Der letzte Mann (1924)

Director:

F.W. Murnau

Writer:

Carl Mayer (writer)

Release Date:

5 January 1925 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

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.

Plot Keywords:

Hotel | Uniform | Rain | Neighbor | Shadow

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

Also Known As:

The Last Laugh (USA)
Le dernier des hommes (Belgium: French title) (dubbed version) (France) [fr]
A Última Gargalhada (Brazil) [pt]
Der Hotelportier (Austria) [de]
El último (Spain) [es]
El darrer home (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
L'ultima risata (Italy) [it]
Le dernier rire (France) [fr]
O Último dos Homens (Portugal) [pt]
O teleftaios ton anthropon (Greece) [el]
Portier z hotelu Atlantic (Poland) [pl]
Sista skrattet (Sweden) [sv]
Viimeinen mies (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

77 min | Germany:101 min | Spain:90 min (DVD edition) | USA:90 min

Country:

Germany

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating) | Finland:S (1967) | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Universum Film (UFA)

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".

Goofs:

Continuity: When the porter comes home with the stolen coat, the third button down (which fell off earlier) is still there until a close-up of him at the door.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Der letzte Mann - Das Making of (2003) (V)

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.