THE LAST COMMAND
starring Emil Jannings
MOTION PICTURE MAGAZINE
May, 1928
The pathetic porter of "The Last Command" and the ruined reveler of "The Way of All Flesh" dons a Russian uniform for this one and becomes a General, a Grand Duke, a cousin of the Czar - and a motion picture extra. In a word, Emil Jannings compromises with Hollywood. The result, while neither fish, flesh nor fowl, is nevertheless fairly satisfactory.
In any event, the story offers the usual opportunity for the star's transition from the top to the bottom of the social heap. And this time, there is a touch of palsy thrown in for good measure. The climactic scene is that in which Jannings, cast in pictures in a role he has enacted in life, is deceived by his shock-and-sorrow seared brain into believing that he is again at the head of his Emperor's troops. "The Last Command" is to charge the enemy. Having given it, the hero drops dead.
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