Pssst, want to check out Week-End at the Waldorf in our new look?
Information
- Year
- 1945
- Runtime
- 130 min.
- Director
- Robert Z. Leonard
- Genres
- Drama, Comedy, Musical
- Rating *
- 6.7
- Votes *
- 637
- Checks
- 80
- Favs
- 2
- Dislikes
- 2
- Favs/checks
- 2.5% (1:40)
- Favs/dislikes
- 1:1
Top comments
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Siskoid
Coming at it from the perspective of wanting to discover more of Ginger Rogers' filmography, I was still worried Week-End at the Waldorf would be too much of a remake of Grand Hotel, but no, it's just a similar premise. A big hotel, criss-crossing storylines, a sad celebrity, a jewel thief, a business deal... But the details are all different. For the A-plot, it's really down to leaning into the star's persona. Where Greta Garbo was a melodramatic actress, Rogers is a comedienne and great at impatience and cracking wise. As a result, this version of the idea is much more of a romantic comedy about misunderstandings, with Walter Pidgeon a great foil for her. But it's not touching in the way Grand Hotel is. Skipping right over the dull business bit, the more dramatic romance belongs to Lana Turner and Van Johnson, and though his soldier is about to go in for a dangerous surgery, the vibe is really about PTSD and suicide. They just can't say it outright. When he comes into her office to have his makeshift will notarized, well, her heart goes out to him. It's a bit unfortunate that the plot takes away her choices at the end there, because it would be more powerful either way if she HAD a choice. But Week-End at the Waldorf is just a bit of fun and doesn't reach for more. 3 years 10 months ago -
