The Last Laugh (1924)

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

Emil Jannings is the doorman of the elegant Atlantic Hotel. He is proud of his uniform and function, and respected by his community. When he reaches the old age, he has difficulties to carry trucks and suitcases. The hotel manager decides to change his function to washroom attendant. This apparently simple action is enough to destroy him as a human being. He loses his self-respect and when his neighbor finds that he is janitor of the hotel, he loses the respect of his neighbors and friends.

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Plot Keywords:

porter | hotel | uniform | forced perspective | revolving door | 

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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:

Germany

Box Office

Gross USA:

$94,812, 31 December 1925

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universum Film (UFA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

77 min 90 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list.

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Goofs

A hand-cranked camera is reflected in a glass door.

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Connections

Featured in Paul Merton Looks at Alfred Hitchcock (2009)

User Reviews

Visceral

People seem compelled to speak in superlative-terms when talking about the great directors; which film is their greatest, which ones are underrated, etc. But this is a film so simple in its themes, so modest in its methods, that it doesn't lend itself to these labels very easily.

"Nosferatu" was revolutionary, but based on intensity, something that doesn't age very well. Other directors took up this notion of visual intensity (Leni, Boese) but structuralized it, and created the real German Horror masterpieces ("Waxworks," "Golem"). Murnau's discovery came later, with this film. That film narrative wasn't something that you followed linearly, but something you become immersed in. The lack of title-cards is not a gimmick, but a conscious decision not to interrupt the flow of this immersion. Reading is rational (hearing, slightly less so) and prevents this from taking place.

Add a Gogolian tale of aging and dignity, and Murnau makes magic. This is what "touching" and "moving" films should be like.

4 out of 5 - An excellent film