<ref>Balio, Tino (1993). ''History of the American Cinema''. New York: Simon & Schuster Macmillan. p. 199.</ref>

It was the first film to feature brothers Lionel and John Barrymore together. Thalberg initially cast [[Marie Dressler|Marie Dessler]] for the role of Suzette, but replaced her with [[Rafaela Ottiano]], the only cast member from the Broadway production.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Arnold |first1=Jeremy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kX84DgAAQBAJ&dq=rafaela+ottiano&pg=PT42 |title=The Essentials: 52 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter |last2=Movies |first2=Turner Classic |date=2016-05-03 |publisher=Running Press |isbn=978-0-7624-5947-6 |language=en}}</ref>

==="I want to be alone"===
As Grusinskaya, Greta Garbo delivers the line "I want to be alone", and, immediately following, she says "I just want to be alone." Soon after, in conversation with Baron Felix von Geigern, she says "And I want to be alone." Referring to its legendary use as a characterization of her reclusive personal life, Garbo later insisted "I never said I want to be alone; I only said, 'I want to be let alone.' There is all the difference."<ref>John Bainbridge, "[http://www.garboforever.com/1955_Life-3.htm The Braveness To Be Herself]", part 3 of "The Divine Garbo" in ''Life'', January 24, 1955. Reprinted in its entirety at garboforever.com, page found June 23, 2010.</ref>