The Last Command
1927-28 – Emil Jannings
The Last Command
I’m going to be honest. Prior to watching this film, I had never even heard of the name Emil Jannings. But clearly he was a skilled actor, who knew exactly what he was doing in front of the camera. He completely inhabited the part of Grand Duke Sergius Alexander, the Czar’s cousin and commander of all his armies. The movie itself was actually incredible, and incidentally, I would put it up on par with Wings, the first movie to ever win the Outstanding Picture award.
Jannings had complete command of the screen from his first entrance as an old broken, haunted man peeking his head around a door. He had intense eyes that drew the viewer’s attention. He appeared damaged and frail. His head shook constantly, as if he had a touch of palsy. Actually, as I’m thinking about it, permanent character mannerisms or movements might have been like verbal accents in silent films. It’s alright if it is there, as long as the actor keeps it consistent. If he drops it, the audience will notice. Jannings did just fine.
The complexity of the film, and of his role, demanded a lot from the actor, and Jannings clearly understood the nuances of the character. The film starts out as he is cast in a film about revolutionary Russia. As he is getting into his costume, we learn that he was actually once great man, Russian royalty. But now he is poor and humbled, living in a foreign company, and stripped of all his former titles and privileges. Then the flashback begins, and we see him in his prime, a proud and powerful commander.
Most of the movie tells the story of how he meets a beautiful woman who is part of the Russian Revolution that wants to put an end to the Czars. He manages to convince her that he loves Russia just as much as she does, in his own way. But their romance is not meant to be. During the revolt, he sees her die in his place in a terrible train wreck. And Jannings pulled it all off with passion and intensity. The climactic final scene where acting in the movie brings back the traumatic events of his past was powerful to watch, all thanks to a great actor I’d never even heard of.
Jannings was also nominated for a movie called The Way of All Flesh, but I cannot find this film to watch it.