''The Prussian Cur'' is a

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

American anti-German silent

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

film produced during

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 ...

. Now considered a

lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy o ...

, it is notable for telling the story of

the Crucified Soldier The Crucified Soldier refers to the widespread story of an Allied soldier serving in the Canadian Corps who may have been crucified with bayonets on a barn door or a tree, while fighting on the Western Front during World War I. Three witnesse ...

. The film's director,

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He w ...

, called it his "rottenest picture ever" for its anti-German sentiment, while its star

Miriam Cooper Miriam Cooper (born Marian Cooper; November 7, 1891 – April 12, 1976) was a silent film actress who is best known for her work in early film including ''The Birth of a Nation'' and ''Intolerance'' for D. W. Griffith and ''The Honor System'' a ...

(Walsh's wife) called it the worst film in which she had ever appeared. The film was shot in

Fort Lee, New Jersey Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, th ...

, where

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

and many other early

film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production ...

s in

America's first motion picture industry Fort Lee is a borough at the eastern border of Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, situated along the Hudson River atop the Palisades. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 40,191. As of the 2010 U.S. census, th ...

were based at the beginning of the 20th century.

Plot

As luridly described in a

film magazine Film periodicals combine discussion of individual films, genres and directors with in-depth considerations of the medium and the conditions of its production and reception. Their articles contrast with film reviewing in newspapers and magazines whi ...

, the Kaiser has plans to conquer the world while all of the other nations are engaged in peaceful pursuits. The Germans enter France and their

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

s work like sharks in the sea, and after many insults the RMS ''Lusitania'' is sunk, causing the United States to enter the war. Before

Bernstorff Bernstorff is an old and distinguished German-Danish noble family of Mecklenburgian origin. Members of the family held the title of Count/Countess, granted to them on 14.12.1767 by King Christian VII of Denmark. Notable members * Andreas Gott ...

(McEwen) leaves the country, he establishes a spy system headed by Otto Goltz (von der Goltz). Under his orders, German agents burn factories, wreck trains, stir up labor troubles, and interfere with American war work. Goltz marries a young American woman and brutally drives her to her death. Her sister finds her in a dying condition and takes her home to die. A young brother goes after Goltz, who is running a nest of spies where bombs are being made. Dick Gregory (Mason), an American soldier, sees Goltz on the street dressed in an officer's uniform on a day when a confidential order was given out that no officer was to wear one. Dick follows him and finds the nest of spies. Under his command the regiment wipes out the nest and Goltz while trying to escape is overtaken by the brother of the young dead woman and is killed. Meanwhile, American forces are pouring into France so fast that the Kaiser sees his dream crumbling and dies like a rat.

Cast

as Rosie O'Grady *

Sidney Mason Sidney Mason (1886–1923) was an American film actor active during the silent era.Langman p.291 He was the father of the actor Sydney Mason. Selected filmography * '' His Neighbor's Wife'' (1913) * ''The Daughter of MacGregor'' (1916) * ''The H ...

as Dick Gregory * Captain Horst von der Goltz as Otto Goltz * Leonora Stewart as Lillian O'Grady * James Marcus as Patrick O'Grady * Pat O'Malley as Jimmie O'Grady * Walter McEwen as Count Johann von Bernstorff * William W. Black as Wolff von Eidel * Ralph C. Faulkner as

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

* Walter M. Lawrence as

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

* Charles Reynolds as

Wilhelm I William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the f ...

* William Harrison as Crown Prince Frederick * James Hathaway as Field Marshal von Hindenburg * P.C. Hartigan as

Admiral von Tirpitz Alfred Peter Friedrich von Tirpitz (19 March 1849 – 6 March 1930) was a German grand admiral, Secretary of State of the German Imperial Naval Office, the powerful administrative branch of the German Imperial Navy from 1897 until 1916. Prussia n ...

* John E. Franklin as

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 ...

* John W. Harbon as U.S. Congressman

Reception

Like many American films of the time, ''The Prussian Cur'' was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. For example, the Chicago Board of Censors required cuts, in Reel 1, of the intertitle "Kill the men and save the women for yourselves" and, Reel 8, of a German soldier taking off his coat in a bedroom.

References

Alan Gevinson, ''Within Our Gates''

External links

*

at silentera.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Prussian Cur, The 1918 films American World War I propaganda films American silent feature films American black-and-white films Fox Film films Lost American films Cultural depictions of Wilhelm II Cultural depictions of Woodrow Wilson 1910s American films Silent war films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links