History YMMV / GrandHotel

* TearJerker: A real life one, David Carroll who played the Baron originally on Broadway was HIV+ during the run, however the Cast Recording was postponed due to the legal problems of the score, when they were finally relented Carroll was first in the Recording Studio, he had AIDS by this point, he rehearsed it well but he died in the restroom his replacement Brent Barrett took over. However, he still appears at the end of the album thankfully there was a good live recording of him singing the solo ''Love Can't Happen'' which is painful to listen after knowing this story.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Was the Baron actually in love with Grusinskaya? Or did he just say that to prevent her from committing suicide and was merely being polite afterwards?

* IdiotPlot: The second half of the Baron's story is driven by him not being willing to let Grusinskaya pay for a train ticket for him. Even though she implied she'd be happy to pay off his debts, he'd rather steal or gamble than have her pay them. This has to do with traditional gender roles in which a Real Man was supposed to be financially responsible. Women could do favors and help men in other ways, but to him, financial aid would feel like the slippery slope to being a gigolo or kept man. He also can't consider it a loan to be repaid because he doesn't want to be in debt to anyone. And since he's considering a relationship with Grusinskaya, that's probably wise in the "never do business with friends" sense.

* TheWoobie: [[SecretlyDying Kringelein]] and [[spoiler: [[DrivenToSuicide Grusinskaya]], [[InterruptedSuicide initially]].]]

* TearJerker: A real life one, David Carroll who played the Baron originally on Broadway was HIV+ during the run, however the Cast Recording was postponed due to the legal problems of the score, when they were finally relented Carroll was first in the Recording Studio, he had AIDS by this point, he rehearsed it well but he died in the restroom his replacement Brent Barrett took over. However he still appears at the end of the album thankfully there was a good live recording of him singing the solo ''Love Can't Happen'' which is painful to listen after knowing this story.

* AwardSnub: Creator/JoanCrawford and Creator/JohnBarrymore weren't nominated for Best Actress and Best Actor.

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* HilariousInHindsight: The theory on the Fridge page about the Theatre/TakarazukaRevue Bolero being a dance between the Baron and Death gets funnier with the knowledge that Tamaki Ryou (2017 Baron) has played Death in both ''Theatre/RomeoEtJulietteDeLaHaineALamour'' and ''Theatre/{{Elisabeth}}'', opposite Manaki Reika (2017 Elizaveta) as Juliette and Elisabeth, respectively. The Doctor's line about Love and Death coming face to face would be taken literally in ''Roméo et Juliette'', as Love [[note]]created specifically for the Takarazuka productions[[/note]] and Death are both characters who spend much of their stage time dancing with each other. ''Elisabeth'' contains the song "The Rondo of Love and Death" (Ai to Shi no Rondo), in which Death falls in ''love'' with Elisabeth and decides not to take her soul. If only the Baron was that lucky.

!!For the 2019 Series:

** TheMusical give them a love duet and explicitly paints the two as being deliriously in love.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Even though the movie is more famous for Creator/GretaGarbo's "I want to be alone" line, some newer viewers find themselves being pleasantly surprised by Creator/JoanCrawford's performance - finding her to be superior to Garbo. This was the case on set too - as Garbo was brought back in to shoot additional scenes to beef up her role, after Crawford impressed.
* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: Flaemmchen waits at the bar for the Baron. He arrives and asks her to dance with Kringelein instead. Rather than getting annoyed or jealous, she agrees and does something so nice for a poor old man who doesn't have much time left.
* IdiotPlot: The second half of the Baron's story is driven by him not being willing to let Grusinskaya pay for a train ticket for him. Even though she implied she'd be happy to pay off his debts, he'd rather steal or gamble than have her pay them.
** This has to do with traditional gender roles in which a Real Man was supposed to be financially responsible. Women could do favors and help men in other ways, but to him, financial aid would feel like the slippery slope to being a gigolo or kept man. He also can't consider it a loan to be repaid because he doesn't want to be in debt to anyone. And since he's considering a relationship with Grusinskaya, that's probably wise in the "never do business with friends" sense.
* MemeticMutation: "I vant to be alone," thanks to it fitting so well with Creator/GretaGarbo's sudden retirement from public life.
** Garbo emphasized that the press had conflated this line with what she'd said in interviews at the time; "I want to be ''left'' alone", quite a different matter.
* MoralEventHorizon: [[spoiler: Presying]] crosses this when he [[spoiler:kills [[GentlemanThief the Baron]] just because he was trying to steal his pocket book.]]
* NarmCharm: Some of Greta Garbo's rather over the top mannerisms are amusing, but yet they fit her character's emotional state and are quite proper for a White Russian artiste at that time.
* SoOkayItsAverage: This movie has been used as an example of the Academy's questionable judgment in early years -- not exactly bad, but it didn't age well.

** After [[spoiler: the Baron's death]] Flaemmchen agrees to be Kringelein's companion in an attempt to be positive. But when they go to ring for a train ticket, they both nearly collapse in tears - still devastated.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Even though the movie is more famous for Greta Garbo's "I want to be alone" line, some newer viewers find themselves being pleasantly surprised by Creator/JoanCrawford's performance - finding her to be superior to Garbo. This was the case on set too - as Garbo was brought back in to shoot additional scenes to beef up her role, after Crawford impressed.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: Even though the movie is more famous for Greta Garbo's "I want to be alone" line, some newer viewers find themselves being pleasantly surprised by Joan Crawford's performance - finding her to be superior to Garbo. This was the case on set too - as Garbo was brought back in to shoot additional scenes to beef up her role, after Crawford impressed.

* NarmCharm: Some of Greta Garbo's rather over the top mannerisms are amusing, but yet they fit her character's emotional state.

** The scene where Kringelein thinks he's lost his pocket book (after having won an enormous amount of money gambling), when the Baron has taken it to pay off his debts. As he desperately searches for the book, the Baron ultimately can't bear to steal it and gives it to him.

* MemeticMutation: "I vant to be alone," thanks to it fitting so well with Creator/{{Greta Garbo}}'s sudden retirement from public life.

* TheWoobie: [[SecretlyDying Kringelein]] and [[spoiler: [[DrivenToSuicide Gruinskaya]], [[InterruptedSuicide initially]].]]

* SoOkayItsAverage: This movie has been used as an example of the Academy's questionable judgment in early years -- not exactly bad, but it didn't age well.

* MemeticMutation: "I vant to be alone," thanks to it fitting so well with Greta Garbo's sudden retirement from public life.

* MoralEventHorizon: [[spoiler: Presying]] crosses this when he kills [[RichBitch the Baron]] just because he was trying to steal his pocket book.

* MoralEventHorizon: [[spolier: Presying]] crosses this when he kills the [[Adorkable Baron]] just because he was trying to steal his pocket book.