"The Last Warning"

The former management of the Silent Movie Theater in Los Angeles often screened the unique and once presented "The Last Warning," a 1929 Universal release thought lost. The print shown is the only known in exisitence from the Hampton Collection and was pieced together from three negatives. "The Last Warning" was directed by one of the lesser known German expressionists, Paul Leni whom Universal head Carl Laemmle imported from Germany in 1926. Born in 1885, Leni studied painting in Berlin and became a theatrical set designer for the legendary Max Reinhardt. He entered films as art director on "Das Panzerwolde" in 1914 and made his directorial bow with "Dr. Hart's Diary" (1916).

Foloowing several years of directing minor pictures and working as art director for Germany's leading filmmakers, Leni received critical acclaim with "Backstage" (1921). His greatest work is "Waxworks" (1924) in which he fully delved into expressionism and explained he "tried to create sets so stylized that they evince no idea of reality." Once in Hollywood, Leni made "The Cat and the Canary" (1927), "The Chinese Parrot" (1927), "The Man Who Laughs" (1928) and "The Last Warning." His Universal contract completed, Leni returned to Germany where he died of blood poisoning in 1929. The major difference between Leni's German and American pictures is he did not serve as art director though he undoubtedly influenced Charles D. Hall's sets for "The Last Warning." Leni's best known Hollywood effort is likely "The Man Who Laughs" based on Victor Hugo's novel and starring Conrad Veidt.