The Last Laugh

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The Last Laugh

Theatrical Poster
Directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
Produced by Erich Pommer
Written by Carl Mayer
Starring Emil Jannings
Maly Delschaft
Cinematography Karl Freund
Distributed by UFA
Release date(s) December 23, 1924
Running time 101 minutes
Country Germany
Language Silent film
German intertitles
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Last Laugh (German: Der letzte Mann) is a German 1924 silent film directed by German director F. W. Murnau and based on a Broadway play by Charles W. Goddard.

It is the most famous example of the short-lived Kammerspiel or "chamber-drama" genre.

This was one of the first films to incorporate a moving camera (although references to cameras following characters up stairs in Murnau's earlier film, Der Januskopf, may point to an even earlier use). The set was built entirely within a studio, unusual for Murnau who preferred to shoot on location.

Contents

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Jannings' character, the doorman for a famous hotel, loses his job as he is considered too old and infirm. He tries to conceal this fact from his friends and family, but to his shame, he is discovered.

At the end, the doorman inherits a fortune and is able to dine happily at the same hotel he used to work for.

Spoilers end here.

  • Emil Jannings as Hotelportier [hotel porter]
  • Maly Delschaft as Seine nichte [his niece]
  • Max Hiller as Ihr bräutigam [her bridgroom]
  • Emilie Kurz as Bridegroom's aunt
  • Hans Unterkircher as Geschäftsführer [hotel manager]
  • Olaf Storm as Junger gast [young guest]
  • Hermann Vallentin as Spitzbäuchiger gast [guest with pot belly]
  • Georg John as Nachtwächter [night watchman]
  • Emmy Wydaa as Dünne nachbarin [thin neighbor]

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