The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin

This article is about the 1918 anti-Kaiser propaganda melodrama. For the 1939 anti-Nazi propaganda thriller, see Hitler, Beast of Berlin.

The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin
Still of the Kaiser in the "scrap of paper" scene
Directed byRupert Julian
Written byRupert Julian
Elliott J. Clawson
Produced byRupert Julian
StarringRupert Julian
Elmo Lincoln
Nigel De Brulier
Lon Chaney
Harry von Meter
CinematographyEdward A. Kull
Production
company
Renowned Pictures Corporation
Distributed byUniversal Jewel
Release date
  • March 19, 1918 (1918-03-19)
Running time
7 reels (70 minutes)
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
Box office$1 million (rentals)[1]

The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin (also known as The Beast of Berlin and The Kaiser) was a 1918 American silent war propaganda melodrama film produced and directed by, and starring, Rupert Julian. The screenplay was co-written by Rupert Julian and Elliott J. Clawson. The film's supporting cast included Elmo Lincoln, Nigel De Brulier, Harry Von Meter and Lon Chaney.[2]

No known prints of the film survive. The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin is one of the films included on the American Film Institute's list of the "Ten Most Wanted" lost films.[3] A still exists showing Lon Chaney as "Herr Bethmann-Hollweg" standing directly behind the Kaiser (Rupert Julian).[4] The film's program cover also exists.[5]

The germanophobic film contains a propagandist view of the First World War, showing the political greed of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, the resistance of some of his own soldiers, and fanciful prediction of the nature of the war's end.[6] The film is now considered lost.[7][8]

  1. ^ "You Never Can Tell". Variety. 4 February 1921. p. 32. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  2. ^ Bodeen, DeWitt (1976). From Hollywood: The Careers of 15 Great American Stars. A. S. Barnes. p. 228. ISBN 0-498-01346-4.
  3. ^ American Film, Volume 5, Issues 1-10. American Film Institute. 1979. p. 71.
  4. ^ Mirsalis, Jon C. "The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin". Lonchaney.org. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  5. ^ http://lonchaney.org/photos/a_kaiser_the_beast_of_berlin.jpg [bare URL image file]
  6. ^ Neale, Stephen (2000). Genre and Hollywood. Psychology Press. p. 119. ISBN 0-415-02606-7.
  7. ^ Waldman, Harry (2000). Missing Reels: Lost Films of American and European Cinema. McFarland. p. 254. ISBN 0-786-40724-7.
  8. ^ Magill's Survey of Silent Films, Vol2. FLE-POT p.616 edited by Frank N. Magill c.1982 ISBN 0-89356-241-6 (3 book set ISBN 0-89356-239-4) Retrieved June 27, 2018