Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"Der letzte Mann" or "The Last Man" is a German movie from over 90 years ago and it was directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau/Plumpe, one of the country's most known directors from that era, probably you could replace "country" by "world". The lead actor is Emil Jannings, five years before his Oscar win and as so many other times, he plays a character who is considerably older than he was at that time. Aging makeup was already a thing back then. The film is silent (if you hear a soundtrack, it was added later)and in black-and-white. Jannings plays a doorman at a hotel, who is down on his look for most of the film. Or is he really? This is mostly a drama and runs for 90 minutes in the restored version I watched. Still, it's tough for me to take it serious as such with Jannings' over-the-top face expressions basically from start to finish. Then again, this was a common problem back then. People tried to make up for the lack of sound by these comically expressions that just did never leave a good impact for me. Also this film may have needed more intertitles to understand exactly what is going on in all scenes. In my opinion, the material was not (good) enough for 90 minutes here. Not among Murnau's best. Not recommended.
Jackson Booth-Millard
From director F.W. Murnau (Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horrors, Sunrise), this German silent film was one in the book listing the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I knew nothing about the plot or title meaning, but I was keen. Basically this film tells the story of a respected, experienced and happy Hotel Doorman (Emil Jannings), he is proud of his position at the famous Atlantic Hotel, with his responsibilities, and dressed in his fancy decorated general-like uniform. One busy rainy night he takes a short break, having carried heavy a suitcase from the wet weather, and he is seen by his Manager (Hans Unterkircher) not performing his duties in that short time, so the next day the Doorman arrives for work and is surprised to see another man in his place, he has been replaced. The Doorman learns that he has been demoted and reassigned to the less strenuous but ultimately degrading position of washroom attendant, but this decision is also because he is considered too old and not the best image to represent the hotel. He tries to hide this demotion and new position from friends and family, but eventually he is discovered, he feels dire shame, his friends think he has been lying about having his former position the whole time, taunting him, while his family shun him due to their shame. The Doorman has no choice but to continue this job, despite feeling great grief, and he uses the bathroom he works in to sleep in, but he finds kindness in the Night Watchman (Georg John) who gives his a coat to cover himself with, but he continues to fall deeper into despair. The only title card that appears at this point says that in real life the story would end with the old man dying in sadness, but the story takes an improbable turn. The Doorman inherits a fortune from a Mexican millionaire, who died in his arms in the bathroom, he later returns to the hotel he worked a happy man to dine with great amounts of food, he is joined by the Night Watchman. The final moments of the film see The Doorman respected once again, now as a rich and valued man, he and the Night Watchman get ready to leave in their horse and carriage, and they are approached by a beggar who asks for money or food, and taking pity on him the men allow him to ride with them in the carriage. Also starring Maly Delschaft as The Doorman's Daughter, Max Hiller as the Daughter's Fiancé, Emilie Kurz as the Fiancé's Aunt, Olaf Storm as as Young Guest and Emmy Wyda as a Thin Neighbor. I suppose the title meaning is to do with the slightly unfathomable and not fully explained happy ending, this was put in on insistence by the producer, probably so audiences would not complain, this could easily be seen as a dream sequence. The film is filled with great black and white imagery, including city backgrounds and hotel interiors, good costumes, Jannings is a wonderful character to sympathise with, and there is no need for any written dialogue because all the visual emotions grab you, a fantastic classic silent drama. Very good!
Michael_Elliott
Last Laugh, The (1924) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Emil Jennings plays a proud and honored doorman at a lavished hotel but soon his world is turned upside down into humiliation when he is demoted, because of his age, to working in the bathroom shining shoes. There's no doubt this is one of the most beautiful looking films ever made but it might also be one of the most depressing ever made. There were countless times during the film that I wanted to turn it off simply because it was too depressing watching this older man lose everything he loved. The beauty of the film comes from cinematographer Karl Fruend who once again shows why he was the master in his field. The incredibly haunting shots really adds to the depression felt by the lead character and the use of superimposed images just add a haunting figure to the entire film. Jennings performance has to rank as one of the greatest from any era as he really nails the proud side of this character as well as the torture and humiliation. The scene where his beloved jacket is ripped off of him is incredibly sad and the way the actor plays trying to steal it back is just as sad. The title pretty much gives away the twist at the end of the film but it's also worth noting that Murnau had this ending forced on him by the studio. One could certainly debate that it wasn't needed and it ruined the film but after so much depression I didn't mind it too much. It makes for some cute scenes and moments but I guess each viewer will debate on if it was needed. Murnau was already a genius at this point in his career and he'd go onto making even better films, which just shows how incredible he was. The most noted thing about this film is that Murnau doesn't use intertitles to tell the story. A few notes are shown but outside of that this is as silent as a silent film can get and to me it just proves that a master filmmaker and a great actor don't need words to get emotions across.
