Movies - The Last Laugh

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	Movies - The Last Laugh

The Last Laugh : A New Philosophy of Near-Death Experiences, Apparitions, and the Paranormal is a book by Dr. Raymond Moody presenting case histories of adults and children who have clinically reached the point of death and survived.

See: near-death experience

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The Last Laugh (Der Letzte Mann) is a 1924 silent film by German director F. W. Murnau and based on a Broadway play by Charles W. Goddard. It is the most famous example of the short-lived Kammerspiel or "chamber-drama" genre.

This was one of the first films to incorporate a moving camera (although references to cameras following characters up stairs in Murnau's earlier film, Der Januskopf, may point to an even earlier use. The set was built entirely within a studio, unusual for a Murnau film. Murnau, as an expressionist director, tended to prefer shots on location. Perhaps the best example of this is Tabu (1931), which is shot entirely on location at Bora Bora.

Often translated as The Last Laugh, the German gives a slighly more sinister title: The Last Man. Janning's character, the doorman for a famous hotel, loses his job as he is considered too old and infirm. He tries to conceal this fact from his friends and family, but to his shame, he is discovered. In the end, the doorman inherits a fortune and is able to dine happily at the same hotel he used to work for. Carl Mayer (the sceenwriter) was forced into this happy ending in order to help the film appeal to a mass audience.

The special effects displayed in this film are outstanding for the time (1924). The use of models and moving scenery implies depth in a small studio, leading the viewer to believe that each shot is actually within a large and imposing cityscape. One of the remarkable characteristics of this film is the fact of not using titles to explain history, but depends only on the cinematografic resources. 'The Last Laugh' is one of Murnau's most memorable films, and has recently been made available on DVD.

See also: German film history, F. W. Murnau

de:Der letzte Mann

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