The Silents Go to War

Book excerpt: In this book, readers can experience the tumultuous era of silent First World War propaganda films that helped shape U.S. opinion of the dreaded "Huns." From pro-preparedness films pacifist films, "horrible Hun" films, "kill-the-kaiser" films, and outrageous comedies to thought-provoking war trauma films and patriotic documentaries, readers can survey America's cinematic view of "the war to end all wars." Featured is comprehensive discussion of these films, including synopses, casts, back stories, and critical reviews and notes. Here are unusual tales and extraordinary plots with serpentine Germans (Erich von Stroheim throwing a baby out of a window in 1918's The Heart of Humanity), noble French girls sacrificing their honor for the allied cause (Clara Kimball Young in 1918's The Road Through the Dark), and singular Yanks (Bothwell Browne as a cross-dressing American flyer seducing the kaiser and his high command in 1919's Yankee Doodle in Berlin).