This tragic tale of an aging hotel doorman who is demoted to lavatory duty features a landmark expressionistic performance by the great character actor Emil Jannings, who imbues the character’s wounded pride with near-mythic resonance. The first film to bring German director Murnau to international acclaim, this silent film classic transforms the doorman’s humiliation in losing his cherished coat into a parable of the German obsession with the trappings of rank. The story is told without recourse to intertitles, relying instead on innovative visual exposition and the groundbreaking camerawork of Karl Freund.