Monday, February 9, 2015
Shiny, Happy People
The concluding scene of The Last Laugh depicts the incredible gluttony and generosity of the unnamed, demoted doorman after he miraculously inherits a fortune from a dying American millionaire. He feasts on mounds of food, eating caviar as if it were candy and drinking champagne as if it were water. A tracking shot of the "spread" emphasizes the opulence and indulgence of our hero. What is the point of this ending? Is is a happy ending or a parody of a happy ending? Is this supposed to be objective reality or a fantasy? Is this a cynical commercial ploy or is there deeper significance to the ending?
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The point of the alternate ending in The Last Laugh that depicts the rich doorman as feasting on mounds of food and smiling exuberantly is to display the effect luck and in his case, money has on people. The first ending that concluded with the doorman being left all alone in the bathroom, is a tragic ending to finalize his fall from the top. He lost everything in his fall; from being a doorman and having the respect of his neighbors and colleagues, to being a bathroom attendant that is completely embarrassed and gets laughed at by his neighbors. It is therefore fitting that in the end he is shown in such a pitiful state. The alternate ending, however, depicts the effect that some good luck has on people. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and his life becomes completely different and is altered immensely because of it. The role that luck plays can be life changing, as it was for this doorman. In the alternate ending, he has tons of food to feast on and gets served by people, which is the opposite of the situation he was in prior to winning all that money. The purpose behind this alternate ending is not only to provide a happy ending to a very tragic story about falling from the top to the very bottom of society, but also to portray the effects luck can have on someone, regardless of the situation they are in.
ReplyDeleteThe alternate ending of The Last Laugh adds another dimension to the story as it introduces the truth about success and wealth. From the popular doorman, to the lone bathroom attendant, to the unintended millionaire, the protagonist's story demonstrates that wealth and success are merely achieved by luck. While this does not mean that one can only become wealthy if a millionaire dies in their arms, the doorman loses his job without an adequate explanation and he gains his wealth in the least realistic way possible. The true meaning of the film is that wealth can be lost or gained in the blink of an eye, and humans do not have control of their own lives and their own success. Without the alternate ending, the viewer would simply believe that this film is a sad story about a man losing his way, but adding just one scene, changes the entire message. Regarding the filming of the scene and the events that occur, it is a complete exaggeration of reality. The men eat and drink everything in sight including caviar and champagne and the scene is consumed by their gluttony. Due to the outrageousness of this scene, the viewer can truly understand the effects of wealth on the protagonist. Also, the protagonist's attitude throughout this scene is similar to how he acts in the beginning of the film when he was a doorman. This explains the connection between his wealth and power, and his happiness. In the film, being powerful and respected is the most important part of his life, so when he feels that power, he is more content with himself. Overall, the alternate ending concludes the movie with a cheerful and intriguing scene that leaves the viewer pondering about the role of luck in the protagonist’s life.
ReplyDeleteThere are a couple points that are made during this final scene in The Last Laugh. The main point that I see was that good things happen to good people. The main actor works very hard every day at work and then gets fired due to old age. After this he goes and gets a job as a bathroom attendant. He worked hard and eventually things went his way and he gets rich. Another point to it is that hard work pays off and even if he didn’t make his money through working he tried very hard and ended up getting lucky to make his money. I think that it is a genuine happy ending to the story. Not only does he get what he works so hard for he shares his wealth with his former co-workers who need it more than he does. I think that it could be taken as a parody but because he gives back to his community as much as he does. The ending is supposed to be a fantasy about the ideal situation and what would happen if he ended up achieving his goal of being rich. I think that there is a deeper significance to the end of the show, I think that him giving back was important because he it shows that he started at the bottom and now that he has the money he is giving some back.
ReplyDeleteThe epilogue of F.W. Murnau’s “The Last Laugh” is purely a superficial and comical parody of an unrealistic and over dramatized happy ending. “The Last Laugh” is the story of the downfall of an aging Hotel Doorman, who when loses this job, is laughed at by seemingly all of society. The path of the movie appears to be heading towards his life in despair, until the doorman unexpectedly and unrealistically inherits a lucrative fortune. This transition between life in despair and life full of richness is announced by the only intertitle in the film, which divides the film into two vastly different sections. The intertitle reads, “Here our story should really end, for in actual life the forlorn old man would have little to look forward to but death. The author took pity on him, however, and provided quite an improbable epilogue.” Explicitly announcing the “improbableness” of the following epilogue is the first indication that it should not be taken seriously or be closely associated with the first half. It is speculated that the studio did not like F.W. Murnau’s first tragic ending, and forced him to “tack on” a happier ending. This would explain the abrupt change in mood. In the film preceding the epilogue, the mood of the movie is somber. The doorman is embarrassed and depressed, which is evident in his sluggish movement. For instance, while he is demoted to the bathroom attendant, he does not have the energy to clean a man’s shoes, or hand him a towel. Yet after only a short intertitle and learning about his new improbable fortune the doorman is full of energy, ecstatic with life, eating extravagant food and spreading his newfound wealth. I understand that perhaps this sudden change could symbolize how one’s luck can suddenly change or symbolize the effect of karma on one’s position in life. However, if this was the intention of the filmmaker, then there would be no need for the intertitle to create a break in the film. This unbelievably quick change of events almost makes the viewer forget about the fundamental themes of the film– dealing with self-worth, the difficulties of growing old, and the effect of gossip on one’s self esteem. Moreover, the title of the film, “The Last Laugh”, may not only be referring to the protagonist’s last laugh, but to the filmmaker’s last laugh over the studio. The studio wanted a happy ending? Well, F.W. Murnau certainly gave them one, but one that was unrealistic and undermined the important themes of the movie.
ReplyDeleteBy analyzing F.W. Murnau's "The Last Laugh" more thoroughly, the film can also be seen as a strong critic on a capitalistic, money-driven society. When our friend the doorman had a good job, he was very respected in his community and even admired by some, but as he loses his job and becomes a bathroom attendant, all his prestige is gone. Even his family turns their back on him. What the director is trying to say here is that what you are worth is not based on who you are, but in what you own.
ReplyDeleteIf you carry that mindset through the ending. where the doorman becomes all of a sudden a millionaire after inheriting from a deceased man, not only does F.W. revisits the question of how building up wealth was not a fruit of hard work but rather luck and connections, he also mocks the behavior of members of the high society in scenes such as when the doorman is eating caviar and doing large amounts of shopping, as if that made him to be at the top of the world, but what really happen is that it results in a comic reaction, as the behavior is simply ridiculous, which deepens the critic on the high class members even more.
On the other hand, I felt that this was a fair ending to our hardworking doorman, which suffered the inevitable which all human beings are condemned to, the weight of aging. As much as he tried to carry the heavy bags, his body wouldn't allow him anymore and therefore he became unsuitable for the job. For a time that had no retirement policy what so ever, elder people were simply tossed away, which reminds me a quote from a book I read last year, "The Death of a Salesman", where the main Character Willy, which was a salesman all his life, is simply fired when he most needs money in order to finish paying his mortgage because he is too old, and then he says : "You can't eat the orange, and throw the peel away - a man is not a piece of fruit", which couldn't be closer to the truth. For a time that lacked support for veteran workers, this movie could just have been one of the sparks that began labor acts for more rights for senior workers.
DeleteThis ending isn’t the way that Murnau wanted to end the film. If Murnau had his way, it would have ended with the doorman at his lowest point before the American millionaire died in his arms and gave him all his money. I think that Murnau was very upset with the studio for not letting him have his way and had his own Last Laugh with how he chose to end the movie. The ending is very sarcastic and the people around the doorman still don’t seem to respect him. Everyone is still laughing at the doorman every time they see him and it seems like they still don’t respect him at all. It gives the viewer a false sense of satisfaction. You can see this when they are eating and the director uses a deep focus. This shows the people’s expressions in the background and it seems as if they can control their laughter at the sight of the doorman. This shows the sarcasm that is placed in this so called “happy ending”. This doesn’t let the viewer leave fully happy for the doorman because they still see all of the members of the wealthier community laughing at them and making fun of them. Murnau does this on purpose to get back at the studio for not letting him do his version of the film so he ends the movie with a false sense of happiness. The wealthier people clearly don’t welcome the doorman in to their community because no one wants to talk to him and they all seem disgusted by his sight in the restaurant. The ending to this movie is the clearest example of sarcasm I’ve seen in a silent film. The ending of this film is Murnau’s revenge against the studio for forcing him to have a happy ending.
ReplyDeleteThis obviously satirical ending emphasizes the absurdity of this miracle through the intertitles and the actions of the patrons. The first indication of a sarcastic ending is hidden the word choice of the intertitles. The writer claims that that in “actual life” the old man would have had an alternate ending, already hinting at the fact that the following scenes are completely made up. In fact, the way in which this miracle occurs itself is almost humorous. It says in the newspaper that the man “died washing his hands”, somewhat mocking at the death of the man. It seems as if the writer of this epilogue was told to change the ending of the film to something more ‘suitable’; as a result, the writer chose a nearly impossible ending, promising his audience that such endings were so optimistic that they unfortunately seldom occur. Furthermore, this “improbable ending” is portrayed through the actions of the patrons. The people in the lobby of the hotel seem to be mocking at the recipient of the generous fortune, since he was the bathroom attendant. They seem to gossip in the same way that the townspeople, associating a negative connotation with the news shared. In addition, the two benefactors of this fortune seem to behave in such a way that most people might frown upon. They are disrespectful with their eating habits and careless with their money, giving much of it away to the hotel workers. All in all, the ending is an improbable one and was most certainly written in a way that would portray it in such a way.
ReplyDeleteWhile it is true that the formerly demoted doorman bathes in his wealth and is acting in excess, he never forgets where he came from and shares his wealth with people of lower economic and social status. Before gaining his wealth, the doorman was demoted to the lowly position of bathroom attendant. He hits rock bottom and is a broken man who has lost his job. He comes to accept that he will never get his old job back when he confronts a night guard and returns the uniform of his prior job. The uniform was the last relic of the job that had given him so much pride. Instead of ridiculing the poor old man, as the rest of the community had, the night guard sees the pain the demoted doorman and is the first person to actually show him sympathy.
ReplyDeleteLater in the film, the doorman’s luck changes and he acquires a great fortune. When the now wealthy doorman sees Night Guard at the restaurant, he embraces him, for he appreciates the sympathy that his friend had showed him when he was down. The old man then proceeds to invite his friend to dine with him; he seeks to share his wealth with the man who shared kindness with him. This is the first example of kindness shown by the doorman. Later, the old man goes to the bathroom that he had worked in and comes across the bathroom’s new attendant. The Old Man takes pity on the attendant since no one respects bathroom attendants. The doorman kisses the attendant and gives him an incredibly generous tip! In addition, when another man comes to use the bathroom sink, the Old Man makes sure that he also doesn't leave without giving the bathroom attendant a tip. This is the second instance of kindness of the doorman. In the last scene of film, we see Old Man giving tips to all the workers that he crosses. The film ends with him giving a ride to a beggar on his horse and carriage.
At every moment in this story, the old man does not miss an opportunity to be kind. Even after he acquires great wealth, he does not forget the modest place from where he came. He remembers the people who helped him, and does all that he can to help them. In the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus says, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The Doorman treats himself like a king, but he treats his friends like kings as well. It would be much better to be a generous person who lives in gluttony, than a stingy person, who shows no kindness to those around him. The doorman has love for himself and for those around him. He displays a sense of compassion that the wealthy class had denied him. The antithesis of the doorman is Ebenezer Schooge of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. In this story, Scrooge is a wealthy individual who holds all of his money and kindness to himself. He is depicted as a wicked person who lacks in love and compassion. When choosing between Scrooge and the doorman, it is clear that the doorman is a hero worthy of a happy ending.