Main Cast: Emil Jannings, Emil Jannings, Evelyn Brent, William Powell, Nicholas Soussanin, Michael Visaroff
Release Year: 1928
Country: US
Run Time: 88 minutes
Plot
Josef vonSternberg's The Last Command was inspired by the true story of General Lodijenski, a Russian aristocrat who arrived penniless in the US after the 1917 Revolution and who supported himself by playing movie bit parts and managing a Russian restaurant. Emil Jannings stars as the Grand Duke Sergius Alexander, who in the last days of the Romanoff regime must decide the fate of two revolutionist actors, Leo Andreyev (William Powell) and the gorgeous Natacha (Evelyn Brent). Andreyev is carted off to prison, while Natacha becomes the Duke's mistress. She fully intends to kill him, but when the chance arises, she hesitates, having come to realize that the Duke is an essentially decent man who loves Russia as much as she does. Comes the revolution, and Natacha helps the Grand Duke escape the Bolsheviks, losing her own life in the process. The death of Natacha sends Sergius Alexander into a nervous shock, from which he never fully recovers. Years later, a shabby Sergius is eking out an existence as a Hollywood extra. Hired to play a Russian general in a crowd scene, Sergius discovers that his director is none other than former Russian revolutionary Leo Andreyev. The meaning of the title is clarified in the film's emotional climax. Plot inconsistencies aside, The Last Command is a stunning cinematic achievement, combining the harsh realities of Russia and Hollywood with vonSternberg's unerring sense of visual beauty. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Josef von Sternberg's films are known for their sumptuous atmosphere; his evocative lighting and shadows made Marlene Dietrich a sex symbol for the ages. Though some critics find his films to be inconsequential exercises in style, 1928's The Last Command demonstrated that he was capable of more. The picture features his typically stunning photography, but, in this case, the plot and performances are equally interesting. Much of the credit for the film's lasting impact goes to venerable German actor Emil Jannings. In the kind of "fallen man" role that he was known for (as in The Last Laugh and von Sternberg's later The Blue Angel), Jannings' gift for forlorn tragedy matches the movie's perceptions about the cruelty of life. He won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Actor for this part, as well as for his role in The Way of All Flesh. The glory was short-lived, as his heavy German accent hindered his career in Hollywood talkies. ~ Brendon Hanley, All Movie Guide
Fritz Feld - A Revolutionist; Alexander Ikonnikov - Drillmaster; Nicholas Kobylianmky - Diillmaster; Gen. Wietshelav Savitsky - A Private; Harry Semels - Soldier Extra; Jack Raymond - Assistant Director
The plot concerns a Tsarist Russian officer, Grand Duke Sergeus Alexander (Emil Jannings), who has just committed revolutionary Leo Andreyev (William Powell) to prison, while retaining his beautiful partner Natacha as a mistress. She plans to kill him, but comes to realize that he is at heart a man of honor who loves Russia as deeply as she does. While helping him escape the Bolsheviks she is killed, the shock of which gives him a nervous tremor. Many years later we see Sergeus Alexander reduced to near poverty and making a slim living as a Hollywood extra. A director, none other than his old adversary Leo Andreyev, recognizes him and, in an ironic act calculated to humiliate him, casts him as a Russian general in a battle scene. Bullied by the costume department (his uniform and boots are thrown right in his face) he is directed to give a speech to a group of actors playing his soldiers. Slowly losing his grip on reality he imagines himself genuinely on the battlefield and passionately urges them to fight for Russia. Overstraining himself he dies, his last words inquiring if they'd won the battle. Andreyev remarks "He was a great man."
Fritz Feld can be spotted as a screaming revolutionary who at one point sneers in Jannings' face.
Modern Use
The ARG of the same name Last Command used cast and crew names from both this and the 1955 film to populate its initial "subroutine list."[1]
Quotes
When Sergeus Alexander finds one of his aides trying on his overcoat he instructs his guards, "If this happens again remove the coat and shoot the contents."
