The Last Laugh (1924)

Rating: 4 Stars (out of 4)

Door to Doorman

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy The Last Laugh on DVD

F.W. Murnau's The Last Laugh (1924, Kino, $29.95) perhaps occupies a lesser level in the director's canon, but it still put 90% of all other filmmakers to shame. The Last Laugh stars the irrepressible Emil Jannings, at the time considered perhaps the finest of all screen actors (although his wild histrionics will put most of today's viewers off). An aging hotel doorman, dressed in an elegant uniform finds himself replaced by a younger man, then transferred to the men's washroom as an attendant wearing a simple white coat. The uniform gone, the doorman's dignity and pride also disappear. But Murnau, under pressure from studio brass, added a silly happy ending in which the doorman inherits a fortune and lives like a prince. The film is notable for its smooth, moving, tracking camera and its complete lack of intertitles, making it a true universal experience. (Perhaps too universal -- many critics complained about the lack of personality in the lead character.) The film was a worldwide smash and producers happily gave Murnau carte blanche for his next several films.

DVD Details: This Kino DVD boasts an excellent transfer and a good musical score, plus an amazing photo gallery of Murnau at work. Sadly, it contains a slight diagonal black scar running across the top of the frame, but I was able to ignore it for most of the running time. Best of all, Kino has finally abandoned its cheap cardboard "snap" cases in favor of the stronger, plastic "keep" cases.

Starring: Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Max Hiller, Emilie Kurz, Hans Unterkircher, Olaf Storm, Hermann Vallentin, Georg John, Emmy Wyda
Written by: Carl Mayer
Directed by: F.W. Murnau
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 74 minutes
Date: July 20, 2001