DER LETZTE MANN (THE LAST LAUGH)
Germany, 1924, 73 minutes, Black and white.
Emil Jannings.
Directed by F.W. Murnau.
Der Letzte Mann (The Last Laugh) is a striking film from the German industry between the wars. While there was much entertainment, the German industry was considering serious themes and considering them strikingly with expressionistic styles. F. W. Murnau was one of the main contributors to the industry at this time as well as making films later in Hollywood (Sunrise).
The film was written by Carl Mayer and photographed by Karl Freund (who was also to move to Hollywood). The film stars Emile Jannings as the hotel doorman, the last man of the title. Jannings was to work in America and receive the first Best Actor Oscar (The Last Command, The Way of All Flesh). After appearing in The Blue Angel, he remained in Germany during the '30s.
The film has great pathos: the portrait of the chief doorman of the Hotel Atlantic is a striking one, he works hard, carrying heavy trunks into the hotel but enjoying the glamour of his uniform. He is a person who has great respect from his neighbours. His daughter is preparing to marry the house keeper's nephew. On the wedding day, he finds that there is a new doorman and he has been relegated to lavatory attendant. He keeps his uniform but tries to get it back to the office. However, the housekeeper surprises him and discovers the demotion. The news spreads quickly and he is jeered by his neighbours and rejected by his daughter. There is a most peculiar postscript to the film in which the doorman receives a huge amount of money as beneficiary of an eccentric American who has died in his arms in the lavatory. He now eats in style with a friend in the hotel restaurant and tips and shares his carriage with a beggar from the streets. Most commentators feel that the epilogue bears little resemblance to the rest of the film which is quite grim in its portrait of the pathetic doorman.
Jannings was able to create this kind of character excellently and with Murnau's imaginative direction - a creative use of black and white photography, movement, playing with shapes and designs, the film is an interesting example of silent cinematic art symbolising a character. It has a great deal to say about human nature.
