Yankee Doodle in Berlin

Yankee Doodle in Berlin
Title card
Directed byF. Richard Jones
Written byMack Sennett (story)
Produced byMack Sennett
StarringBothwell Browne
CinematographyFred Jackman
J.R. Lockwood
Production
company
Mack Sennett Comedies
Distributed bySol Lesser on State's Rights basis
Release date
  • March 2, 1919 (1919-03-02)
(Tivoli Theatre)
Running time
5 reels
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)
Box office$125,000[1]

Yankee Doodle in Berlin is a 1919 American silent comedy and World War I film from producer Mack Sennett. A five-reel feature, it was Sennett's most expensive production up to that time. Hiram Abrams was the original State's Rights marketer before the film's release, but producer Sol Lesser bought the rights in March 1919.[2][3]

Bothwell Browne was a famous cross-dresser from Northern Europe. At the time this movie was produced he was the European rival of famous American cross-dresser Julian Eltinge, who starred in very similar plotted World War I propaganda film The Isle of Love (original title Over the Rhine).

The film was later condensed for re-release and titled The Kaiser's Last Squeal.

Plot

Captain Bob White is an American pilot who is assigned to infiltrate the Kaiser's palace and radio German secrets back to the allies. White has a secret weapon though; he is also a female impersonator, and uses his feminine charm to create a barrier between the Kaiser, his Crown Prince and Von Hindenburg.

Meanwhile, Bob is also romancing a young Belgian girl, who is his accomplice. Bob finally gets the message out about the Kaiser's plans, and the invasion commences.

Cast

Background and production

The movie was filmed in November and December of 1918, and has been characterized as a lampoon of the "Hate the Hun propaganda films of the World War I years." Sennett described the film as a "satire of German militarism."[4]

Release

Movie distributor Lesser released the picture in tandem with the Sennett Bathing Beauties in a short film titled, Why Beaches Are Popular. The short was paired with the film to introduce some of the characters, and was composed of a number of unrelated comic skits.[5] The film ended up grossing approximately $125,000 at the box office.[1]

The film had its premiere on March 2, 1919, at the Tivoli Theatre in San Francisco.[6] After the picture was shown during its run at the Tivoli, Browne appeared in person on stage and did some of the dances he performed in the picture, with assistance from the Sennett Beauties.[7] The film premiered on March 30, 1919, at the Kinema Theatre in Los Angeles.[8]

During its run at the Broadway Theatre in New York, there were several promotions planned to advertise the film. One of those involved the prearranged arrest of the Sennett Beauties, which backfired, and resulted in the actual arrest of the girls, who were taken into custody and held for three hours before being released.[9] Another publicity stunt was to have two of the girls fly over New York City in a Curtiss Aeroplane piloted by Walter Hinton, where they dropped 150,000 mininature photos of the girls over Times Square.[9] According to the Motion Picture News, admission at the Broadway Theatre was at a "$1.00 top price and the film played to record houses for eight solid weeks."[10]

Preservation status

The film is preserved by the Library of Congress.[11] Copies also held by Museum of Modern Art, British Film Institute Film and Television, Cinematheque Royale de Belgique, Academy Film Archive Beverly Hills.[12]

Reception

Author Brent Walker wrote "the film has its share of laughs, mostly from its ensemble collection of Sennett scene-stealers, but it's not particularly outstanding or up to the standards of Sennett's two-reelers of the period." He complimented Sterling for being "at his hammy best, with St. Clair and Roach effective as the rivals."[8]

Film historian Hal Erickson commented that "while Browne's cross-dressing mimicry is impressive, one can't help observing that he is far more attractive as a man than a woman." He also opined that the "most memorable performance comes from the literally immense Eva Thatcher; she proves beyond doubt that the film, for all its 'topicality', is at base an old-style domestic farce."[4]

Author Paul Edwards stated "this very odd film relies totally on the slapstick nature of the comedy; as in all his work, Sennett had the tendency to rely on obvious slapstick rather than the more inspired sight gags."[13] Variety Magazine wrote "the scenes showing the rivalry between the Kaiser, Crown Prince and Hindy to win the affection of the female impersonator are sure fire; the captions and titles are humorous, clever, and good for many laughs."[7]

The Los Angeles Evening Post-Record commented that the film is "triumphant, it permits the brows to bend in thought when the laughter and fun are all over; like most of Senett's comedy, there is a 'motif', a plan and a purpose, but in none of his products has there been such a definite message as is found in this story of Yankee heroism and pluck versus Prussian bluff and innate cowardice, for the picture shows what everybody knows, that cruelty is the weapon of the coward."[14] The Philadelphia Inquirer stated "it is an amusing satire on German official life, with comedy as the keynote throughout."[15]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Steffen 2010, p. 1.
  2. ^ Bennett 2025, p. 1.
  3. ^ Dwyer 1996, p. 181.
  4. ^ a b Erickson 2012, pp. 22–23.
  5. ^ Dwyer 1996, pp. 13, 28, 181–182.
  6. ^ Winchell 1919, p. E3.
  7. ^ a b Josephs 1919, p. 44.
  8. ^ a b Walker 2010, p. 100.
  9. ^ a b Welsh 1919, p. 2214.
  10. ^ Johnston 1919, p. 2627.
  11. ^ American Film Institute 1978, p. 213.
  12. ^ Library of Congress 2017, p. 1.
  13. ^ Edwards 2016, p. 214.
  14. ^ Kerby 1919, p. 10.
  15. ^ Gustis 1919, p. 4.

References

  • American Film Institute (1978). Catalog of Holdings, the American Film Institute Collection and the United Artists Collection at the Library of Congress. The Institute.
  • Bennett, Carl (November 13, 2025). "Yankee Doodle in Berlin". Silent Era. Archived from the original on June 20, 2025.
  • Dwyer, Ruth (1996). Malcolm St. Clair: His Films, 1915-1948. Lanham: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-2709-3.
  • Edwards, Paul M. (2016). World War I on Film: English Language Releases through 2014. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1-4766-2063-3.
  • Erickson, Hal (2012). "Run Silent, Run Shallow: The Silent Service Comedies". Military Comedy Films: A Critical Survey and Filmography of Hollywood Releases Since 1918. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-6290-2.
  • Gustis, John T., ed. (December 23, 1919). "Yankee Doodle in Berlin — Jumbo". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Vol. 181, no. 176.
  • Johnston, William A., ed. (September 27, 1919). "Sennett Picture Cleaning Up". Motion Picture News. Vol. 20, no. 14.
  • Josephs, Jack (March 14, 1919). "Yankee Doodle In Berlin". Moving Pictures. Variety. Vol. 54, no. 3.
  • Kerby, Frederick M., ed. (March 27, 1919). "Here They Come With A Splash! Mack Sennett's Bathing Beauties". Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. Vol. 23, no. 7521.
  • Library of Congress (January 5, 2017). "Yankee Doodle In Berlin / Richard Jones". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017.
  • Steffen, James (August 11, 2010). "Yankee Doodle in Berlin". TCM. Archived from the original on November 21, 2025.
  • Walker, Brent E. (2010). "On His Own: The Paramount-Mack Sennett Comedies". Mack Sennett's Fun Factory: A History and Filmography of His Studio and His Keystone and Mack Sennett Comedies, with Biographies of Players and Personnel. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-5707-6.
  • Welsh, Robert E., ed. (September 13, 1919). "How Ascher Put Over Yankee Doodle in Berlin at the Broadway". Motion Picture News. Vol. 20, no. 12.
  • Winchell, Anna Cora (March 2, 1919). "Yankee Doodle in Berlin To Receive First Run Today: Mack Sennett Production Will Have Premiere at the Tivoli". San Francisco Chronicle. Vol. 114, no. 39.
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