''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 Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''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 * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

, and

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * 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

*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' ...

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 *

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