Nothing Ever Happens

This clever Vitaphone short has recently been rediscovered and made available on the DVD of the film it is lampooning, 1932's 'Grand Hotel'. The characters are spot-on and well-cast, with some witty name changes - Kringelein becomes Waistline, Flaemmchen becomes Scramchen, Preysing becomes Prizering.

The joy of this short isn't just its affectionate pot-shots at the original film, but in its musical numbers and general lightheadedness. It is fun to watch and a perfect accompaniment to an already great film. I don't mind 'Grand Hotel' being sent up at all, and 'Nothing Ever Happens' is certainly worth saving and worth a look.

In this musical-comedy short, there is a fine little parody of MGM's 1932 hit, GRAND HOTEL. There is also some nice impression work of its stars, with John Lionel Bohn using some of John Barrymore's mannerisms, Charles Judels ably suggesting Lionel Barrymore, and some silly shots of Geraldine Dvorak's feet -- she plays the Garbo character, who was reputed to have big feet.

But the best part of this short subject is the choreography for the lovely chorus girls who worked regularly for the Vitagraph short subjects factory out in Brooklyn. It's precision dancing, a mix between the Rockettes and the Folies Bergeres, and performed at a good clip. If the opportunity turns up to see this, don't miss it!

This two-reel parody of "Grand Hotel" has a number of clever touches, and it is entertaining to watch as long as you are familiar with the original feature. Like many parodies, much of its effectiveness depends on the audience remembering the characters and the plot of its source, since otherwise many of the details lose significance.

The main cast members of "Nothing Ever Happens" are made up to resemble the characters whom they are parodying, and in a couple of cases they are outwardly quite similar. While none of these performers come close to the stature of the all-star cast of "Grand Hotel", most of them are able to create, in a slightly exaggerated fashion, reasonably good impressions of the original actors.

The story covers a handful of the key incidents from "Grand Hotel", with some musical sequences added in, plus frequent humorous references to the classic line that is quoted in the title. "Grand Hotel" is one of the fine classics of its era, with a cast and characters that remain vivid well after watching it. This good-natured parody pays it a number of compliments, and it serves as a pleasant reminder of the original movie.

This is a very funny parody of Grand Hotel, but if you don't know the original film and more importantly, the actors in the original, you probably won't get it. The faux Lionel Barrymore is particularly brilliant.

If only modern hotels had kick lines of satin-clad bellhops following the guests around, the world would be a better place.

This was 18 minutes and 14 seconds of pure fun, especially the dancers.

NOTE. I haven't seen the 1932 "Grand Hotel" yet; that's my next plan.

NOTE. I tried to find this on youtube.com but with no avail.

NOTE. This is an extra on the "Grand Hotel" DVD.

NOTE. It would have deserved to have CC or subtitles added.