Grand Hotel (1932)

9:15 pm - 11:15 pm | Thursday, April 18 Chinese Multiplex House 4

MGM production chief Irving G. Thalberg created the all-star film with this intricate tale of five lives intersecting in a posh Berlin hotel. A faded ballerina (Greta Garbo) considers suicide until she meets a dashing jewel thief (John Barrymore) out to rob her. An ambitious secretary (Joan Crawford) considers sleeping with unscrupulous boss Wallace Beery even as she’s drawn to a dying man (Lionel Barrymore). The film’s success was a huge boost to all its stars, though Crawford in particular benefited from the chance to work with Edmund Goulding, one of the screen’s best women’s directors. Working with him and top talents like the Barrymores and Garbo (though they share no scenes) helped her deliver one of her best performances and win a legion of new fans.

d. Edmund Goulding, 113m, 35mm