WWI German Newsreels "On the Firing Line with the Germans"

Run Time = 44:44 Originally released in 1915 entitled "On the Firing Line with the Germans", this incredible compilation of German newsreel footage gives a rare glimpse into WWI. Wilbur H. Durborough spent seven months with the German army in Russia and Turkey, as well as on other fronts, and shot 16,000 feet of film. The Industrial Moving Picture Co. of Chicago edited the film to the nine reel length seen here. All of the film, which was produced in conjunction with Oswald F. Schuette, a Chicago Daily News war correspondent, was shot with two Universal cameras. The film opened in Milwaukee on November 28, 1915. It opened in Chicago on December 6, 1915. The net profits of the showings at the Park Theater in Chicago were to go to the American Red Cross for use in war-stricken countries without discrimination. Durborough lectured during some of the showings. According to an ad for the film, Durborough was seen in at least fifty percent of the film's scenes. This statement was made to establish the film's authenticity. A film with a similar title, Germany on the Firing Line, which was exhibited in New York in January 1916, was advertised as being taken by the German government.