An aging doorman, after being fired from his prestigious job at a luxurious hotel, is forced to face the scorn of his friends, neighbours and society.
Direction
Murnau's camera moves like a judgmental ghost.
Acting
Jannings' face collapses in real time.
Cinematography
Tilted angles that make dignity itself unstable.
Director
F. W. Murnau
Emil Jannings
Hotel Doorman
Maly Delschaft
His Niece
Hans Unterkircher
Hotel Manager
Hermann Vallentin
Potbellied Guest
Emilie Kurz
Bridegroom's Aunt
Georg John
Night Watchman
Emmy Wyda
Thin Neighbor
Harald Madsen
uncredited
Carl Schenstrøm
Wedding Musician
Olaf Storm
Young Guest
O.E. Hasse
uncredited
Erich Schönfelder
uncredited
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Murnau and cinematographer Karl Freud invented the 'unchained camera' here—liberating it from static tripod prison to float, stalk, and psychologically penetrate.
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