The Way of All Flesh (1927)
84%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: NA
The Way of All Flesh is a film that showcases the brilliance of Emil Jannings, who delivers a performance that is both humorous and poignant. The attention to detail in the backgrounds and the overall production is impressive, but unfortunately, the third section of the film falls short with its excessive use of tear-jerking tactics. Nevertheless, the film is a forerunner of a new kind of popular tragedy that uses popular emotion without exploiting it. It is a powerful lesson on the frailty of mankind and a worthy medium for Jannings’ genius. The film is a composite of all the great, and Jannings himself is the greatest of all.
The Way of All Flesh is a classic film that has stood the test of time. Critics have praised the attention to detail and the powerful performance of Emil Jannings. But let’s be real, the third section is a bit of a tear-jerker. I mean, they really threw everything at us except for onions! Jannings is a true master of his craft, with Chaplin-like humor and pathos, and the film itself is a serious and dignified tragedy that doesn’t exploit emotions. It’s a story that could be anyone’s, with relatable characters and a powerful message about the fragility of humanity. Overall, The Way of All Flesh is a must-see for any film lover, just make sure you have some tissues handy for that third act.
Production Company(ies)
Mappa Genco
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Approved
Year of Release
1927
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 30m
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Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 25, 1927 Original
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Emil Jannings, Belle Bennett, Phyllis Haver, Donald Keith, Fred Kohler Sr., directed by Victor Fleming, written by Lajos Bíró, Jules Furthman, Julian Johnson, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Ella H McCormick, Wilella Waldorf, Edmund Wilson, Irene Thirer, Mae Tinee, Patrick J Monkhouse, Carl Sandburg, Robert E Sherwood, Mila Landis, NZ Herald Staff, KC Star Staff, Lorena Drummond, MPAA rating, sacrifice, temptation, family man, bank worker, Chicago, gang leader, train, identity, melodrama, Emil Jannings’ outstanding performance
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Belle Bennett – Mrs. Schilling
Phyllis Haver – The Temptress
Donald Keith – August, junior
Fred Kohler Sr. – The Tough
Victor Fleming – Director
Director(s)
Victor Fleming
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (42) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (37) | Rotten (5)
Great care has been shown in the backgrounds for this photodrama and meticulous attention to detail has been exercised.
July 14, 2021
Ella H. McCormick
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
Are the early and middle portions of the picture good enough to outweigh the atrocious third section in which every known tear-inducer but the homely onion is tossed at the audience? Thinking it over calmly, we are inclined to answer in the affirmative.
July 14, 2021
Wilella Waldorf
New York Post
TOP CRITIC
The producers have been so much afraid of launching the European Jannings without sufficient ballast of American hokum… that they have wasted much first-rate ability on what is essentially a maudlin film.
July 14, 2021
Edmund Wilson
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
The Way of All Flesh, poignant, powerful melodrama… proves only what we already know — that Jannings is the greatest of all character actors among us.
May 20, 2021
Irene Thirer
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
[Jannings] has the Chaplin humor and far more than the Chaplin pathos… He is a better villain than Wallace Beery. He rivals Chaney In the art of makeup. He is a composite of all the great, and himself the greatest of all.
May 20, 2021
Mae Tinee
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
This film matters, because it foreruns a new, serious, and honourable kind of popular tragedy, using popular emotion, not exploiting it. Dignity has come into the American commercial film, and Vic Fleming deserves some credit for it.
May 20, 2021
Patrick J. Monkhouse
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Jannings is incomparably the greatest of all screen actors, unless it be that the aforesaid Charles Spencer Chaplin can tie him.
December 14, 2021
Carl Sandburg
Chicago Daily News
Mr. Jannings is as good as he was in The Last Laugh and Variety, if not better; the picture itself, while not quite up to the high level of these two outstanding instances, is creditable and admirable.
October 5, 2021
Robert E. Sherwood
LIFE
Even the artificialities of Hollywood have not yet touched the fine acting of Jannings, as is proved by his excellent character work in The Way of All Flesh.
May 21, 2021
Mila Landis
Sacramento Bee
It is a wonderful story, wonderfully portrayed, and provides a worthy medium for the genius of Emil Jannings.
May 21, 2021
NZ Herald Staff
New Zealand Herald
The Way of All Flesh might be your story or mine. Its setting might be our homes, and our families might be its characters. It is the unsuspected drama that walks past us on the street and the mute tragedy one reads in the eyes of old men.
May 20, 2021
KC Star Staff
Kansas City Star
The Way of All Flesh is a saga of sacrifice, the coming of temptation in the life of a simple, home-loving man — a powerful lesson on the frailty of mankind.
May 20, 2021
Lorena Drummond
Austin American-Statesman…
Plot
Paul Kriza is a cashier of a bank in a small town, and the happy husband of Anna and the father of four children. He is sent to New York to deliver some securities for the bank. There, he is tagged as easy-pickings by a con-game gang and Mary Brown, gang accomplice, proves he is. Waking up in the morning he discovers he has been robbed of the securities and, when he confronts the gang, he is hit on the head and taken out to be left on a railroad track. He comes to, struggles with the henchman and the man is killed when a train comes roaring by. Paul escapes but his watch is found and he is reported as the dead man. But he can’t go home again.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels praises Emil Jannings’ outstanding performance in The Way of All Flesh, calling him “incomparably the greatest of all screen actors.”
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