In the mid-1920s, German films caused an upheaval in Hollywood. Critics and members of the film industry were astonished by the camera feats on display in films like Der letzte Mann (Ufa, 1924, dir. F. W. Murnau), Varieté (Ufa, 1925, dir. E. A. Dupont), and Metropolis (Ufa, 1927, dir. Fritz Lang). Possibly for the first time since the introduction of feature-length films, it became painfully obvious that, despite all its commercial successes, Hollywood was lagging behind technically and aesthetically. The New York Herald Tribune for instance proclaimed: “It is curious to note how completely Germanic this new art of the cinema seems to be. As an industry, of course, the American photoplay is supreme by at least a thousand miles, yet when it comes to the aesthetics of the screen field, even the local film makers look to Germany for inspiration and idea.” In addition to aesthetic deficits, early warning signs also indicated that American market shares in Europe were slipping. As part of a multi-faceted approach to meet these challenges, studios started importing directors from Europe with expectation that they would create prestigious films with the international appeal and familiarize Hollywood with their methods.

Conventional wisdom has it that many of the impulses Hollywood received from Germany were technical in nature. Indeed, Hollywood paid close attention to German technological innovations, as producer G. A. Mincenty observed: “What interests almost every American about German films is whether he can see something technically new.” Scholars have often pointed to special effects, camera movement, or high-contrast lighting as examples of Germany's influence on Hollywood.