The Last Performance

The Last Performance is a 1929 film directed by Paul Fejos and starring Conrad Veidt and Mary Philbin. It was the last American silent film featuring Veidt before he returned to Germany. Two versions were made a silent version and Movietone version complete with music, talking sequences, and sound effects. The silent version was first played at the Variety at the Little Carnegie Theater in New York in November 1929. The silent version was released by the Criterion Collection on Bluray and DVD with Fejos Lonesome in August 2012. The Last Performance was shot on the same set as the 1925 film The Phantom of the Opera, and contained an early use of zoom effects. The film received mixed reviews.

The film received mixed reviews. While Photoplay wrote Conrad Veidt as a magician in a much overacted and overdirected film, The New York Times onNovember 1929 wroteDr. Fejos has handled his scenes with no small degree of imagination. Mr. Veidts clever acting and Mary Philbins captivating charm, this picture holds ones attention. Moreover, the narrative is developed with a certain force and skill. While some of the straight camera work is not up to scratch, there are a number of photographic feats that are quite effective. It is a picture that looks older than it really is, especially in the tinted portions where one goes from an amber interior scene to an azure blue night in the open. ........

Source: Wikipedia