The Last Command (1928)

Here's my little review: I still absolutely adore this movie! It has a story and yet one of the best ever, and an excellent performance by Emil Jannings (he won the first Academy Award for Best Actor). It has a very sad touching ending. An unforgettable brilliant classic! I'd give it a strong 10/10!

Sure the absence of spoken dialogue, flimsy sets and obvious miniatures mark this movie as an antique, but it does grab you. It is easy to disregard the antique technical aspects of the film, but the psychology of the protagonists are equally out of date. Did people in 1928 swallow the unlikely behavior of the protagonists as reflecting real life or did they see it as necessary plot components of a fantasy. I suspect the latter.William Powell was most naturalistic in his acting. He played a calculating, humorless, dictatorial movie director. The antithesis of Nick Charles. Jannings got a chance to strut his famous histrionics, and he puts on quite a show. Brent could be a smoldering Garbo one minute and a Joan Crawford flapper the next. Her behavior was designed for script purposes and did not simulate any fully fleshed out character.Director Joseph von Sternberg (nee Jonas Sternberg)and Jannings reached their career heights with The Blue Angel two years later. Von Sternberg could really stretch out a quiet, actionless scene and fill it with tension. He was successful in Hollywood for a while and then his career crashed. Jannings became a Nazi in Germany and slid into obscurity and early death after WWII.The movie can be gripping. It is well done, but the characters are acting out a movie style fantasy that is not longer palatable. I couldn't suspend my disbelief. Hey, times change.

It was sad that when the war ended he was black listed from films for good.But he was dying of cancer and didn't have the strength to fight to get to the white list. He ended his days as a successful farmer. It seems thats , even though it takes place in 1917, Evelyn Brent, who was ten years younger than Emil,was wearing a 1928 curly hair bob and a 1928 dress.But that was the only inaccuracies the film have. Everything else seemed accurate for that period, Emil did a excellent performance as the grand Duke, thinking he's doing his duty for Russia and yet does not agree with everything with the czar. A young William Powell, who plays Lev Andreyev, who's fed up with the Czars dictatorships and want to see it fall who is a stage director at the theater.Evelyn Brent, in her roaring twenties look,plays Natalie who is fed up with the Czar dictatorship and hangs around with Lev , until he get's arrested. Well Natalie fall for the duke , once she learns he doesn't agrees with the war .Well The Russain people revolt and take over the train station, that Emil and Evelyn and the troops are going to take. Knowing disaster going to Happen to Emil, she pretends to oppose him. So she could get him to shovel the coal in the train and then give him back his pearls , he gave her. so he can sell it and leave Russia. Well as soon a Emil jumps out of the train he witnesses it ending up in the icy river, as the bridge collapse.Now he is an extra in Hollywood working for Lev , who escaped Russia now works for paramount pictures. Poor Emil ends up dropping dead after his performance in recreation of the revolution he had experience. Why did not Emil took English language lessons when he was in Hollywood. He would not of have to work under Hitler. I don't think Evelyn or Williams were simultaneously shooting Paramounts first talkie. That was probably middle 28.

The Last Command (1928) is a silent film directed by Josef von Sternberg.It shows us Czarist General, Grand Duke Sergius Alexander (Emil Jannings) in his days of glory.In 1917 he had all the power but after the revolution and the collapse of Imperial Russia he has nothing.He also had the love of a woman, Natalie Dabrova (Evelyn Brent).About ten years later he applies for a small part in a film about the revolution.His old enemy Lev Andreyev (William Powell) is the director who gets to choose whether to hire him as a film extra or not.The Last Command is very good silent drama.Emil Jannings does memorable role work in the lead.Evelyn Brent is wonderful playing the woman lead.William Powell is great as always.There are plenty of scenes to remember in this movie.Like many scenes with Jannings and Brent.And then there is the ending with Powell and Jannings.This is a movie that touches in many parts.