''My Four Years in Germany'' is a 1918 American silent war drama film that is notable as being the first film produced by the four Warner Brothers,
Harry
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* ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin
* ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons
* ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...
,
Sam,
Albert
Albert may refer to:
Companies
* Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
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* Albert Productions, a record label
* Alber ...
, and
Jack
Jack may refer to:
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* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
, though the title card clearly reads "My Four Years In Germany Inc. Presents ...". It was directed by seasoned
William Nigh
William Nigh (October 12, 1881 – November 27, 1955) was an American film director, writer, and actor. His film work sometimes lists him as either "Will Nigh" or "William Nye".
Biography
Nigh was born Emil Kreuske''Silent Film Necrology'', ...
, later a director at
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
, and was based on the experiences of real life U. S. Ambassador to Germany
James W. Gerard
James Watson Gerard III (August 25, 1867 – September 6, 1951) was a United States lawyer, diplomat, and justice of the New York Supreme Court.
Early life
Gerard was born in Geneseo, New York. His father, James Watson Gerard Jr., was a lawy ...
as described in his book. The film was produced while
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
was still raging and is sometimes considered a
propaganda film
A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...
.
Cast
*Halbert Brown as Ambassador
James W. Gerard
James Watson Gerard III (August 25, 1867 – September 6, 1951) was a United States lawyer, diplomat, and justice of the New York Supreme Court.
Early life
Gerard was born in Geneseo, New York. His father, James Watson Gerard Jr., was a lawy ...
*Willard Dashiell as
Sir Edward Goschen
*
Louis Dean
Louis Dean (3 May 1874 – 8 April 1933), was an American actor. He appeared in 16 films between 1917 and 1923.
He was born in Wilmington, Delaware, United States and died in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Partial filmography
*''The Darling of Paris' ...
as
Kaiser Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and List of monarchs of Prussia, King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication on 9 ...
*
Earl Schenck
Earl O. Schenck (13 May 1889 – 1962) was an American film actor. He appeared in 41 films between 1916 and 1946.
Career
After playing leading roles on Broadway and in Hollywood during the Silent era opposite such stars as Mae Murray ...
as
Crown Prince of Germany
*George Riddell as
Field Marshall von Hindenburg
*Frank Stone as
Prince Henry of Prussia
*
Karl Dane
Karl Dane (born Rasmus Karl Therkelsen Gottlieb, 12 October 1886 – 14 April 1934) was a Danish-American comedian and actor known for his work in American films, mainly of the silent film era. He became a star after portraying “Slim” ...
as
Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg
*Fred Hern as
Foreign Minister von Jagow
*
Percy Standing
Percy Standing (26 October 1882 – 17 September 1950) was an English film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 42 films between 1913 and 1934. He was born in Lambeth, London and died in Placer County, California.
Selected filmography ...
as
Under-Secretary Zimmermann
*William Bittner as
Grand Admiral von Tirpitz
*Arthur C. Duvel as
Field Marshal von Falkenhayn
*Ann Dearing as Aimee Delaporte
*A. B. Conkwright as Socialist
*
William Nigh
William Nigh (October 12, 1881 – November 27, 1955) was an American film director, writer, and actor. His film work sometimes lists him as either "Will Nigh" or "William Nye".
Biography
Nigh was born Emil Kreuske''Silent Film Necrology'', ...
as Socialist
Reception
Like many American films of the time, ''My Four Years in Germany'' was subject to cuts by
city and state film censorship boards. For example, the
Chicago Board of Censors required cuts, in Reel 7, of the intertitle "Do you know where will be quarted tonight?", two scenes of officer entering cabin into which young woman runs and his exit, scene of young woman lying in bed with clothing disarranged after her criminal assault, scene of dead woman on ground, Reel 8, the intertitle "The first night we were quartered with the soldiers", and, Reel 10, scene of man drawing sword out of other man's body. The Chicago board's cuts totaled twenty feet of film.
Preservation
A copy of ''My Four Years in Germany'' is held in the
Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment Company is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner in 1986. Purchased by Time Warner in 1996 as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was largely responsible for overseeing th ...
film library.
[''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'', p. 123 c.1978 by The American Film Institute]
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Full movie a
Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:My Four Years in Germany
1918 films
American silent feature films
American World War I propaganda films
American black-and-white films
American war drama films
Warner Bros. films
First National Pictures films
Cultural depictions of Wilhelm II
1910s war drama films
1918 drama films
Censored films
American World War I films
Films directed by William Nigh
1910s American films
Silent American drama films
Silent war films
1910s English-language films