A silent classic

This film deserves its place on most lists of must-see silent classics, for all the reasons that others have cited. But as other reviewers have noted, it also raises some questions. For example, the title Der letzte Mann (the English title is simply silly) doesn’t seem to make sense - might Murnau’s professed interest in Nietzsche provide a clue? Are we really supposed to sympathize with the main character, or see him as deluded and weak, and so pathetic? Secondly, does the absence of inter-titles really work? Not if clarity is the point, e.g., how many reviewers have confused the doorman’s niece with his daughter and/or her prospective aunt with the doorman’s wife? Thirdly, how “German” is this story? While the doorman’s loss of status may well symbolize Germany’s demotion in the wake of its WWI defeat, the mentalities and social attitudes on display here are readily found elsewhere (e.g., very reminiscent of Gogol’s The Overcoat). Finally, I agree with the criticism of the tacked-on happy ending, but others apparently considered it effective, e.g., Brecht, who “borrowed” the device a few years later in his hugely successful Three-Penny Opera.