Vintage original 11x14 in. US lobby card from the important and lost WWI-themed silent film war drama, THE KAISER, THE BEAST OF BERLIN, released in 1918 by Renowned Pictures and the Universal Film Manufacturing Company and directed by Rupert Julian. A propagandistic view of the First World War, showing the political greed of the German Kaiser Wilhelm, the resistance of some of his own soldiers, and fanciful prediction of the nature of the war's end. The cast includes Rupert Julian, Elmo Lincoln, Nigel de Brulier, Lon Chaney, Harry von Meter, Harry Carter, Joseph W. Girard, Harry Holden, and Ruth Clifford.

The image features an exterior shot inside of a village as the invaders enter their town on horseback and on foot. The tag line at the bottom left reads, Then Came the Kaiser's Hordes of Baby Killers. It is unrestored in fine- condition as shown.

Original release 11x14 in. US lobby cards from this lost WWI silent film are virtually non-existent.


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. No known prints of the film survive and 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. A still exists showing Lon Chaney as "Herr Bethmann-Hollweg" standing directly behind the Kaiser (Rupert Julian). The film's program cover also exists. 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. The film is now considered lost.

 

Although frequently listed as a Universal Studios production, the film was actually an independent production produced by Rupert Julian for Renowned Pictures. Julian licensed the distribution rights to Renowned, who in turn sold the rights to Universal Jewel for worldwide distribution right after the film's New York premiere. Julian would later direct Lon Chaney in the 1925 blockbuster, The Phantom of the Opera. Writer Elliott J. Clawson later went on to write the screenplays for several other Chaney films, including The Phantom of the Opera, The Road to Mandalay and West of Zanzibar. Some reviews at the time oddly mentioned Erich von Stroheim's involvement in the film as both a co-writer as well as an uncredited extra, but this is unproven.


The Kaiser, the Beast of Berlin was an enormous hit for Universal when it was released, and they spared no expense in advertising the film. Universal studio head Carl Laemmle pushed the film to the theater owners as hard as he sold it to the viewing public. "A whirlwind of Applause - A Landslide of Money," "Unparalleled Receipts," and "The Picture That Blocked Traffic on Broadway" were some of the headlines for ads that ran in trade publications in an attempt to get theater owners to book the picture. At one point, the film was playing simultaneously in two Broadway theaters owned by Marcus Loew and William Fox.


According to a report in Exhibitor's Trade Review on the film's success in Omaha, 14,000 saw the film there in a single week, a record for that city. "Wild cheering marked every show when the young captain socked the Kaiser on the jaw. Patriotic societies boosted the picture because of its aid in stirring up the country to war. Street car signs were used; huge street banners swung over the crowds in the downtown district, and a truck paraded the streets with the Kaiser hanging in effigy and a big sign 'All pro-Germans will be admitted free.' None availed himself of the invitation." Rupert Julian received rave reviews for his portrayal of the Kaiser and later reprised the role in many subsequent films.