IMDb > Der letzte Mann (1924)

Der letzte Mann (1924) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
8.1/10   3,325 votes
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Director:
F.W. Murnau
Writer:
Carl Mayer (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Last Laugh on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
5 January 1925 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama more
Plot:
An aging doorman, after being fired from his prestigious job at a luxurious Hotel is forced to face the scorn of his friends, neighbours and society. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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User Comments:
A great classic that conveys a dark world view more (41 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Emil Jannings ... Hotelportier [hotel porter]
Maly Delschaft ... Seine Nichte
Max Hiller ... Ihr Bräutigam
Emilie Kurz ... Tante des Bräutigams
Hans Unterkircher ... Geschäftsführer [hotel manager]
Olaf Storm ... Junger Gast
Hermann Vallentin ... Spitzbäuchiger Gast
Georg John ... Nachtwächter [night watchman]
Emmy Wyda ... Dünne Nachbarin
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
O.E. Hasse
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
The Last Laugh (USA)
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Runtime:
77 min | Germany:101 min | Spain:90 min (DVD edition) | USA:90 min
Country:
Germany
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Silent
Certification:
Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating) | Finland:S (1967) | Spain:T
Filming Locations:
Berlin, Germany more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Director F.W. Murnau and screenwriter Carl Mayer originally wanted the film to end with the death of the doorman at the bathroom. Executives at UFA pressed them to conjure up a happy ending before the film's premiere in order to maximize its economic potential. Murnau and Mayer, obviously annoyed by this, created a cynical epilogue, showing the doorman having inherited from an eccentric hotel guest, who bequeathed his entire estate to the last person seen before he died. The executives also pressed the artits to change the film's title from "The Last Man" to "The Last Laughter". more
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: A hand-cranked camera is reflected in a glass door. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Das Leben geht weiter (2002) (TV) more

FAQ

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7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful.
A great classic that conveys a dark world view, 11 November 1999
Author: Doug-193 from United States



I just viewed this film on the pristine Kino video release, having seen a poorish print years ago.

One of the great classics of the German silent cinema, hugely influential, this true work of art not only displays the seemingly limitless resources of the UFA studios, but dares to break constantly with convention, particularly by being a "pure" film and dispensing with intertitles, but most spectacularly in its use of the "subjective" camera--creating as far as I know, the first sustained use of "point of view" in the history of movies, which had hitherto shown us action objectively, as it were: the spectator had always merely "observed," as in a third person narrative. Even Griffith and Bitzer's trucking shots, while including "us" in the action, did not represent another character's point of view. Well, after "the Last Laugh," P.O.V. turns up again and again. (See Abel Gance's "Napoleon.") Today the technique is common (necessary!). The most famous shots in "Der Letzte Mann" include the drunken swaying of the room seen through the Doorman's bleary eyes (cinematographer Karl Freund seated in a large swing and pushed back and forth); the opening shot coming down into the lobby by elevator and exiting the gate; and the astonishing vision of the hotel toppling in slow motion over on the poor doorman after his demotion. And can you believe that first night cityscape with the driving rain was all constructed and shot INDOORS?

However, I must say there is an unfortunate message in this drama, that of the merciless German stereotype: fawning before authority and deriding weakness--humiliating the powerless, admiring, almost worshiping the powerful. This is shown by the doorman's vanity and puffed-up self-image, which hinges, it seems, on a splendid uniform and the deference it alone inspires. Position is everything to him, his family, employers, hotel guests and neighbors. This is a shallow world, indeed, a social mentality that I can imagine, without straining too much, easily leading in a few brief years straight to the all-too-successful Gestapo! (I would add that the ending seems to contradict this, but the ending must be discounted; it is a sheer fantasy, "tacked on," really unrelated to the rest of the film and completely out of character.)

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A Guy, A Girl and 1,001 Movies EJDeGrechie
have they discontinued the masters of cinema dvd version!? MrCandy
How about THIS for an ending? mlevans
BEST MURNAU FILM venaraujo
The Restored DVD? evildead167
THE GOONIES??? terrypeters_01
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