The aging concierge of a luxurious Berlin hotel takes utter pride in his position. Soon, he is phased out by management and must face the personal humiliation and disdain from those around him. In a time when movies tell you everything a character is thinking and explain their every action, with The Last Laugh F.W. Murnau was able to convey a heartbreaking story without the use of sound and, aside from an introductory and epilogue card, no intertitles whatsoever. Emil Jannings' Doorman is an incredible creation and the film is filled with so many memorably framed sequences, including a knowingly anachronistic, not to say welcomed, jovial ending.
**** out of ****
