WEEKEND AT THE WALDORF

Lana Turner and Van Johnson

WEEKEND AT THE WALDORF (aka Week-End at the Waldorf/1945). Director: Robert Z. Leonard. Colorized. 

The stories of several guests at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel are presented, occurring over one fateful weekend, in this semi-musical remake of Grand Hotel. The two main love stories concern: lonely movie star Irene Malvern (Ginger Rogers), who longs for a normal home life and marriage, and war correspondent Chip Collyer (Walter Pidgeon); and stenographer Bunny Smith (Lana Turner of These Glamour Girls) and Captain Hollis (Van Johnson of The Bottom of the Bottle), who may or may not survive a required operation. 

Ginger Rogers and Walter Pidgeon

In the original Grand Hotel a ballerina had to deal with an impoverished baron who wants to steal her jewels, but in this version Irene merely mistakes Chip for a thief, but he carries on the joke a little too far (for her and for the audience). At one point Irene even exclaims: "That's straight out of the picture Grand Hotel!" Other changes make this a movie only loosely based on Vicki Baum's novel, the source material for the original picture. Frankly, this would have been a much more entertaining movie if they had thrown out everything else -- including a sub-plot with Edward Arnold [Crime and Punishment] trying to fleece a mid-Eastern potentate (George Zucco) -- and strictly focused on the touching love story of Bunny and the captain. Turner and Johnson both give lovely and adept performances in this, and the picture really only comes alive when they are on -- although I must admit Xavier Cugat is likable and does a couple of bouncy numbers (he actually was playing the rooftop at the Waldorf at the time). 

Verdict: One half of a good movie. **1/2.