Context and Craft: The Last Laugh (Der Letzte Mann) 1924
Country: Germany
Production Company: UFA
Year of Release: 1924
Director: F.W. Murnau
Writer: Carl Mayer
Lead Performers: Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Max Hiller
Production Company: UFA
Year of Release: 1924
Director: F.W. Murnau
Writer: Carl Mayer
Lead Performers: Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Max Hiller
Synopsis
The Last Laugh tells the story of an aging hotel Doorman who loses his job because of his old age and is demoted to Washroom assistant, and now must face the social consequences.
The Film
F.W. Marnau was at the height of his success in Germany, after having made the financially and critically successful Nosferatu (1922), and had received his first offer to work with the massive German production company UFA (the single largest production company in Germany at the time). Murnau had great ambition for his new film and decided he wanted to achieve his ultimate goal, to create a “true” piece of cinema in the, a piece of cinema that doesn’t involve “all the tricks, devices and clichés inherited from the stage and books” something based in the “true domain of Cinema” (Wakeman 1987, p.811).
Such tricks refer to the use of title cards (making the audience read what’s happening instead of seeing) and static shots (much like a theatre performance). Murnau wanted to work with Carl Mayer, who had previously worked on such films as The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari and Sylvester (a film famous for its lack of title cards). Murnau referred to him as someone who worked in the “true domain of Cinema”. What Murnau and Mayer came up with was The Last Laugh, which began production in the spring of 1924 (Wakeman 1987, p.813).
The film itself has been described as “predominantly a German tragedy, and can only be understood in a country where uniform is king, not to say god” (Lotte Eisner). The film was being produced in a country that sat within a lot of political and social turmoil. The German “Second Reich” had just collapsed due to the pressure of the First World War, and a new and extremely progressive “Weimar Republic” emerged in its place. For many this was a great opportunity, as the Weimar Republic brought about many positive aspects of American social life, such as the ability for people to climb the social ladder, and it made it possible to have such things as UFA (a corporation its size could never have existed in the time of German Empire). However for many who had grown up within the Empire, this new progressive style of living was bizarre and terrifying, many had grown up in a world where as described by Eisnern, “uniform is king” and the man is the head of the household. The film has therefor been seen as a reflection of the insecurities many faced during this time.
Along with the film being a massive critical and financial success (the film payed for Murnau’s next two productions), it seems as if Murnau achieved his goal of working in the true domain of cinema, as almost everyone who viewed the film praised it for its fluid and almost entirely “cinematic” way of storytelling. Film critic Paul Rotha has said that The Last Laugh “established the film as an independent medium of expression… Everything that had to be said, was said entirely through the camera”. The film has also been noted for using extremely influential techniques previously unseen before in cinema, such as tracking shots, the camera fading through objects, 1st person POV and breaking the 4th wall. The films legacy is an extremely important and influential one and a true gem of German cinema.
By Barnaby Falck
The Last Laugh tells the story of an aging hotel Doorman who loses his job because of his old age and is demoted to Washroom assistant, and now must face the social consequences.
The Film
F.W. Marnau was at the height of his success in Germany, after having made the financially and critically successful Nosferatu (1922), and had received his first offer to work with the massive German production company UFA (the single largest production company in Germany at the time). Murnau had great ambition for his new film and decided he wanted to achieve his ultimate goal, to create a “true” piece of cinema in the, a piece of cinema that doesn’t involve “all the tricks, devices and clichés inherited from the stage and books” something based in the “true domain of Cinema” (Wakeman 1987, p.811).
Such tricks refer to the use of title cards (making the audience read what’s happening instead of seeing) and static shots (much like a theatre performance). Murnau wanted to work with Carl Mayer, who had previously worked on such films as The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari and Sylvester (a film famous for its lack of title cards). Murnau referred to him as someone who worked in the “true domain of Cinema”. What Murnau and Mayer came up with was The Last Laugh, which began production in the spring of 1924 (Wakeman 1987, p.813).
The film itself has been described as “predominantly a German tragedy, and can only be understood in a country where uniform is king, not to say god” (Lotte Eisner). The film was being produced in a country that sat within a lot of political and social turmoil. The German “Second Reich” had just collapsed due to the pressure of the First World War, and a new and extremely progressive “Weimar Republic” emerged in its place. For many this was a great opportunity, as the Weimar Republic brought about many positive aspects of American social life, such as the ability for people to climb the social ladder, and it made it possible to have such things as UFA (a corporation its size could never have existed in the time of German Empire). However for many who had grown up within the Empire, this new progressive style of living was bizarre and terrifying, many had grown up in a world where as described by Eisnern, “uniform is king” and the man is the head of the household. The film has therefor been seen as a reflection of the insecurities many faced during this time.
Along with the film being a massive critical and financial success (the film payed for Murnau’s next two productions), it seems as if Murnau achieved his goal of working in the true domain of cinema, as almost everyone who viewed the film praised it for its fluid and almost entirely “cinematic” way of storytelling. Film critic Paul Rotha has said that The Last Laugh “established the film as an independent medium of expression… Everything that had to be said, was said entirely through the camera”. The film has also been noted for using extremely influential techniques previously unseen before in cinema, such as tracking shots, the camera fading through objects, 1st person POV and breaking the 4th wall. The films legacy is an extremely important and influential one and a true gem of German cinema.
By Barnaby Falck
Further Reading
Ebert, Roger. The Last Laugh Movie Review & Film Summary (1924) (All Content. Chicago Sun-Times, 5 Mar. 2000. Web. 10 Feb. 2016.)
Eisner, Lotte H. Murnau. (Berkeley: U of California, 1973.)
Wakeman, John. World Film Directors. (New York: H.W. Wilson, 1987.)
Eisner, Lotte H. Murnau. (Berkeley: U of California, 1973.)
Wakeman, John. World Film Directors. (New York: H.W. Wilson, 1987.)