The Last Warning

Astute producer Carl Laemmle invited talented German director Paul Leni to join Universal. This proved to be a masterstroke. Before his untimely death in 1929 Leni directed four films one of which, 'The Chinese Parrot' is considered 'lost', the other three of which are superb. From its astonishing opening sequence 'The Last Warning' is a brilliantly inventive and imaginative piece that holds our attention throughout. A great deal of credit must surely go to cinematographer Hal Mohr who, although American born, had assimilated European film techniques during a brief sojourn in Paris. His greatest achievement is the 'Midsummer Night's Dream' of Max Reinhardt. The specially composed score although a little over-orchestrated, is far superior to the usual incongruous, excruciating, tacked on scores with which so many restored silent films are cursed. Such a sadness to lose a director of Leni's gifts but his influence on Universal's classic horrors of the 1930's is there for all to see.

THE STORY & (Pseudo)GENRE -- PHANTOM OF THE OPERA meets CAT AND THE CANARY (also by director Leni). Bizarre visuals liven up the nonsense.

THE VERDICT -- Fast-paced even at 78 minutes. Plenty of old-time thrills and smiles.

FREE ONLINE -- Yes. The ubiquitous orange-tinted print (77 minutes), but also the newer BD upgrade (78 minutes), can be found. Silent with music and effects. I have never seen an 89-minute version, as advertised by IMDB.

This movie pops up on ebay once in a while and for fans of mystery or horror films, particularly those of Universal, this is a must.

The plot is unimportant - it is about a haunted old theater where an old Broadway play is being brought back despite threats from the ghost of a dead actor.

This film was the last directed by the great Paul Leni. It is really the work of a virtuoso working at his peak. It has everything The Cat and the Canary had and more. The version that seems to be relatively available on video has a good music track too, but unfortunately it seems that the experimental sound sequences the film originally contained have not survived.

Nevertheless, we are lucky that this film has survived as it is such a joyous romp of horror cliches with inventive, wild camera moves and stunning lighting and spooky set design. It foreshadows the great horror classics that were less than two years away for Universal. It is just wonderful filmmaking from a forgotten great director who was at his peak, so if you are into old dark house mysteries or Universal horror movies - FIND IT! - It is one of the best!

8/10 - even better than The Cat and the Canary.

Last Warning, The (1929)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Paul Leni (The Cat and the Canary, The Man Who Laughs) directs this Universal horror film, which has been forgotten over the years but if you've seen some of the studios bigger pictures then you've can tell what all this film has influenced. A popular show on Broadway, inside a creepy theatre, is closed down after the mysterious murder of one of the actors. Years later the police reassemble the original cast and bring them back to the theater to see if they can trap the murderer but it might be a ghost they're dealing with. This film mixes elements of The Phantom of the Opera with the old dark house themes of films like The Bat and delivers a terrific entertainment. This film has never been officially released so I had to view it via what appears to be a 16mm print and the quality was pretty bad throughout so if I get a chance to see a pristine print then I'll probably bump my review up. The technical eye of Leni, who died after this film, is untouched by nearly everyone as he's constantly trying new and different things with the camera. I love how he'll have a medium shot and then move the camera in to show some evidence before moving it back out to let the action role. The film runs just under 80-minutes and goes by very fast with some exciting action but also a great story to work with. The actors, including John Boles who would later appear in Frankenstein, all do nice work as well. There are a few twists and turns along the way that actually work well within the story. This film works on a technical level as well as the story level and that makes this a wonderful little gem that needs to be rediscovered. The only thing people know about this movie nowdays is that it was a huge influence on James Whale and this is easy to see. There's a woman here, used as comic relief, which is later a carbon copy in Una O'Connor. The Old Dark House also lifts some shots here but I won't say which ones since it'll ruin scenes in both movies. The score here was also later reused in Dracula and this film was shot on the same sets as The Phantom of the Opera so there's a lot of connections here.

"The Last Warning" (1928) was Paul Leni's last film as director before his untimely death from sepsis at the age of 44. Starring Laura La Plante, Montague Love, John Boles, Margaret Livingston, Roy D'Arcy, and a host of other pre-eminent silent film actors of the day, this film continues in the vein of "The Cat and the Canary" (1927), another Leni film starring Laura La Plante. Based on a successful 1922 play, the film opens on a stage play where John Woodford (D'Arcy Corrigan) is on stage reaching for a candle, but dies as the mechanical candle electrocutes Woodford. Now, the play is halted, police called in, and, after a series of several hectic and quickly moved-through scenes, the body disappears, never to be seen again. Five years later, a "producer", Montague Love, decides to re-open the theater - which had been closed in the interim - and re-stage the same play Woodford had been killed performing in, and now have the same cast perform the play for the re-opening of the theater. Roy D'Arcy will replace Woodford in that part and John Boles will replace D'Arcy in his old part. Well, D'Arcy is nearly electrocuted during a rehearsal; then seemingly disappears! Boles replaces D'Arcy, and the play opens that night! Near the scene where the candle is to be reached for and grabbed, the police - a group of at least 10 and perhaps a couple of unsuspected persons who might be the police - are ready for anything.

The photography; that is, the movement of the camera, what it captures and how, is how Leni made his reputation. He'd done remarkable things with films like "Hintertreppe" (1921), "Waxworks" (1924) and "The Man Who Laughs" (1928). Hal Mohr was Leni's cinematographer on this shoot, and the fluidity and creative shooting is what makes this film a cinematic masterpiece. The story is rather "old dark house", and it's fun, with comic touches and dramatic incident, but it's the deft direction and smart editing, along with a cast of pros, that makes this film something to enjoy and wish to come back to in the future.

There were a few sound scenes added to the original release that are no longer extant. The restored version is quite good, though a few scratches here and there, especially near the beginning and end, are evident. My print is the European restored one from Eureka Masters of Cinema. I needed to re-set my Blu-Ray to Region 2 to play it. It didn't do it automatically.

The opening and closing scenes have been described as 'kaleidoscopic', and that is a perfect description. Wonderful cinematography and editing throughout make this a wonderful experience over 90 years after release! Highly recommended. Among others in the remarkable cast are Burr McIntosh, Bert Roach, Mack Swain, Slim Summerville, and Carrie Daumery.