Erich von Stroheim, an Austrian who immigrated to the United States in 1909, earned the moniker "The man you loved to hate" by Universal Pictures for several movie portrayals of German war officers. The label was especially reinforced in his role as a sadistic Hun officer in December 1918's "The Heart of Humanity." Stroheim, in one of early cinema's most shocking sequences, throws a baby out of a upper floor window for loudly crying while he was raping a Red Cross nurse.
As a 24-year-old immigrant, he described himself to Ellis Island government officials as an Austrian count despite being the son of a hat maker. This audacious characteristic of Stroheim explains his success as he clawed up the ranks of Hollywood to become one of the first auteurs in the director's chair.
As a traveling salesman which brought him to Los Angeles, he was able to garner small parts after being a stunt man. Stroheim became one in a number of assistant directors in D. W. Griffith's "Intolerance," learning the craft from cinema's top director. He served as a consultant in several productions for his knowledge of German culture and fashion, which helped him land two German officer roles during the later part of The Great War.
In the propaganda film "The Heart of Humanity," Stroheim continued his stereotyped portrayal of a cruel German officer, appearing late in the film. Although not recorded in any official capacity, he reportedly directed the scenes he appeared in while the film's credited director, Alan Holubar, handled the rest. There is an argument supporting such a claim since the portions Stroheim is in departs both in camera angles and pacing from the other portions of the movie. Stroheim creates a hellish world of brutal mayhem never quite seen in cinema before.
"The Heart of Humanity" is the last film he appeared in before directing a string of movies that became some of most admired and memorable motion pictures produced in the silent era.
