Der letzte Mann
AKA The Last Laugh and The Last Man in the USA; The Last Laugh in the United Kingdom
(1924) German
B&W : Seven reels / 2036 metres
Directed by F.W. Murnau

Cast: Emil Jannings [hotelportier (hotel doorman)], Mady Delschaft [seine nichte (his niece)], Max Hiller [ihr bräutigam (her bridegroom)], Emilie Kurz [bridegroom’s aunt], Georg John [nachtwächter (night watchman)], Hans Unterkirchen [geschäftführer (hotel manager)], Olaf Storm [junger gast (young guest)], Hermann Vallentin [spitzbäuchiger gast (potbellied guest)], Emmy Wyda [dünne nachbarin (thin neighbor)], Harald Madsen [wedding musician], Carl Schenstrøm [wedding musician], Neumann-Schüler

Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft [UFA] production; distributed by Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft [UFA]. / Produced by Erich Pommer. Scenario by Carl Mayer. Production design by Robert Herlth and Walter Röhrig. Assistant director Edgar G. Ulmer. Cinematography by Karl Freund + [Robert Baberske]. Original music score by Giuseppe Becce. / German premiere 23 December 1924. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.37:1 format. / Jannings was only 29 years old when he performed this role. The film uses no intertitles to tell its story. In 1990, an original script for this film was discovered with film intertitles throughout. The film was released in the USA on 4 January 1925 by Universal Pictures Corporation [Jewel].

Drama.

Survival Status: Print exists.

Keywords: Alcohol: Drunkeness - Baggage - Demotion - Doormen - Hallucinations - Hotels - Night watchmen - Shame - Status - Street scenes - Transportation: Automobiles - Uniforms - Washroom attendants

Listing updated: 12 October 2007.

References: Film viewing : Bardèche-History pp. 255-256, 383; Bohn-Light pp. xxiii, 129-130, 131, 133, 152; Brownlow-Parade pp. 26, 92; Card-Seductive pp. 52, 60-61; Everson-American pp. 137, 196, 298, 318, 319, 321; FilmDaily-1926 pp. 20, 31, 45; Gallagher-Ford pp. 49, 52, 53, 55, 80; Kerr-Silent pp. 8, 46-47; Lahue-Collecting pp. 33, 37; Leish-Cinema pp. 33-34, 37; Limbacher-Feature p. 136; Lloyd-Seventy pp. 33-34; Maltin-Guide p. 702; McCaffrey-Guide p. 12; Nollen-Karloff pp. 89, 120; Sarris-Sternberg pp. 10, 11; Shipman-Cinema p. 85; Sinyard-Silent p. 161; Slide-Aspects p. 132; Taylor-Hitchcock p. 56; Vermilye-Twenties pp. 179, 186; Weinberg-Lubitsch p. 325 : ClasIm-220 p. 11 : Website-IMDb.

Home Video: DVD.