DANISH FILM HISTORY
By Peter Schepelern
1896-1910
The first film screening in Denmark takes place in 1896; the following year, in 1897, Peter Elfelt
makes the first Danish produced films. The first movie theatres begin to appear in 1904, and in
1906 Ole Olsen founds the Nordisk Film Company. Beginning in 1910 the Nordisk Film Company
gambles on producing full-length feature films. This was the beginning of Danish cinema's
golden age.
Viggo Larsens Lion Hunting (Løvejagten, 1907).
Film at City Hall Square: The first movie showing in Denmark
The first Danish film screening took place on June 7th 1896, just half a year after the Lumière
brothers' first public film screening in Paris in December 1895. It was the impresario Vilhelm
Pacht who screened a handful of short films, presumably English productions, in Copenhagen's
Panorama, a wooden pavilion that had been erected at City Hall Square in Copenhagen in front of
the yet unfinished city hall.
Elfelt and Olsen: The first films and movie theatres
The first Danish-produced film arrived the next year, in 1897, recorded by photographer Peter
Elfelt, who got the technically adept Jens Poul Andersen, known as "The Man from Nellerød" to
build an operational film camera. From 1897 to 1907 Elfelt filmed approximately 100 films,
typically no longer than a few minutes, documenting Danish culture, everyday life, and public
events; with a particular focus on the royal family (he became the official royal photographer in
1900).
Among his films are Driving with Greenland Dogs (Kørsel med grønlandske Hunde, 1897), which
traditionally is considered the first Danish film; also produced were Brandvæsenet rykker ud
(1897), Brydekamp mellem Beck Olsen og Poul Pons (1899) and Czar Nikolai II's Ankomst til
Helsingør (1901). He also made a single short fictional film Capital Execution (Henrettelsen,
1903, only saved in fragments), which apparently was inspired by an actual French court case
about a woman who killed her children.
The first successful Danish movie theatre, Kosmorama on Østergade in Copenhagen, opened in
1904, and was run by Constantin Philipsen, who in the following years established a chain of
theatres over the entire country. In 1905 the Biograf-Theater was opened, also in Copenhagen,
by Ole Olsen, who would go on to become a central figure in early Danish cinema. He came from
humble beginnings and had worked his way up to run, among other things, a Swedish
amusement park. To ensure films for his theatre he went into film production and in November
1906 he founded the company, Nordisk Films Kompagni (today: Nordisk Film), that–with the
exception of a bankruptcy 1928-1929–has been a central factor in the Danish film and media
industry since.
Nordisk Films Company with leader Ole Olsen in the middle.
Polar bears and lions: Nordisk Film begins
Nordisk Film, whose logo is a polar bear on top of a globe, received immediate success with
farces such as The Anarchist's Mother-in-Law (Anarkistens Svigermoder, 1906), literary films
such as The Lady with the Camellias (Kameliadamen,1907), and especially dramatic adventure
stories like The Robber's Sweetheart (Røverens Brud, 1907) and the famous The Lion Hunt
(Løvejagten, 1907), where hunters chase and kill two lions, filmed on the little island Elleore in
the Roskilde Fjord on Zealand. The films, directed by the company's regular director Viggo
Larsen, were 10-15 minutes long. Nordisk Film was also very successful internationally and in
the following years established branch offices in a number of different countries, especially
Germany, England and the USA.
The company's eye-opening economic results lead to the development of a number of rival firms.
It was one of these firms, the small company Fotorama, based in Aarhus, the country's second
largest city, that in 1910 released the melodrama The White Slave Trade (Den Hvide
Slavehandel), a remarkable film; it was three reels long (around forty minutes) at a time when a
maximum of one reel was the norm. Nordisk Film immediately went about plagiarizing the film,
releasing their version four months later. It was at this point that Nordisk Film, as the first
company in the world, gambled on lengthier films. It marked the beginning of the short golden
age for Danish film, which in the following years stood out in the international market.
August Blom's The White Slave (Den Hvide Slavehandel, 1910).
Video clips: http://www.dfi.dk/Service/English/Films-and-industry/Danish-Film-History/1910-1920.aspx
1910-1920
The Danish cinemas golden age lasted from 1910 to 1920. The period's leading director is
Benjamin Christensen, and the two Danish actors Asta Nielsen and Valdemar Psilander achieve
both national and international fame.
The period's film stars Asta Nielsen and Valdemar Psilander in The Ballet Dancer (Balletdanserinden, 1911).
Age of the melodrama: August Blom and Benjamin Christensen
The lead director for Nordisk Film after the breakthrough of longer films was August Blom. He
expanded into the dominating genre of the time, the melodrama, often with an erotic theme. He
made the remake of The White Slave Trade (1910) as well as The Temptations of A great City
(Ved Fængslets Port, 1911), and most importantly, the ambitious, internationally oriented epic
Atlantis (1913), an artistic melodrama based on the Nobel prize winner Gerhart Hauptmann's
novel about an Atlantic Ocean steamship's dramatic shipwreck. The novel was not inspired by
the sinking of the Titanic, but the actual event undoubtedly contributed to the company's gamble
on the epic and expensive production, which disappointed both artistically and commercially.
The movie was impressively filmed by cinematographer Johan Ankerstjerne (whose film
laboratory, founded in 1932, went on to be Danish cinema's leading). Other films of note from
the period include Eduard Schnedler-Sørensen's circus melodrama The Great Circus Catastrophe
(Døds-Spring til Hest fra Cirkus-Kuplen,1912), an example of one of the period's typical
‘sensational films,' and Holger-Madsen's drama of redemption The Candle and the Moth
(Evangeliemandens Liv, 1915).
The period's leading Danish director was Benjamin Christensen who, for other production
companies, made three striking films. Sealed Orders (Det hemmelighedsfulde X, 1914) was a spy
story, which offered outstanding filmic storytelling, especially in the scene where the villain is
locked in the basement of a windmill and can't get out. Blind Justice (Hævnens Nat,1917) was a
criminal melodrama influenced by Victor Hugo's novel Les Misérables. The Swedish produced
Häxan (1922), filmed in Denmark and one of film history's most original works, was a mixture of
cultural history slide show and historical reconstruction of the history of witchcraft from the
Middle Ages to the present, but provoked much contemporary indignation.
Benjamin Christensen's Sealed Orders (1914).
The first stars: Valdemar Psilander and Die Asta
Notably two Danish actors reached stardom, also internationally, during the silent film period.
The leading male actor was Valdemar Psilander, who excelled at playing the melancholy male
who falls for erotic or criminal temptations in melodramas such as Temptations of a Great City
(1911) or throws himself into the dark hands of fate in 'sensational films' such as The Great
Circus Catastrophe (1912) or The Clown (Klovnen, 1917). He was Nordisk Film's highest paid
actor from 1911 to 1916 and was able to establish his own company shortly before his untimely
death in 1917.
The most famous actress of the period was Asta Nielsen. Her debut in Kosmorama's The Abyss
(Afgrunden,1910), directed by her later husband Urban Gad, shined with her intense and
psychologically realistic acting. It was a melodrama about a young woman, engaged to the son of
a vicar, who runs off with a faithless circus entertainer and ends up killing him.
Unfortunately for Danish cinema her success led her, and her husband, to quickly leave for
Germany, where she — applauded as Die Asta — had a big career with many varied roles
(including the leading part in Hamlet, 1921) all the way through to the late 1920s, She only made
four Danish silent films; in The Ballet Dancer (Balletdanserinden, 1911) she co-starred with
Psilander.
Asta Nielsen in The Abyss (1910, Urban Gad).
War and Peace: World War I and Danish film
The First World War meant a drastic change for Danish cinema; access to the European market
became complicated. However, there were also benefits; for example, the Germans banned
French and English films. Nordisk Film was able to take advantage of this, until they were forced
to sell their German assets to the new national film combine UFA, established in 1917.
After this Nordisk Film focused on big, expensive productions that were expected to achieve
international interest. They produced a series of ambitious films with pacifist and social themes.
This included August Blom's The Flaming Sword (Verdens Undergang, 1916), in which a comet
strikes the planet, as well as the pacifist A Trip to Mars (Himmelskibet, 1918), a science-fiction
film about a space trip to visit the peace loving Martians, and the politically charged A Friend of
the People (Folkets Ven, 1918), both directed by Holger-Madsen.
Holger-Madsen's A Trip to Mars (1918).
In 1911 the Victoria Theatre opened in Copenhagen, the first purpose-built Danish cinema. The
following year executive manager Sophus Madsen opened Palads Teatret in Copenhagen's
former central train station; with its 3000 seats it was northern Europe's largest movie theatre.
In January 1918, it was replaced by a new building on Axeltorv, still a major cinema today.
Video clips: http://www.dfi.dk/Service/English/Films-and-industry/Danish-Film-History/1910-1920.aspx
1920-1929
Throughout the 1920's Nordisk Film's decline continues. The company receives strong
competition from another company, Palladium, which achieves success with the comedy duo
Fyrtaarnet og Bivognen. It is in this period of decline that Carl Th. Dreyer debuts as director.
Carl Th. Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc (La passion de Jeanne d'Arc, 1928).
Post war crisis: Nordisk Film's downturn
Throughout the 1920s Nordisk Film's decline continued, due both to difficult economic
conditions and problems trying to find an artistic profile that matched the tastes of the time.
The company's new leading director was A.W. Sandberg who was behind a number of grand
screen versions of Dickens' novels. – Our Mutual Friend (Vor fælles Ven, 1921), Great
Expectations (Store Forventninger,1922), The Love Story of David Copperfield (David
Copperfield, 1922) and Little Dorrit (Lille Dorrit,1924). A.W. Sandberg also directed Mists of the
Past (Fra Piazza del Popolo, 1925), based on a colourful Danish classic novel, and the circus
melodrama The Golden Clown (Klovnen, 1926, which had already been made in 1917 with
Psilander), now in a handsome version with the famous Swedish star Gösta Ekman. The films
were respectable pieces of work, but never found their place internationally.
It was in this period of decline, that the young Carl Th. Dreyer made his debut as director.
A.W. Sandberg's Great Expectations (1922).
The great classic: Carl Th. Dreyer
Carl Th. Dreyer was a young journalist when he was introduced to movies in 1912, became a title
card writer and later a script consultant and editor for Nordisk Film. His directing debut, The
President (Præsidenten, 1919), is a melodrama about a judge who must pass sentence on his
own long-abandoned illegitimate. The ambitious Leaves from Satan's Book (Blade af Satans Bog,
1920), told in four stories, from four historical epochs about evil. His most famous Danish silent
film was Master of the House (Du skal ære din Hustru, 1925), which, exceptionally, told the story
of regular people in a contemporary environment. Dreyer's intense artistic ambition led him to
an international career, making films in Sweden, Norway, Germany — for example Heart's
Desire (Michael, 1924) based upon Herman Bang's novel Mikaël — and France, where he made
his masterpiece The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) which, in intense, soul-searching close- ups,
tells the story of Jeanne's trial and martyrdom.
He continued with The Vampire (Vampyr,1932), a privately financed French-German talkie,
which effectively mixed horror material with poetic dream-like photography. A decade of failed
projects passed, during which time he went back to working as a journalist. It wasn't until the
1940s that he was able to begin directing again, first the documentary Good Mothers
(Mødrehjælpen, 1942), followed by the feature film Day of Wrath (Vredens Dag, 1943), a dark
and grandiose drama about the witch trials of the 1600s. Dreyer, due to his artistically
uncompromising and un-commercial cinematic style, stood alone in the realm of Danish cinema.
In 1952 he received a cinema license for the Dagmar theatre in Copenhagen and made The Word
(Ordet,1955), based upon Kaj Munk's play about faith and resurrection, as well as his final work
Gertrud (1964), based on Hjalmar Söderberg's play from the beginning of the 1900s about 'lust
of the flesh and the soul's irreparable loneliness.' During the last thirty years of his life, Dreyer
worked on a film about Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth. The manuscript was finished (and published in
1968), but the film was never realized.Dreyer, with his convincing psychological insights and his
intentionally abstract style, retains his status as one of film history's greatest figures.
Carl Th. Dreyers Master of the House (1925).
Successful Comedies: Palladium and Fy and Bi
During 1920s recession period Nordisk Film received strong competition from Palladium. The
company, originally Swedish, acquired the director Lau Lauritzen Senior and the actor Carl
Schenstrøm from Nordisk Film. Lauritzen paired the tall, thin Schenstrøm with the short, fat
Harald Madsen and coined the comic duo Fyrtaarnet and Bivognen (Lighthouse and the Trailer),
shortened to Fy and Bi.
Palladium was run by Danes from 1922, and Fyrtaarnet and Bivognen was the strongest asset in
1920s Danish film, with farces such as Film, Flirt and Film (Film, Flirt og Forlovelse,1921), Sun,
Summer and Students (Sol, Sommer og Studiner,1922), He, She and Hamlet (Han, hun og
Hamlet,1922) and At the North Sea (Vester-Vov-Vov,1927). The comedians also achieved a large
international audience and were especially well known in Germany (as Pat und Patachon), as
well as in England (as Long and Short) and Eastern Europe. The duo, which continued after
talkies broke through, was just once used in a more ambitious project, Lauritzen's Don Quixote
(1926) based upon Cervantes' novel, filmed in Spain.
Fyrtaarnet and Bivognen—also known as Fy and Bi.
Early animation: Storm P.'s animations
It was also during this period that Danish animated movies humbly began. Artist extraordinaire
Robert Storm Petersen, well known for his funny cartoons, made a few short animated movies,
among them were Gaasetyven (1920) and Peter og Ping Trylleri (1922).
Movie theatre law of 1922
From the beginning, Denmark sorted movies and movie theatres as a separate entertainment
market under the Police and Justice Ministry. In 1907 movie censorship was introduced; in 1913
the state took control of the censorship. In 1922 Denmark acquired its first movie theatre law,
which put steep taxation on movie tickets into effect (40%). At the same time a cinema license
system was put into place. Permission to run a theatre relied upon licenses and was in essence
put under government control. A cinema license was often used as a type of artistic pension. Also
production companies could get access to run a theatre (a so called 'production license'). The
system continued under the Film Law of 1938 until the film law of 1972.
In the silent movie era there were approximately 1600 short and feature length films and over
1000 documentary films made in Denmark, about 250 of them have been preserved.
Video clips: http://www.dfi.dk/Service/English/Films-and-industry/Danish-Film-History/1920-1929.aspx