It’s not often that you get the opportunity to watch a century-old film. Luckily for students of the Film History course, film teacher Justin Bull organized a screening of The Last Laugh (Murnau 1924). The Last Laugh is a German film about an esteemed doorman who suddenly loses his position and is appointed to the lowly rank of washroom attendant. The silent film is filled with moments of grief, misery, and the concepts of status and position. In Bull’s words, “What can a 100-year-old film tell us about dignity and what it means to be human?”
Though starkly old, this 100-year-old film does no less than the films of today at striking you with emotion. A part of what makes this film so touching is the parallels we can find in our own lives. What parts of human nature in this early film persist to this day? Bull says, “It’s a film at its core about our basic need for purpose in life... What is our identity when we lose our career? When we strip that away, who are we at our core?” Watching the story of the doorman losing his dignity, his dreams crushed, and his neighbors reacting to his failure generates incredible empathy for the man.
The Last Laugh is also a silent film, with the usage of title cards as the only means of narration. This leads to a myriad of possibilities but also takes away from the nuance and connotation of language. In Bull’s words, “If you tell a story in a pure visual format, you are forced to distill the elements of the story to something more pure,” This film especially prioritizes its visuals, keeping the number of title cards to one, which is incredibly low for the period. Though silent, the film is able to express the deepest sorrows and the beautiful hopes of the unfortunate doorman through dramatic lighting, set design, and incredible acting.
The Last Laugh has been incredibly influential in the history of film. The film was an incredible hit during its time, and it introduced innovative ways to use the camera. Bull says, “Murnau introduces in the Last Laugh, the concept of the unchained camera, a camera no longer constrained by only moving when the actors move. It can float through air to convey sound or deeper emotional meaning.” In fact, the very concept of the dolly shot was invented on the set of this film. The film was a trailblazer for the tracking shots we see in the films of today.
An incredibly influential silent film, filled with themes that still resonate with audiences of today, The Last Laugh may be one of the most impactful films of all time, both to the history of film and to the audiences it has reached. As for the actual contents of the film, you will have to experience the story in person.