Alternative Character Interpretation: 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?
The Musical gives them a love duet and explicitly paints the two as being deliriously in love.
Ensemble Dark Horse: 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.
Heartwarming Moments: Flaemmchen waits at the bar for the Baron. He arrives and, after a brief dance, asks her to continue dancing 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.
Memetic Mutation: "I vant to be alone," thanks to it fitting so well with Greta Garbo'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.
Moral Event Horizon: Preysing crosses this when he kills the Baron just because he was trying to steal his pocket book.
Narm Charm: Some of Greta Garbo's rather over-the-top mannerisms are amusing, yet they fit her character's emotional state and are quite proper for a White Russian artiste at that time.
So Okay, It's Average: 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.
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 saying he just found it.
After 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.
Hilarious in Hindsight: The theory on the Fridge page about the Takarazuka Revue Bolero being a dance between the Baron and Death gets funnier with the knowledge that Tamaki Ryou (2017 Baron) has played Death in both Romeo et Juliette: De La Haine a l'Amour and 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 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.
Older Than They Think: This musical uses songs from an older attempt to bring Grand Hotel as a musical, however this version called At The Grand was set in contentary Rome and did get mixed reviews and great audiences but one of the leads Paul Muni was ill and so the Producer cancelled the Broadway run.
Unintentionally Unsympathetic: The Doctor comes across as callous when he dismisses the pain of Erik's wife (going through childbirth) as lesser than war wounds.
