Kaiser's Finish

Kaiser's Finish is a 1918 American silent World War I drama film, directed by Jack Harvey (John Joseph Harvey).^[1] It stars Earl Schenck, Claire Whitney, and Percy Standing. The film contained newsreel footage of Kaiser Wilhelm and the Crown Prince Wilhelm as well as actual warfare scenes.

Plot

In pre-World War I Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm fathers a number of illegitimate children and sends them to various parts of the world to be reared by his loyal agents. Under the guardianship of Dr. Carl Von Strumpf, one of these children, Robert Busch, grows up believing that he is the son of wealthy German-American Richard Busch, but in reality, Strumpf and Busch are servants of the Kaiser. When the United States declares war on Germany, Robert expresses his earnest desire to enlist in the American army, much to the delight of his patriotic sister Emily. Before he can do so, however, Strumpf tells Robert the secret of his parentage, believing that the young man now will be eager to fight for Germany's cause. Robert feigns enthusiasm but secretly offers his services to the U.S. government, and with the passport provided him by the Pan-German league, he goes to Germany and kills the crown prince. Next, he shoots the Kaiser and blows up the entire palace, thus sacrificing his life for the principles of democracy.

Preservation status

This film is now lost, as no copies are known to exist. In the late 1940s and 1950s, Warner Bros. destroyed many of its negatives due to nitrate film decomposition. Studio records indicate that the negative of filmography pre-1931 was marked "Junked 12/27/48" (December 27, 1948) or in February 1956, Jack Warner sold the rights to all of his pre-December 1949 films to Associated Artists Productions. In 1969 UA donated 16mm prints of some Warner Bros. films from outside United States. No copies of Kaisher's Finish are known to exist.

References

External links

• Kaiser's Finish at the Internet Movie Database