just watch it!

Fantastic!

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

"Broadway - electric highway of happiness" and instantly you are treated to a golden (my copy was tinted) visual treat, a montage of high stepping chorus girls, glittering lights showing the Strand and Madison Square Garden that soon turn to police lights and sirens - there has been a murder committed at the Woodford Theatre!! Paul Leni and his cameraman Hal Mohr find some fantastic camera angles (Margaret Livingston is first glimpsed, from a camera positioned on the floor, stepping over a spider's web). Like "The Cat and the Canary" spider's webs feature prominently in the second half. Much of the film is set in an old theatre that was originally constructed for the Paris Opera sequences in "The Phantom of the Opera"(1925).The leading actor John Woodford has fallen dead on stage while clutching a candlestick and even though chloroform has been discovered dripping on stage it is still too baffling for the police to solve, especially as the body disappears!! There is another fabulous montage of newspaper headlines showing the police are baffled and the leading lady Doris Terry (Laura La Plante) and stage director Richard Quayle (a very young John Boles) once lovebirds, have now separated due to doubts and anxiety.Suddenly the theatre, after years of gloom, is due to open again with sunlight streaming through the musty windows and cobwebs filling the screen. And even though new owner, Arthur McHugh (Montague Love) has had an ominous warning from the ghostly John Woodford, he is determined to forge ahead by staging the last play presented, along with the original cast members. But is he who he claims to be? It is Montague Love after all, a master villain of the silent screen!! Another message "Beware, let the dead sleep" is ignored and Harvey Carleton (Roy D'Arcy) is given Woodford's old part and is thrilled - until he receives a ghostly calling card!!From then on hijinks abound - suspended scenery crashes onto the stage, a fire starts when all the cast are closeted in a dressing room, the chair on the stage disappears. La Plante must have felt a "Cat and the Canary" type deja vu, with wizened hands emerging from wall panels etc but really, after a while, the film takes on a "Phantom of the Opera" persona as a flitting figure climbs balconies, shimmies ropes and strides up rickety stairs, having a first hand knowledge of the ins and outs of the musty old theatre. Helped enormously by Leni's masterful direction and Hal Mohr's fluid camera-work. At times the camera seems attached to the rope as he swings from balcony to landing with hands grappling at the camera as he just evades their capture.An all star cast helped with La Plante perfecting her hand to mouth, stricken face and screaming stance. John Boles suitably wooden (was he any other way) and Margaret Livingston at her vampish best. Love the end title "It's a Universal Picture, how did you like it? Write to me with your opinion"!! Just too cute!!

I don't have too much to say about "The Last Warning." It's not much of a horror film. There's certainly some horrific elements floating around. The story revolves around an actor dying mysteriously on-stage during a theatrical performance. Years later, a man reopens the theater and decides to restage that play, in hopes of luring out the murderer. This plan is wildly successful.Sometimes, the only difference between a murder mystery and a horror film is the delivery. "The Last Warning" is focused on sleuthing. A large portion of this short film is devoted to sneaking around the theater, investigating things. There's plenty of cobwebs, reported ghost sightings, creepy old prop dummies, and a killer in a weird mask with monster claws on. However, all of these things make up a small portion of the film.Because of the lousy condition of my copy, the inappropriate musical score, and the silent format, I had trouble sousing out the individual details. The man responsible for the investigation seems to give a good performance. An old man who constantly yells at a stage hand for dancing or singing is funny. But other details, such as who exactly everyone is and the obligatory love story, got lost among the static.This was the second teaming of director Paul Leni and star Laura La Plante, after "The Cat and the Canary." Leni's visual sense continues to be strong. An opening montage establishes the Broadway spirit in a surreal, interesting way. Shots, like a grasping hand appearing over the action, a wounded man stumbling out of the shadows of a secret passageway, or a bump appearing in the carpet from under the floor, are nice touches. La Plante has even less to do here as she isn't involved much in the action. The film's Broadway setting made me think Universal was hoping for a cheaper "Phantom of the Opera." The climatic sequence, involving the cops chasing a murderous man in a creepy mask across the theater, certainly recalls that film. Perhaps not coincidentally, it's also the best moment in the movie. Generally speaking though, I don't think "The Last Warning" has much to offer horror fans, classic or otherwise.

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.

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