Yankee Doodle in Berlin

Yankee Doodle in Berlin (1919)

** (out of 4)

Producer and writer Mack Sennett said in an interview that this film was the final word on WW1. This movie was released just four months after the war had ended and there's no question that it was meant to be a middle finger to Germans. In the film Othwell Browne plays an American soldier who dresses in drag to make idiots out of three German's including The Kaiser (Ford Sterling). YANKEE DOODLE IN BERLIN isn't the greatest comedy ever made and I didn't really care for too much of it but at the same time it remains a rather interesting curio simply because of how mean-spirited it is. It should go without saying but the German folks are made to look like complete animals here and you can't help but think that back in the day people were laughing their heads off at the material and I'm sure cheering whenever one of the German characters were either knocked out or just beaten. There are countless scenes where the brave American soldier is standing up for his country in his nice uniform but when we see the German guys they're all walking like idiots, wearing bad mustaches or simply acting like they belong in a pre-school class. I'm sure many eyes from today would look at this and find it rather distasteful, which it pretty much is, but at the same time it's important to remember that this was released after the war and I'm sure many people had a good time laughing at the enemy. Today, the film doesn't contain nearly enough laughs to make it work but at the same time the first half is interesting enough to keep it moving. I thought there were some funny moments early on as one soldier pretends to be a German just so he can make fun of those around him. Another funny sequence as a German officer having a large man beat the tar out of a smaller German guy after he insults the "woman." This is a pretty funny scene just due to how violent it was and this is true even though we can see the obvious fake human taking the beating. I thought Browne was pretty good when in drag and Sterling is obviously having fun in his role. Malcolm St. Clair, Ben Turpin, James Finlayson and Edgar Kennedy also appear.