My Four Years in Germany

1918 WarDrama 108 minutes Directed by William Nigh

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About My Four Years in Germany

James W. Gerard, American ambassador in Berlin from 1913 to 1917, watches the German buildup, meets Kaiser Wilhelm II, and carries the break with Berlin. Halbert Brown plays Gerard. Louis Dean plays the Kaiser. William Nigh directed it from Gerard's book.

Cast & crew

More about My Four Years in Germany

The first picture from Harry, Sam, Albert, and Jack Warner, though the title card reads My Four Years in Germany Inc. Mark M. Dintenfass produced. Nigh also edited. First National released it. The New York opening was March 10, 1918, and the general release April 29, 1918. Ten reels, 108 minutes. Willard Dashiell plays Sir Edward Goschen. Karl Dane plays Bethmann-Hollweg. The Chicago censor board cut about twenty feet, including a cabin assault and a sword drawn from a body. A copy is on the Internet Archive as silent-my-four-years-in-germany.

Themes

  • An ambassador in Berlin before the break
  • The kaiser on screen
  • A war picture cut by city censors
  • James Gerard
  • Kaiser
  • Berlin
  • Warner
  • William Nigh
  • First National

Preservation

A print survives.

Notes

  • It is not a Fox film. First National distributed the Warner brothers' first production.
  • The source is Gerard's own book.
  • Nigh also plays a socialist.
  • The Chicago cuts are on the record, including the cabin scene and the sword.

Scenes

  • Gerard is shown with the Kaiser as the break with Germany approaches.

Influenced by

  • James W. Gerard's book My Four Years in Germany

Also available

  • Internet Archive (silent-my-four-years-in-germany)

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