The Last Laugh (1924)
"Der letzte Mann" (original title)

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.

Director:

F.W. Murnau

Writer:

Carl Mayer

Stars:

Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Max Hiller

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Emil Jannings	...	Hotelportier [Hotel Doorman]
Maly Delschaft	...	Seine Nichte [His Niece]
Max Hiller	...	Ihr Bräutigam [Her Bridegroom]
Emilie Kurz	...	Tante des Bräutigams [Bridegroom's Aunt]
Hans Unterkircher	...	Geschäftsführer [Hotel Manager]
Olaf Storm	...	Junger Gast [Young Guest]
Hermann Vallentin	...	Spitzbäuchiger Gast [Potbellied Guest]
Georg John	...	Nachtwächter [Night Watchman]
Emmy Wyda	...	Dünne Nachbarin [Thin Neighbor]

Storyline

The experienced doorman at the Atlantic Hotel is quite proud of his position, his responsibilities, and his uniform. One busy, rainy night, he has to take a short rest after lugging a heavy suitcase in from the rain. Unfortunately, his manager comes by during the short time when he is not performing his duties. The next day, when the doorman arrives for work, he learns that he has been replaced as doorman, and has been re-assigned to the less strenuous but purely menial position of washroom attendant. Stunned and humiliated, the old man struggles to carry on with his life.

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Plot Keywords:

hotel | uniform | rain | humiliation | dream | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Germany

Release Date:

5 January 1925 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Last Laugh

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universum Film (UFA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min 90 min (DVD edition)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Alfred Hitchcock, who was working in Germany at the UFA studios at the time of this production, F.W. Murnau had all the street signs, posters and shop signs done in a version of Esperanto.

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Goofs

When the porter loads the trunk on his back in the rain, the rain isn't falling on it. Once he takes a couple of steps, it is.

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Connections

Featured in Fejezetek a film történetéböl: A német film 1933-ig (1989)

User Reviews

uniform vs identity

There can be no doubt that costumes were highly important in The Last Laugh. The topic was actually build upon a costume anywise. The doorman's uniform was a symbol for prestige, high-honor, the key to be well treated in every situation. He was giving extreme importance to his outlook while he was working as a doorman. We saw this when he was twisting his mustache in front of the hotel. Not only him but also his family and his neighbors even show great respect to his uniform as well. Neighbors stop patting their carpets not to spread dust on his uniform, men bow and take out their hats when he passes by, at home niece's mother sews the button of the uniform with great care... It seems that by doing all this, they are appreciating the prestige the costume has brought to their lives and in a way showing appreciation by keeping it in perfect shape. Last Laugh there wasn't much of a contrast in terms of colors. The contrast was in terms of the different treatment the doorman received after his job loss. It was clear that after the loss of his job, nobody was friendly to him anymore. Also the contrast between the rich and the poor was underlined. There was a parallel editing of the ex-doorman drinking his soup in the toilet and the rich people having their dinner at the hotel's restaurant.

There were lots of dolly ins and outs, tracking movements, dialectical montage, close-ups and parallel editing in it. Dollies are often used in shocking situations. It is used when the ex-doorman's relative sees him working at the toilet. As it is a shocking situation, camera dollies-in very fast to the woman's horrified face. The same function of dolly-in occurs when the ex-doorman comes to the hotel in the morning and sees from far away the new doorman. It is a fast dolly as well. With these unexpected dollies, the audience is always kept tense knowing that the reality may strike at any moment. Dialectical montage is seen quite a lot of times as well. It occurs when the doorman looks left and then we see the wedding dress. Therefore we understand that it is the dress he is looking. On the whole doorman's uniform seems to be controlling his life and that he is blindly obeying what the uniform brings to him. In this way, he is like a citizen unquestioning the authority of the government. Finally, Last Laugh is a classics which have influenced and will continue to influence other artistic works through generations.