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 intertitles, relying instead on innovative visual exposition and the groundbreaking camerawork of Karl Freund.