Der Letzte Mann[The Last Laugh]

(c) AJMalouin 2006
(Rating: 6 by Al)
(1924—F.W. Murnau—Germany) (1 hr. 13. Not rated.)

Here’s another film by Murnau, the guy who jump-started Alfred Hitchcock. This is the last film Murnau made in Germany before coming to the USA to be touted as “the German genius” by William Fox, of Hollywood fame.

“The Last Laugh” tells the story of a door captain at a luxury hotel. One day the doorman is stripped of his coat and rank, and begins a humiliating descent into the position of Washroom Attendant. Murnau’s placement of the camera to capture and explain this downward spiral of humiliation is among the many talents that have earned him a permanent place as a fabulous filmmaker.

Made in 1926, “The Last Laugh” is a silent film. A Brussels poll organized in 1958 included “The Last Laugh” as “one of the 12 best films of all time.”

The screening of it that Al saw at the Detroit Film Theatre featured the piano accompaniment of David Drazin. Drazin plays out of Chicago, Illinois, where he has acquired, among other things, a national reputation for creating musical accompaniment for silent films.